In a post on DIY MFA, Julie Carrick Dalton says there are five friends every writer needs. “Writers love to talk about their books, their friends’s books, trends in the publishing industry, and our endless anxieties about writing. But our poor families can only take so much of this at the dinner table,” she says. “My advice to every writer is to assemble a team of key friends who can handle your obsession, help you, brainstorm with you, boost you, and just listen when the going gets rough.”
Dalton’s dream team includes:
- The Cheerleader. The Cheerleader is the friend who believed in you before anyone else did and brags about your successes.
- The Editor. Your Editor friend critiques your manuscripts and gives you detailed notes, challenging you to improve.
- The Therapist. The Therapist is your sounding board when things get tough. Bad reviews, rejections, and writer’s block are easier to manage when you can discuss them with someone.
- The Critic. The Critic isn’t afraid to go negative on your characters, plot, or purple prose. The Critic reads your work like a reader, not an editor.
- The Petty Friend. The Petty Friend isn’t petty towards you, but is the friend who gets annoyed by the same peeves as you. “This is the friend who always sides with you and unquestioningly hates your nemesis on your behalf,” Dalton explains.
