At the Paradise Lost Writer’s Retreat this past weekend, the talented and clever Ken Scholes talked about writers as a tribe and the need to help out members of our tribe from time to time. Gosh, I had no idea he was going to be talking about me being the one to need help, and just 48 hours after his talk! While sharing a final dinner with one of the attendees after most of the others had left, I contracted a stomach virus. Thankfully, two of my tribe were able to help me out, by which I mean getting me and my suitcase from my hotel room to the shuttle van, watching over me in the airport and on the flight, making me drink Gatorade when I had uncontrollable shaking in my arms and legs, and packing me off for home in a cab.

Thank you both! You treated it like a small thing, but it meant the world to me to have you there when I was away from home and not entirely able to trust my own judgment.

Writing is by its very nature a solitary profession. That makes it all the more important to find members of tribe who will be there for you when needed, and vice versa. Never doubt how important this is. As I found out, you never know when you’ll be leaning on them, sometimes quite literally.