One of the tricky aspects of writing is its inherent need for quiet and contemplation. Writing takes time. Writing takes sitting by yourself in front of a computer, alone with your thoughts and the keys. Writing takes daydreaming. It takes a total immersion in an imaginary world; conversations with people who don't exist. From the outside, writing looks like a whole lot of sitting around. But for a writer, these hours are spent hard at work.
As writers we sometimes talk about our writing, and then "real life." Daily life - dogs chewing up books, babies crying, floors begging to be vacuumed; the errands and doctor appointments and parties and family moments are often deemed "real," and the hours we spend writing are a sort of fantasy. A secret sub-sect of our existence.
I noticed something. I've always written - since I was making up stories to tell to my fussy little brother when we were four and two - but it was always this private part of my life. I didn't talk about it. And I was frustrated, because making time to write felt like sneaking out by the dumpster to have a secret smoke. And no one saw writing as anything legitimate or important because I wasn't treating it like it was.
I think it's important for us to tell the people in our lives how important writing is. I also think it's important not to treat writing as if it isn't a part of our real lives. We're writers. It's what we do. It's a part of who we are, and how could it be anything but a component of our real lives?
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