When in doubt, go back to what worked.

Eleven years ago, I became close friends with someone through fanfic. I wasn't a big follower of fanfic, and the stuff I wrote almost immediately found a new place to be, but it started 11 years of friendship, and the beginning of my writing path.

For both the friendship and the writing, things have been hard. For my friend, the differences seem to outweigh the commonalities, and it's harder still, now that my life is changing paths again. Writing is a pain, with piles of pages full of opening sentences, and the phrase written again and again when I get stuck: Maybe this isn't the story you want to tell. It's been painful. In both cases, I felt like it was time to give up.

Two weeks ago, I introduced my friend to a story-based web game that had all of the things we tend to like. As we hung out, we'd play the game over our smartphones. But when our visit ended, so did the play. Today, I happened to need him for some items in the game, and rather than just posting a request, I sent him a letter in the style of the game. To which he responded in kind with even more flair. The back and forth has begun.

I have to allow myself to use earlier tools, no matter how immature. If the goal is to get me writing, then the smaller, sillier tools have a use, and as I develop, I can go back to the tools that served me before school. And in reading my friend's missives, it's good to have that relationship rebuilding as well.