Friends, Writing and Writing Friends

Thanks to a few folks at the Absolute Write Water Cooler (a great writer's forum), I got a bit of a reality check. If you've been hanging around here reading my ramblings for any length of time, you know I forget to update. A lot.

I had no idea that other writers really do find what I post useful. Yeah, there's gags, life rants, and silly pictures. To be honest I felt like just another teeny drop in the blogger ocean. It is nice to find that there are those who stop by, new readers and old.

This morning I stopped by Freelance Writing Gigs. That's an everyday stop for me- not just for leads, but for the posts on everything related to freelancing. I love the fact that Deb is inserting more humor into her posts lately. A good friend of mine, Dawn Allcot, writes the Grammar Guide . Just yesterday a title caught my eye- How Many Liberties Can We Take?- turned out it was one of Dawn's.

I sent her an instant message to let her know how terrific and thought provoking I found the post. In doing so, I made sure to let her know that the title had caught my attention and that /I had no idea she had written it/ at first.

It is important, I feel, when dealing with friends who are also writers to let them know that you find their work worth reading. Letting them know that you would read it whether you knew them or not is crucial in validating their hard work. How often have you let a friend read something, then wonder if the only reason they 'loved it' was due to your friendship?

There isn't only friendships to take in account. I assemble the newsletter for FWJ. [yes, shameless plug. Go sign up. Now. Hurry back, k?] Nope, I don't write it, except for the H1N1 bit in Volume #2. [don't have that copy? I'll forward you mine] and yes I mentioned it before, but it's my blog, I'll mention the latex to leather ratio in my closet if I want. Neener.

Anyway, now that I've plugged my lil' heart out- I work for Deb Ng. Does that mean I agree with every post? No. Am I afraid to say so just because she is a client? No. Friend, client, or family member- the rule holds the same. Be open in how you deal with that person and they'll value your opinion more. You'll become the person they trust and turn to when they need an honest, respectful critique.

I'd love to hear how you all have experienced this. I can't be the only writer in the world who thinks that only Mom loves the stuff shoveled into Open Office.

"I can live for two months on a good compliment."

Mark Twain

***I realized after posting that I had inadvertantly copied the style of a recent post title on FWJ. Sorry for that, Deb.