Anti-social? Who, me?

Before I experienced what it's really like to write a novel, I believed in the stereotypical image of an author cranking out his or her masterpiece in solitude. Think Thoreau at Walden Pond or Jack Torrance in The Shining (minus the homicidal tendencies, of course).

Image courtesy of FreeImages.com

While working on a book alone isn't the reason why I wanted to become an author, it certainly has its appeal. I'm in introvert by nature, which means that I prefer to spend my time and energy in the internal world of ideas rather than the external world of people. That might make me sound anti-social, but I have to admit that I am somewhat. The ideal of buying my own island if I had the funds sounds great, if only for writing purposes. If I could lock myself up for days to work on a story (assuming food and a comfortable place to sleep are still readily available), I think I would thrive under the circumstances.

Alas, solitude isn't part of my reality. In the real world, I still work a day job where I interact with people everyday. Even when I write, it's often when I'm surrounded by lots of people, like on the train or at my kids' extracurricular classes. Fortunately, I'm able to block out most distractions (refer to statement above about living in the internal world of ideas) when I write. On the other hand, I sure wouldn't mind being alone.