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Are you looking for a job that allows you to travel the world, constantly interact with people and endless new friends? Then writing may not be for you. While New York Times best sellers may travel to exotic locations and enjoy “Hollywood type” perks, those perks only come with years (usually) of lonely work.
No one can write your story for you. No one knows or understands your characters. This means that in order for your world to be born YOU have to sit down and write it. I recommend sitting somewhere comfortable and investing in a set of wireless noise canceling headphones but the truth is that any place where you will sit for hours on end to write your story works.
Did I mention this career field requires isolation and takes a ton of time? Whose on board?
I write at Panera, coffee houses, the library and am currently typing this post while sitting in my recliner next to my husband and daughter (see above statement regarding headphones). The one place I typically do not write at is my writing desk. For reasons I cannot articulate, despite my husband’s repeated requests, that desk just seems to suck my ability to create out of me. So I currently use it to store ideas, and tomorrow’s work outfit.
When I need to feel like I am “with people,” I will usually chose the coffee house or Panera. The library is wonderful free option. Still as I sit typing, I am not interacting with anyone and there are days that this makes me feel amazing! There are other times that I cringe and want to beg the poor man eating his scone to join me. So far the crazy me has maintained her decorum but writers have to find some way to handle this solitary career.
I do not have the answer for this; I suspect that each person will have to work out their issues individually. For me I make sure that I do something with friends at least once a month or every other month, that does not include my writing. I take writing classes and joined my local Romance Writers of America chapter.
Still at the end of the day none of my friends or colleagues can write my book for me, so it is time to put on the headphones and make my characters speak! Good luck on your writing and finding peace with the loneliness. Join me next week for Lesson 3: Finding Your Tribe. Not everyday has to be lonely - promise.