The "Solitary" World of Writing

I'm reading Lerner's The Forest for the Trees, an editor's view of the world of writing. The first four chapters or so are devoted to talking about her impressions of writer psyches. And it's interesting. I don't know that it's going to help or hurt my writing so much as it's going to make me look at my motivations for everything I do, but it's still a fun read. But she lost me last night as she mentioned for the twentieth time that writing is a lonely profession, a solitary pursuit. Now, she's not the first person to say that. I often hear this. My mother, when I mentioned that I wanted to write full-time once I quit the hell that is the public education system, told me that I wouldn't enjoy writing because it doesn't give me enough of the people interaction she felt I craved. "The writer is a loner" seems to be the one thing everyone knows about writing. And I think it's a load of bull.

On-line and real-time writing communities are my first exhibit. I belong to one of each. Forward Motion and the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers organization. Every Tuesday night, I get together with five other writers in RMFW for a critique session. I play racquetball as often as I can with one of those people, and I work with another. We tend to call or email each other on a regular basis. In fact, without my critique group, it would've taken me years of floundering before I finally found my writing voice. As I've mentioned before, I will be going to a rather large conference hosted by RMFW to interact with writers, editors, and agents. And RMFW hosts at least one community event a month. As for Forward Motion, the sheer continual presence of writers in incredibly varied stages of the craft served as inspiration for me to really buckle down and get busy. Most Friday nights, I hang out in a Think Tank in an on-line chat room with at least a couple dozen other writers, and we have the greatest time tossing around ideas for people's writing issues. I've participated in quite a few classes by published authors and aspiring authors. Once or twice a month, everyone tries to participate in a writing marathon, and we all post our progress and cheer each other on. Now, you might say that on-line commaraderie doesn't count for anything. I have to laugh at this. If anything, the on-line forum often enhances intellectual exchange. (Well, I must admit, that often depends on where you go.)

The Blogoverse is Exhibit 2. I've read in certain places that blogging is vanity run amuk. That people who spill their guts for all the world-wide web to see are attention-hungry exhibitionists who have serious issues. Again, the truth or fiction of this will depend on where you decide to hang your hat on the internet. But blogging allows such an amazing peek into who we are, what we believe, what drives us. It's like sitting down with a cup of tea on a porch with hundreds of different people just jabbering away at whatever they want. How can you feel alone when you have so many witty, insightful, touching, thought-provoking people out there who share bits and pieces of themselves in their blogs? And with commenting, you get a chance to interact a little with that mosaic of humanity. Granted, the connected world does have its problems: the lack of face-to-face and voice-to-voice contact can create misunderstandings, and some people forget how to really live and interact in the real world because they focus all their energy on the web. I'm sure the list goes on, but the internet is just like anything in this world. You can use it to enhance your life, or you can abuse it to destroy your life.

My final piece of evidence that writing is not as solitary a sport as everyone seems to think is the very nature of the craft itself. Writers spend hours with other people - their characters. Of course, this aspect of writing is also the trait that makes writers appear and sometimes become a few sandwiches shy of a picnic. But again, you can use it to make your life better or make your life worse. It's up to you. So even when I shut myself in the study, disconnect from the internet, and just sit down with my computer (OK, my cats will likely be involved, so it won't be total solitude), I'm still not alone. I have the lives of countless fascinating people hanging around with me. People that scare me. People that make me think. People that excite me. People that disgust me. And they're all trying to tell me something. I can't help but listen and try to accurately convey their thoughts into a story. I've felt more alone in a room full of friends and acquaintances than I have ever felt when I write. Because in that room, I often have to hold something back. I can't be all of me with everyone I physically interact. It turns out that I sometimes even shouldn't reveal a whole lot of myself in certain situations. And there are always those people who just don't want you to be you anyway. I've never felt that way about writing or around writers. As I mentioned before, writing allows the most complete expression of myself that I've ever experienced. That includes my social tendencies and need for human interaction.

I don't think I'll ever be able to consider writing a solitary craft. What's more, those who do consider it a lonely occupation seem to be missing out on something.