The Terrible Secret

[bloodyrosemccoy]

This is altogether too true about what it’s like to be a writer. Except for the part where, in casual conversation, you will also mention your characters’ exploits the way your mom periodically tells you about the goings-on of relatives you only barely remember, and people will stare at you all funny.

I probably shouldn’t even be telling you this.

Blame for outing our secret lies partly on Wil Wheaton, who linked to this.

Comments

[beccastareyes]

A writer friend of mine refers to some of her ideas as 'walking ideas' -- ideas she gets while walking -- or 'water ideas' -- ideas she gets while in the shower or doing dishes. That's the thing -- it's hard to quantify what is work time. Usually I'll get the ideas about what I should do next in research when I'm walking to the bus to get home.

[renshai.livejournal.com]

Trust me, it happens in professions other than writers. Gotta love parallel processing.

[fenmere.livejournal.com]

Indeed.

I've taken to saying, when my wife asks me how my day went, "I wrote all the way to Bloedel Donovan Park today, taking the Old Railroad trail. Man, that must have burned a lot of calories!"

[ellixis.livejournal.com]

In a marriage with two writers/roleplayers, it happens fairly often that conversation will turn casually to the latest shenanigans of some of our headpeople, or shenanigans our headpeople are planning, or the designing of new headpeople. Occasionally one of us will inquire after what the other's inhabitants are currently doing. It probably seems more than a bit crazy to normal people.

[circuit-four.livejournal.com]

So this is... normal?

I feel like such a burden has been lifted. ;_;

[http://users.livejournal.com/_wastrel/]

"A writer is someone for who writing is more difficult than other people", I can't remember what that was from.

Being able to get time to myself is really a central tension in my life right now, and has been for years - it's always been difficult for me to explain why, because being what it's like I don't feel comfortable talking about it. Usually it just makes people think I must have some reason for disliking them, which is what I'm trying to avoid having to deal with by sacrificing perfectly good "me" time to them in the first place. I can't even say it's writing time because then where's all that writing I'm supposed to be doing? Show me the writing!

Thank you for having posted this. It was bittersweet but it felt cathartic to read.