Writing: A Lonsome Occupation?

Some people feel that writers are a reclusive lot, squirreled away at their keyboards working long and lonely hours.

This couldn't be further from the truth. We are our happiest, sitting in front of our computer screens, spinning stories and creating dreams, but we don't feel lonely. How could anyone, doing the very thing that gives meaning to existence?

Writers need that time away from everything to create what they do. The ability to dial in and focus by shutting out the world is what separates us from those in occupations where teamwork is the norm.

And contrary to common assumptions that we must be socially isolated, the opposite is true. The time we save in a daily commute or hours at the office can be better spent with our families or in social settings.

I love my time alone but I also treasure the time I spend with others, laughing, socializing, and appreciating my fellow human beings. Because I've spent those hours working on my own, I enjoy social occasions even more.

Perhaps something else is at work here. People picture writers in their housecoats, sitting in comfort and sipping coffee, working a brief hour or two. This erroneous idea may spawn the mindset that something as enjoyable as this must have a downside--hence, the idea that writers are somehow compromised by their languishing ways.

Getting out and about allows me to recharge, so that I'm refreshed and ready to get back to work, in a unique profession that is such a comfort zone.