I tend to be both. For one thing I've moved to a new area and most of my friends are about an hour away. Hard to visit when I'm under a deadline--hard to just horn into their workdays because I haven't spoken aloud in four days. :-)
But here's what I wonder. What goes on in a writer's brain? Some love the spotlight, bask in it, can handle any promo opportunity. For others (like me), the spotlight is a scary place, even on the tiny scale on which it hardly ever swings upon me. I'm happiest here in my cave, working away.
But, I put stories out in the world that represent my thoughts and feelings about the way people love each other and live together. Sure, my stories are fiction, but each of them has to contain parts of me, if only because my thoughts must in some way dictate the way I write--the way I look at a fictional world.
I'm not alone. I talk to so many other writers who feel this way, too. How do we natural hermits find the courage to do this wonderful, best-of-all jobs?
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So! My Anna has a blog! (How long did you think you could hide it from me, hmm?)
How do we natural hermits find the courage to do this wonderful, best-of-all jobs?
It's true that we can't help putting a lot of ourselves into our books, but because we're writing fiction, it's not possible for readers to know for certain which parts of the characters and stories are "us." I find that very comforting--and often quite amusing.
;-)
I'm a natural hermit. As a kid, I used to put things to block my bedroom door and hang sheets down there sides of my canopy bed to make a "cave" or "tent" and block out the world. In there, with my books, I was happy as can be. :)
Now, I have my office and computer. Great. I can talk to people, I cna write, and never leave the house. Yay.
Okay, maybe I need therapy.
Welcome to blogging.
Mir<--a Brenda Coulter regular
LOL, Brenda--I agree. I have a friend who once suggested I might be having a problem with a heroine because she was so unlike me. I was pretty startled because I didn't think the fact that the heroine was me could possibly be a secret!
Which makes you wonder--how much do we hide? More than we think?
Mir, thanks so much for coming by. I've read and loved your comments on Brenda's blog since the start. And I'm having severe canopy/tent envy here. Even now, I love a nice cozy spot to be on my own!
Thanks again to both of you for coming by! I'm so glad to see you!
Yeah, Mir's a clever girl. You should check out her blog.
...how much do we hide? More than we think?
Well, see, that's what's so funny about it. I think we consciously hide parts of ourselves but unconsciously give away other parts. So we probably think we have more control over those revelations than we actually do. (Hmm. I wonder what I have just revealed about myself by saying that?)
But again, readers can't know with any certainty whether the "secrets" they glean from our books have been dropped accidentally or on purpose. Isn't that a hoot?
Brenda, that's what I wonder--how much do we reveal, thinking we're hiding something? (Hmmm. Maybe keeping something private would be a better way to put that.)
Off to visit Mir's blog!
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