Honestly, I haven't posted for a while because I never want to write a blog post which was done twelve thousand times before. It's why I interview other writers, so I can get a different perspective and promote some authors whose work I respect. But I'm almost finished with my third Nick Bracco thriller and I decided to stay home from work and get it done. It sounded like a great idea until I tried it. The house was quiet and the monitor was beckoning me to place those last few words onto the screen, but there's something you need to know about writing. It's lonely. There I said it. Sitting at a computer and tapping the keys is a solitary chore and most writers like communicating with other people. It's not normal to be cooped up by yourself for extended periods of time. We need to know there's someone else out there enduring the same solitude we are. For me, it's mostly other writers, readers and family members. For others, it might be sports aficionados. But when I need to know I'm not alone I can click on Facebook, or Twitter and see that the world is still out there and I can watch the globe communicate to each other as I create my next scene.
So, although many people feel social media is simply the newest way to promote your writing, I'm a firm believer it's not the main reason. As a matter of fact, I'm a little timid in the self-promotion department myself. I hate being pitched something, so I try to do as little pitching as possible. I believe the main reason writers are so enamored by the lure of Facebook is because they need the connection to other humans while they're sitting by themselves creating their fictional worlds. After all, truth is stranger than fiction, and have you seen some of the FB posts lately? There's plenty of plots waiting to be written and writers would be well-served by watching some of the stuff scrolling down our screens each day.
Okay, back to my own little world now. Carry on, the rest of you. Somehow I feel a little better knowing you're out there.
