Three Reasons Writers Need a BFF

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine


From Casper the Friendly Ghost to flying the friendly skies, from "You've Got a Friend" to "Friends are Friends Forever", everyone acknowledges the value of a good friendship.  But writers receive some unique, specific rewards from that coveted alliance.  Be a pal and check them out.

1. EXPOSITION 
In fiction, a writer's best friend can be the friend they give their protagonist.  Far from playing second fiddle in the story, a well-crafted companion can open the door for revealing interaction and dialogue. Instead of banging the audience over the head with facts, details conveyed comfortably in a conversation feel perfectly natural, and can even disguise their eventual importance to the story.

In Veronica Roth's blockbuster Divergent series, the first friend Tris makes when entering the intimidating new world she has chosen is Christina.  Roth cleverly chose to make Christina a "Candor", whose outspoken observations are a steady source of revelation and discovery.

2. ASSOCIATION
"No man is an island," said poet John Donne (whose name not only rhymes, but who gave us another famous saying in the same discourse, the one about for whom the bell tolls).  His point was, of course, that we are social creatures who need each other.  Those of us writers who thrive on creative isolation and would rather take a road trip to Alaska alone than attend a spouse's Christmas party may find it against the grain to do the people thing, but a good writers group is the ideal way to step off the island and get one's feet wet.

Communing one-on-one with others of the same intention is inspiring and eye-opening.  Besides sharing the contagious writing bug, the variety of fresh perspectives in a writers group is limited only by the the imaginations of the attendees.  If your group offers critique sessions, take advantage of them, and offer your own constructive criticism.  Friends don't let friends write junk.

To be an even steeper leaper into literacy, check out writers conferences. The many offered each year means there's one coming to a city near you.  An intensive weekend of focused enlightenment in the company of peers and professionals is something all serious writers should experience for themselves, and those who do it once will often become regular attendees. You'll find many of this year's conferences on the Southern Writers website at: 
http://www.southernwritersmagazine.com/2014-conferences.html 

3. COLLABORATION
If we're honest with ourselves, not all of us are meant to collaborate.  Depending on our personality type, we may indeed flourish in a literary partnership, or we may require the satisfaction of knowing every single word was our own.  But regardless of how we approach our prose, we are all collaborators in the sense that we learn from and echo each other.

One of my favorite collaborative teams is that of Lisa Wingate and Julie Cantrell. Highly-regarded authors in their own right, these longtime friends are an example of the support and productivity that like-minded wordsmiths can gain from one another.

Far from keeping this valuable gift all to themselves, they reach out to all writers via their Facebook page, The Writer's Jar, a place where you can take part in the writing conversation.  And we're very proud to announce that Julie and Lisa will now be allying with Southern Writers Magazine via a new feature debuting in the July issue, in which we get to eavesdrop on their private conversations with other leading authors.

As writers, we share the enviable mission of capturing the world as we see it and translating it for those who walk this earth with us. As C.S. Lewis said, "Friendship is born at the moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.'"

The Next Big Thing

by Gary Fearon, Creative Director, Southern Writers Magazine

This past Saturday, as I approached the TV room to eat lunch (yes, I usually eat in front of the TV; I'm all about multitasking), I heard a woman singing "O Come All Ye Faithful" on the set. There must be a Christmas concert on, I thought.  When I arrived, it turned out to be Carol Brady singing in her church, circa 1969.

It was the Brady Bunch's first Christmas as a blended family. All the kids were there, smiling proudly from the pews as their mother sang Oh come, let us adore him, Christ our Lord.  Little Cindy gave her new stepdad a grateful smile when he put his arm around her. Alice might have even been present, comically tearing up as she often did during any tender moment.

While I watched, I could only think how unlikely it would be for such a scene to appear on a modern-day sitcom. Even on TV Land, where this vintage show was airing, the newer comedies feature anything but a wholesome family unit.  If alien lifeforms tuned into today's TV they would assume that everyone on Earth is permanently divorced and cranky.

Entertainment gets less innocent and more cynical as each year passes.  We see it in books, films, music, art, everywhere we look. In a world where Hannah Montanas become Miley Cyruses, it's a fair question to ask, "Huh?"

Part of the answer is, we are wired to always be looking for the next big thing.  And, by its nature, the next big thing can't be like the old thing.  There has to be something extra, and the trend has always been to make it more extreme.

Take young adult fiction. It wasn't that long ago when Harry Potter stirred up a cauldron of controversy. A short time later, the tide turned toward vampires.  Riding the bloody waves of Twilight, there was even a book and a movie called Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter.  I expect any day now to see Benjamin Franklin, Zombie Slayer.

The Hardy Boys have given way to The Hunger Games.  Nancy Drew is now Divergent.  Brilliant and imaginative, these new series replace G-rated mysteries about missing maps with dark, dystopian content.  Critics fear they encourage rebellion while fans praise them for the theme of overcoming suppression.  Either way, they're flying off the shelves.

On TV and in movies, portrayals of sex, drugs, rock & roll and violence are off the charts, alongside language that used to be considered not ready for prime time.  Edgy sells.  Controversy means publicity.

Without even debating the rightness or wrongness of any of the above, one does have to wonder where it will end.  How much further can we go before all sense and sensibility, values and virtues live only in nostalgia?

I applaud the many Southern writers we are privileged to work with who strive for something better. These are the ones who realize it's possible to grab a reader's attention without offending half their audience.  They weave a masterful tale and leave the reader feeling like they've traveled a high road and not spent the weekend in Babylon.

Wherever you are in your own journey as a writer or a reader, I invite you to buck what some call progress and follow the road less traveled. If more authors and audiences demanded it, maybe the next big thing could be a return to something that's easy to feel is gone forever.

Together we could make Alice cry more happy tears.