From the Fiction Desk

Continuing the series in this blog, some writers forget the need to maintain a social life outside of their writing. Writing is a solitary occupation. We sit at our writing desk or in a coffee house or bar and put words on our paper or into our computer/laptop. For hours we resist the interruptions that come with daily life and family obligations to get put down one more sentence or paragraph or complete editing before submission. Many writers also have a separate main occupation that pulls them away from their writing for at least 8 hours a day—often more.

All of this leads the dedicated writer to isolate themselves to get out their product and meet the deadlines they have. Editors and publishers can’t wait or extend deadlines, they have a business to run—as does the writer. However, all of this pressure does cause many writers to retreat into their isolated world. This self-isolation can be as deadly to the soul of the writer, our psychological well being, as it is necessary to create what needs to be created.

The writer needs to take time away from their work, even if it is only for an hour, and become involved in something outside of writing. As writers, we create or journal stories or poems of life, but to truly capture that life we must live life. It is from our social worlds that we can observe human behavior in action, obtain story ideas, and just relax from our pressures. Just like exercise is critical our physical well being, socializing is critical to our psychological well being. Writers need to become involved in their communities and spend time with those who are important to them. Without this, without the social interactions, we exile ourselves into a state of being far lower than that of an automaton.

Thank you for reading and please visit www.davidalanlucas.com for information on blogs, stories , articles, and poems that I write.