If You Live With a Writer…

If you have a writer in your life, you may have noticed a few unusual behaviors…things that could be misinterpreted. Please don’t worry. There’s nothing wrong. Let me try to explain.

When we get that far away look, we aren’t bored or disinterested. We live in two worlds and something just happened in the other one. Just give us a minute. We’ll be right back.

If we talk around a subject without really saying anything, we aren’t trying to be clever or difficult. We’re just working out a kink in the story. Please don’t try to help. You can listen or change the subject. We won’t mind.

If we seem a little too okay with you wanting to do something that doesn’t include us, there’s nothing wrong. Please don’t think we’ll be bored or upset. The fact is we love you and want to spend time with you, but there is a cast of characters anxious to have their lives written and they can be a little demanding.

If you find a name or list of names doodled on a scrap of paper, don’t jump to conclusions. We are not having an affair. We are trying to name a character, and it helps to see it written out.

If you discover internet searches for exotic places, hair and clothing styles, instructions on how to build a bomb or rob a bank, don’t panic. We’re not up to no good. It’s research.

If we get up in the middle of the night and don’t come back to bed, we aren’t sick. Something just happened in that other world or a character decided it was time to have a chat. Please don’t remind us we have to go to work in a few hours. We know. We’ll suffer from lack of sleep. And it will be worth it.

If we get a little weird when someone asks about our writing…well, this one is hard to explain. We want to talk about it, but we don’t want to talk about it. I mean, we’re glad people are interested, but we don’t really know how to present that other world and all those characters in a few brief sentences. We don’t want to come off as self-promoting, but we would love it if they wanted to read our book. It’s strange, I know, but every writer I know struggles with this. Now we don’t mind it at all when other people talk about our books. So please, by all means, feel free to help us out with this one.

If you have a writer in your life, and you can get past some of the unusual behavior, hang on to us. You’ll be glad you did, and so will we.