The Ultimate Social Network for Writers

I’ve heard it time and time again that writing is a lonely profession.  I’m somewhat inclined to agree with that because we have to be alone to get our thoughts out and into the physical world.  But, today I realized there is a social network that completely erases the loneliness.

I’m currently editing my novel “Pieces” which I plan on releasing in the spring of 2014.  As my eyes sweep over the pages I realize that other people could be watching me since I’m in a public place while enjoying a coffee.  For the next few minutes I keep myself in check as my book causes emotional responses.  I’m laughing and then I stop.  I grit my teeth and pull my fistful of hair until my scalp hurts.  I reposition myself in the seat while smiling at the screen.

I think, “What are these people around me thinking about me and my reactions?”  That leads to the thought of me on a couch with a therapist.  I would pour out my questions and concerns about my characters and ask why they had to do the things they did.  By the end of the session my therapist would deem me crazy for actually thinking the characters I create are real.  I’ll take the crazy pill because my characters are a part of who I am, therefore they are real.

Do any of you writers out there feel the same way?  A character may start out as an idea, but somewhere along the way they become real.  If something bad happens to them, then it hurts us.  If something good comes into their lives, then we’re happy for them.  Some may say to change the story if something bad is going on, but it’s not that easy.  For some of us writers the story unfolds and it’s like history; it can’t be changed.

This is when I realized that writing is NOT a lonely profession at all.  The social network for a writer is greater than any social network available to everyone else.  Facebook can never have as many available friends and events going on as the worlds and characters my books offer me.  I can sit and think and social network for hours.  “Christina, what’s happening today in Bakersfield, California?”  “Mel, how are you going to propose to her?”  “John, are you going to make it through this journey with Claire?”  “Dougan, why did you pick up that hitchhiker?”  “Hayden, how deep does your love for your father really go?”  And the answers start pouring in.  At that point my fingers hit the keyboard and make it happen.

You see, our characters entertain us beyond imagination.  It’s not a false reality that some psychologist might argue.  These people are real and their lives are imprinted on us as writers.  Reality is more beautiful because they exist.  It’s not crazy.  What’s crazy is thinking that the world could go on without these pieces of us existing.  Because of that the ultimate social network for writers will always be in our minds.