Writing is a solitary activity. It is fundamentally about holing up somewhere and shutting out the world and getting the work done. This is a job for introverts.
But promotion, appearances, interacting with the fellow writing community? That takes extroversion. And I can do that: I can turn it on and get the job done. But then I want to crawl back into a hole and just write.
Now, as things currently go, I don't have much option for holing up. There's no single space in the house that's just for me just to write. We also run our business out of the house, and due to the nature of it there isn't an area that can be just MINE all the time.
This past weekend at Comicpalooza, I was sitting with a bunch of writers, and one that I didn't recognize (and because, you know, that's how things go, no introductions were made between us) talked about finalizing his cabin in the woods: isolated, with a great view of a lake (but still only a few minutes away from the grocery store). The perfect place to be completely disconnected from the world and just get writing done.
I said that sounded like bliss.
Turns out that guy I didn't recognize was Jim Butcher.
If Jim Butcher is only JUST getting his cabin on the lake to write in isolation, it's going to be a bit for me. So I'll keep working out of my bag, using my headphones to isolate myself. (And reminding my family that Headphones Means Do Not Disturb.)
All that said: if any of you out there has a cabin on the lake or beachhouse or isolated studio or adobe hut in the desert you want to lend me for a week or so? Let's talk. I would love to have a place to retreat to, if just for a little bit.
