Okay, so I don't even think that 'hermitude' is a real word outside of the Urban Dictionary, but I'm using it anyway.
I'm a hermit by nature, but recently I've felt quite restless. Maybe it's the sunshine - it always calls you out to play, doesn't it?
Anyway, I got to thinking about how writing is such a secular career. It's you, your brain and your laptop / notebook. That's it. Most writers I believe don't talk about their projects to others either - at least not while they're writing it - so truly, as a writer, you don't talk to anyone but yourself and your characters.
Being a natural hermit (and by that I mean that I generally prefer my own company, or the company of nature, to that of other people), I feel it's actually important for me to make a concerted effort to get out the damn house. I only ever write at home - it's just easier. But I think that once a week I'm going to try taking the laptop down the cafe and write in public. It's not something I'm even sure I can do - it's sometimes hard for me to zone out all that noise around me. Maybe the main problem is that I'm quite empathic and often get drawn into others' emotions. It's sometimes hard work being around people, as if I constantly need an emotional filter up so I don't drown. Empathy is great for writing, and great for reading the Tarot - it sucks when you actually want to integrate though :)
This week I've been so busy I barely have time to think, so that's my one thought for today in a nutshell ;)
Do you have any thoughts on the above? Authors, how do you cope with your secular career?
I'm a hermit by nature, but recently I've felt quite restless. Maybe it's the sunshine - it always calls you out to play, doesn't it?
Anyway, I got to thinking about how writing is such a secular career. It's you, your brain and your laptop / notebook. That's it. Most writers I believe don't talk about their projects to others either - at least not while they're writing it - so truly, as a writer, you don't talk to anyone but yourself and your characters.
Being a natural hermit (and by that I mean that I generally prefer my own company, or the company of nature, to that of other people), I feel it's actually important for me to make a concerted effort to get out the damn house. I only ever write at home - it's just easier. But I think that once a week I'm going to try taking the laptop down the cafe and write in public. It's not something I'm even sure I can do - it's sometimes hard for me to zone out all that noise around me. Maybe the main problem is that I'm quite empathic and often get drawn into others' emotions. It's sometimes hard work being around people, as if I constantly need an emotional filter up so I don't drown. Empathy is great for writing, and great for reading the Tarot - it sucks when you actually want to integrate though :)
This week I've been so busy I barely have time to think, so that's my one thought for today in a nutshell ;)
Do you have any thoughts on the above? Authors, how do you cope with your secular career?
Having just read this quote, I thought I'd share it with you...
ReplyDelete"Everything you want is just outside your comfort zone."
It certainly resonates with me :o)
You're a writer. If you say Hermitude is a word, it is :-)
ReplyDeleteI cope by freaking out, bugging people and writing a better comment in the form of the blog post above :-P