Writing Is Not Lonely Work

'Lonely. I'm so lonely' -- the wail of lone writers that writerly advisers whale on. Writing is a lonely art, they moan in unison, repeating until it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. New writers expect to feel lonely and blocked.

On the other hand, they complain about interruptions, finding time to write, finding a place to write. Some wonder, "Is writing really for me?" If you have to ask ...

Admittedly, creative writing in the sense of poetry, short stories and novels may benefit by peace and quiet and a slower pace. I loved rainy days, the house empty but for me curling up in the corner of the couch with a pen and notebook to let the feelings flow into verse ... it all ran out when I moved to SoCal where it never rains. Well, hardly ever.

Could the lonely writers be giving blessed solitude and opportunity a negative connotation, just because they've read and heard the term so often? If Thoreau did not take himself off to a cabin in the woods, alone, would he have produced Walden Pond? Ah, but that isn't fiction, is it? Perhaps I would not have written two novels if I'd had something more to do than make a home for a family which, at one time, included nine Siamese, a flock of hens and a garden in the summer. It was slightly less hectic than writing five news stories before 10 a.m. in a crowded newsroom with phones ringing, editors yelling and teletype machines clacking and dinging.

Some writers even work in tandem, married to their co-writing partners. One of the first published authors who generously advised me, James J. Kilpatrick, confided that he got started writing a children's book with his [first?] wife. "How lucky he is," I thought, "to have someone to share his passion in more ways than one." Kilpatrick's experience and advice existed in the days when the Internet was an academic idea and a military experiment.

Now attention, companionship, notoriety--whatever you want--is as close as your modem. So is education and help. And distraction. Writing requires even more self-discipline and self-control in the Information Age. I should know, having experienced social media overload several times. Can Twitter give one a heart attack? Maybe not, but you need never feel lonely again!

*waves to Tweeps*

Listen to this article