Blog #2 My Three Most Important Writing Friends by Toni Michael

In thinking about my three most important writing friends, I am struck with how isolating writing really is. Writing is characterized by an essential dialectical tension: the need for solitude and the need for collaboration. With that in mind, my three most important writing friends are myself, my husband, and my professors and classmates at KSU. Because writing is such an autonomous vocation, I have come to the realization that I can be a friend to myself or a foe to myself.
It is important for me to be a friend to myself before I can write anything down. I must do the psychological and emotional work of fighting back self-defeating thoughts that attempt to persuade me that writing is not productive work. I have to set aside time so that I can engage in reading and self-reflection. It is imperative for me to have daily times of solitude in which I can create space in my mind so that conscious and unconscious thoughts can process and synthesize what occurred the previous day and integrate the ideas and thoughts that I read. Then I must allow myself to write. Through writing, I work on any number of ideas that manifest themselves in story form, ideas which I have to share with my husband.
Whether I am in the middle of processing a thought or I have just complete a piece, my husband, Greg, will listen to my sometimes lengthy pontifications or read my writing. He not only encourages me, but he will also point out any ideas or story problems that do not connect. Greg is a constant source of feedback; however, there are times when I have suspected that he looks at my writing through rose colored glasses, which is why I appreciate the professors and my classmates at KSU.
Even though the writing community in the MAPW classes is a construct created by the professors of each class, I have found the insights, discussions, and perspectives of my professors and classmates to be invaluable. I am thankful for the opportunity to share my writing with my classmates and in turn have them share their writing with me. It allows me to see that I am not alone in the writing process; moreover, I learn and become better through their praise of my work and constructive criticism. While I would love an intimate writing circle with whom I could sit with for hours in cafes and discuss the deepest aspects of writing, I am thankful for my husband and my professors and classmates.