When I attended this conference a few weeks ago, one of the people in the audience asked about how to find a mentor. It was something that I was also interested in, so I definitely paid attention when the panel answered. They said that a mentor can give sound and wise advice because he/she has been there. Also, you can bounce your questions off that person, and he/she can tell you if you are heading in the right direction, or you might consider rethinking a few areas.
Having a mentor is something that many smart business people recommend, especially in the writing field. I know that I would love to have someone who I can discuss the problems and successes that I find happen every day. In college, there were many professors who I would have loved to have been my mentors. I remember one professor in particular who had written over ten books. She was in her seventies, confident, and very wise. Even though she was tough on me, I knew that it was because she knew that I could do better. I learned so much from her, and I wish that I could bounce ideas off of her because I know that she would have been able to steer me in the right direction.
Even if you are an “expert” in your field, I think having a mentor or a fellow peer you respect is just as important as when you are starting out. I have been in the technical writing arena for over eight years (almost nine!), but I would love to find fellow Technical Writers where we get together once a month. It would be like the movie “Thank You for Smoking” where they would sit and chat about what was going on in their hectic jobs. Some of the best advice was given during those casual meetings.
Humans are social creature, and even if you are in the most solitary career, you still need at least one person who you can talk to about the excitement of freelancing life.
Tags: mentors, writing mentors
