Writing can be a very lonely job sometimes.
You spend all day at your computer and notebooks, your only companions the ones that exist in your own mind.
However, did you know that having someone else – a real, live person, not just a character – in your life is actually really good? Not just for you, but for your writing as well?
I’m pretty lucky that I have siblings who are also writers. If you read my post Project Inspire (which you can check out here!) then you know the whole backstory on why I started writing.
Mary is now a blogger as well (check her blog out out here!) and Cecilia is still working on her trilogy. We all like to chat about writing, gushing about the way it was executed in a book or movie, or complaining about problems we’re having right now.
However, I never truly realized the power of having a “writing buddy” until this past school year.
What is A Writing Buddy?
The primary idea of a writing buddy is a person who will keep you accountable about your writing. They’re someone who will check up on you on a consistent basis, and you can talk to about your writing. They are, preferably, a writer as well.
During the past school year, I started talking every week with a friend of mine. We’d plan the time, and then chat until one of us had to go for school or life reasons. (In case you don’t know, I am actually an online homeschooler, so she’s a friend from school)
This girl is actually a writer as well, and so, of course, we would talk about our writing.
Yes. *cough cough* Talk.
Now, I look forward to talking with her every week and sharing snippets of my writing with her. We flail over one another’s epic writing and gush about the characters, spinning fantasies of the someday when we’re published. It’s so much fun.
This is about when I realized how powerful a writing buddy can be.
5 Reasons Why Writing Buddies are Awesome:
- They hold you accountable about your writing, first off.
- You always want to write at least something so that you can show them it – meaning that you’re always making at least a little progress on your writing.
- They help you feel good about your own writing! When you share snippets and they gush over it, it can feel really good.
- It gets you excited to write. You enjoy talking about your book with them, so you start thinking about it and becoming even more inspired.
- Literally, you have a huge fan cheering you on. And they’re a writer who gets these things. When you go off on a tangent about character arcs or subplots, they understand what you’re talking about.
When finding a writing buddy, just make sure that they’re someone you trust. You don’t want this person stealing your writing and selling it off as their own, or tearing you down. That is not the purpose of a writing buddy.
My own sort of “writing buddy” is not very serious. Neither of us really keep each other accountable – except mentally, seeing as we want to share more progress with one another. So it’s nothing serious, and we just enjoy ourselves. Win-win.
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Do you have a writing buddy?
Do you like to talk with anyone else about your writing?
Do you have any siblings who are also writers?
-Julia
This is totally true! Writing buddies are the BEST!
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Definitely! Having sisters around who are also writers it also kind of helpful… 😜
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Ooh yes, sisters are the beeesttttt. I bet yours are ammmaaazing help *blinks eyelashes innocently*
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Why, thank you. *hair flip* Yes, they’re very helpful when I need to bemoan to someone about my writing problems. Also, I’ve noticed that YOURS also seem to be very good at helping you figure out plot holes and where things like the Inciting Incident land. *bats eyelashes innocently back at you*
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*has nothing to say so I hair flip back* 😂
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Love this article!!! I love reading articles on writing buddies/critique partners for some reason 😂😂 They are fascinating to me!
Also you are SO LUCKY! It’s so cool your sisters are writers! That is amazing.
Could I ask a few questions about writing buddies? Can writing buddies talk through plot holes/plot points and brainstorm when you’re at a loss for what to do? And how do I find the perfect writing buddy? I know lots of writers, but the problem seems to come in that I don’t know anyone who shares the same genre loves and vision for things like publishing, passion for our characters, etc. Any advice for a confused soul?
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I’m glad you like it! 😄 Yeah, it’s definitely an interesting subject.
It’s pretty awesome sometimes; they never get to see what I write, though, since I intend for them to read whatever I write last (before I self-publish something). They won’t be afraid to be harsh, and I’ll need that in my final draft. 😂
Sure! These are really great questions.
-Writing buddies are for literally everything and anything. Being able to bounce ideas off of people is extremely helpful. During one of my first ‘serious’ books that I wrote, I had a friend who I would talk to about EVERYTHING that I was thinking about for the book. I’d always walk away from our conversations with answers to my problems and inspiration. I’ve noticed that writers tend to use words better to help them think things through. When I’m at loss, I usually try to write down what I’m thinking so my thoughts will stop going in circles. A writing buddy allows you to talk yourself through your problem, because you’re trying to explain it to them. So I would definitely say that they’re great for when you don’t know what to do, especially with plot holes and brainstorming things.
-As for the perfect writing buddy, I’d say that it has to be someone you enjoy talking with, firstly. The people I share my writing with tend to be my really, really close friends, because I trust them. I used to share writing more with just about anyone, but after someone actually once posted my writing on the internet (without my permission) I stopped doing that. 😛 So you have to be able to trust them. You don’t want to share with just anyone, since people out there do plagiarize and steal other writers work sometimes. They should also be someone who you can just talk to easily about your writing, or to them about their’s. It’s really fun to be able to go back and forth on both of your books, sharing the work that you’ve done so far and ideas you have. A fellow writer will understand your struggles and be able to help you when you need it. If you find it difficult to talk with someone, they probably won’t make a good writing buddy. (So, as a recap to that long paragraph: they should be a friend that you trust and enjoy talking with, essentially)
-When you are trying to find a buddy, they don’t have to like the exact same things as you. My friend actually really enjoys romantic books, whereas I don’t usually focus just on that. Of course, to an extent, they should at least like the genre you’re writing in 😂 My friend and I were first drawn together because we were friends, and then we just happened to start talking about writing because that’s what we had been working on during the past week. The main thing that I think a writing buddy needs to be is a cheerleader for you and your book. While it’s preferable that they be a writer as well (so that they can understand what you’re even talking about 😆) it’s not 100% necessary. Sometimes non-writers will have a new and cool perspective on problems as well. If they will help encourage you when you are down and praise your snippets to the heavens (which is always fun) then I think that’s a pretty good person. Knowing that they wish to read your writing and enjoy it is both encouragement and validation in and of itself.
-In all honesty, your last question is kind of stumping me 😂 I would say that it’s probably best if you COULD find someone who you could gush about those things to. If you wish to talk about your book, your writing problems, your dreams for the future, and your characters, that should be something you should be able to do with a writing buddy. If you can’t talk about the things that are important to you with them, they probably aren’t a good writing buddy for you. As long as they are supportive and positive, then that’s the main thing. Find a friend, and then find the writing buddy in them, if that makes sense? There are writing forums out there like Story Embers or Abbie Emmon’s Start Your Story Challenge Facebook Group, (here’s a link to the video where she first talks about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaTyH-t9ieo&t=2s) and I’ve heard about the Young Writer’s Workshop. If they are in a forum or a group like these, then they likely are a serious writer – which is a good characteristic/attribute/element/I-forget-the-word 😅 But basically, if you could find a like-minded writer who becomes your friend, then I think they’d make a great writing buddy. 😊
If any of that didn’t make sense, just tell me, and I’ll try to clarify! That was a little bit of a brain dump, so it’s quite possible that some might not be the most understandable 😂
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