I haven’t gotten any new questions, so I’m talking about writing again today! I hope that’s okay with you!

A few weeks ago, I was at the Romance Writers of America national conference. Every summer, about 2000 romance novelists and industry professionals get together for workshops, networking, and awards. It’s a whirlwind of four days that always leaves me inspired and ready for more. I love it!

One of my absolute favorite parts about nationals is seeing friends I don’t live near. One of my good friends lives in California, so we see each other once a year. We roomed together this year and it was so nice to have someone to digest the workshops with, go to dinner with, hang out with.

Which brings me to my point.

Find friends!

Writing is a very solitary endeavor. You write your stories. You come up with all the ideas. You do the marketing and the planning and all the work. Sure, you might hire people eventually, but the day-to-day is all on you.

And it gets damn lonely!

I joined RWA (Romance Writers of America) so I could meet other romance authors. I joined my local chapter in Western New York to I could meet romance authors near me. My friend in California (ironically, also named Mary) became my friend at one of the conferences, which I went to to meet more authors.

Having friends who are writers means you’ll have someone to text when you hit your goal for the day. And someone to call when you get nominated for an award or publish a book. And someone to commiserate with when things don’t go as planned.

I meet my writer friends for lunch to work out plot issues. We read each other’s manuscripts to see what works and what doesn’t. We trade texts to stay up to date on progress.

Yes, other friends are great, but writers understand each other. It’s a world unlike many others. And having people who get it is so very important.

So get out there! Find some people. You can never have too many friends!

If you have a question, about writing or anything else, send me an email (mary (at) maryethompson (dot) com) with Q&A in the subject, or post it in the comments below, and I’ll answer your question right here on the blog!

[mailerlite_form form_id=3]