An Ode to ______ship

Summer is ending, and that means teachers like me (and maybe you) are getting ready to go back to full-time work. To help me forget the impending return and to have some fun, let’s play a game of “Song Title Fill in the Blank.” After all, I love to include these types of questions when I prepare tests for my students. I will add I don’t own the rights to these songs and/or lyrics, and I’m not even sure I own the rights to my own name anymore. Here goes—try your best:

“I get by with a little help from my ___________________.”

“You gotta have ______________________.”

“___________________ are __________________ forever.”

“You’ve got a ___________________.”

“Thank you for being a ______________________.”

“People, let me tell you about my best ________________________.”

What’s the answer? Beagles? Robots? Chimpanzees?

Nope. It’s . . . wait for it . . .

Friends.

Yay, you got it! What does this have to do with writing? Well, everything. Where would I be without my writer friends? I am thankful for all my friends, but my writer friends hold a special place in my heart, as they can identify with a lot of different things I go through:

–They share the feeling that, when I have a deadline, I want to do anything (vacuum, wash dishes, build an addition onto the house) but write.

–They know the emotions that come when I write something that seems so bad, I want to throw the laptop in the road.

–They understand the feeling of revising a piece over and over, clicking “send,” and then realizing 15 more things I want to change.

–They remain friends even when I go into the “cocoon” to write for a big project with a looming deadline (or when I avoid the deadline by vacuuming, washing dishes, or building an addition onto the house).

–They cheer me on in my writing victories and commiserate with me in the rejections and failures.

–They attend writers conferences with me and hang out with me at the coffee shop even though I don’t drink coffee, laugh with me, and help me storm the lunch line in search of chocolate macaroon cookies (Oh, and attend classes with me—guess I should include that).

–They pray for me when I need help or when I am ready to quit.

So, thanks to all my writer friends—past, present, and future. If you see me at a writers conference, feel free to be my friend, but don’t expect me to drink coffee with you. Why don’t we do smoothies instead? Or chocolate macaroons?

After all, that’s what _____________ are for.            

Carlton Hughes, represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary, wears many hats. By day, he is a professor of communication. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he serves as a children’s pastor. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer. Carlton is an empty-nesting dad and devoted husband who likes long walks on the beach, old sitcoms, and chocolate—all the chocolate. His work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game, The Wonders of Nature, Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. His latest book is Adventures in Fatherhood, co-authored with Holland Webb.