The Maybe Not So Lonely Act of Writing

Someone once wrote “writing is a lonely business”.

We all know the familiar cliché of the author sitting at his or her desk, coffee cups scattered about the work surface, dirty dishes with half-eaten food lying about, and wadded pieces of paper littering the floor and overflowing out of waste bins (ok, maybe only old people like me know that cliché).

The thing is, after all the lectures, grammar rules, tips and recommendations for better play/ novel/short story/ screen play/ writing, – well, the fact is, you’re the only one who can write your work. You. Sitting there, with your note pad, your tablet, your laptop, your desktop.

It’s up to you to sit there and focus and get the words that dance around in your head out on some medium. And it can be lonely.
I envy the people who can go off to a café and write, finding enough stimulation to counter the sense of isolation so many of us writers have. I envy that ability to sit and work on the written project at hand without getting distracted by all the comings and goings of a cafe environment. I don’t know how they manage it.

Part of my writing process comes first from spying on the world around me. I admit it. I find my fellow humans interesting. I find them a distraction. So distracting, in fact, that I can’t be around any of them when I make my own fictitious characters and scenarios up.
Or so I thought.

A few weeks ago I gave a pass on a writers’ retreat the members of Ascribe attended, for a couple of reasons, but in large part because I was sure I’d find it too distracting. The weekend of the retreat passed, the attendees came back and declared themselves pleased with the results, and I thought nothing of it – ‘knowing’ I’d have been unable to settle.

But then something happened. We had a change in agenda for our regular monthly meeting, and voted to spend a big chunk of it just working on our various literary projects. When I learned of that, I figured that I’d be better off staying home and writing by myself, but changed my mind at the last minute and went ahead.

We dealt with group business and then people scattered around the room. Some went way off and sat at tables by themselves. Five, myself included, stayed at the large meeting table and typed away on our laptops.

I was a little self-conscious at first. I worried my bracelets were too noisy and would distract the other writers. But then I got into the story and found myself typing away without really looking at or hearing the others. When I did look up, searching for a word, or pausing to stare off in space, it was kinda nice to see others doing the same things.

I actually wrote a fair bit that night. I surprised myself by trying something new. It was a kind of a spur to know that everyone was there with nothing else to focus on but their writing. It made me reconsider going away for a writers’ retreat.

Maybe we don’t have to be alone.