Being in a long-term relationship can be a real benefit if you’re an author, particularly if your partner is supportive of what you do and enjoys reading what you write. First off, you have an instant alpha reader making sure your draft isn’t entirely illegible and hopefully, her critical eyes will be able to pick up any plot holes you missed as well.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying she’s just a free editor. In fact, I think she gets the most pleasure out of it when I give it to her raw because it’s still at the stage where she can have her way with it without me needing to polish it off myself beforehand.
Innuendo aside, it really comes down to what we expect out of the relationship and making sure we have time to spend with each other. I expect support, and she expects entertainment, it’s basically like having the best patron of your art you could ever want, because you’re connected by something stronger than money: hormones.
It’s also beneficial to have someone who works in a discipline that is compatible with what you write. For instance, I write sci-fi and fantasy and my partner is a science teacher, so she has a good knowledge of the things I’m writing about and can correct me should she need to.
Most importantly, I think being in a long-term relationship gives you experiences you can draw upon for character conflicts and interactions and even pay-offs. No relationship is perfect and finding out what works and doesn’t can be a big part of it, and if your character is so inclined, a big part of their story also.
All relationships are different, I suspect, particularly if you have children, which time-wise, we fortunately do not. If you can keep it up for around a decade, the two of you will know each other well enough to anticipate each other’s needs and can still act as another second set of eyes or bouncing ideas off each other, which is half the fun of being a writer.
So, yeah, I’d recommend it.
Upcoming Project: War of Kings and Monsters
In a world beyond the reach of humans live the monstrous Melkai. Five hundred years ago, these powerful beings were banished from the human world, only welcome back when called and controlled by a human. But the spell that holds them back is weakening. Melkai are slipping through the barrier uncalled.
In order to restore the barrier, Nathan embarks on a quest to find the missing piece of an ancient and powerful artifact. Nathan’s own Melkai protects him as he travels the land filled with roaming monsters, but escaped Melkai are not the only threat he faces. An enemy kingdom is in possession of the missing piece of the artifact and they are more than willing to let Nathan’s people be overrun by Melkai rather than give up their power.
Author Bio: Christopher Keene
Christopher Keene is the New Zealand author of the Dream State Saga, a five-book sci-fi series that's part of the exploding LitRPG (Literary Role Playing Game) genre. He is also the author of The Midnight Queen, the conclusion to the Super Dungeon Series, and various other fantasy books inspired by ideas and media covered on his blog (fantasyandanime.wordpress.com).