I know that folks prefer easy categories–publishers sure do. Agents are partial to them, too. Of course what I like to write often defies easy categorizing, a flaw I have not yet been able to reconcile. When it comes time to pitch my work, I shove it into the most similar category I can find, like one might stuff a large foot into a gorgeous but too tight pairof shoes for an occasion. This may be a result of my personality. Most people who know me would probably call me an extrovert. I’m good at socializing, I crave it, and I never go very long without some of it. But that would also overlook the introverted side of my nature. I am, I have decided, an introverted extrovert.
Say what?
Well, for example, I’ve just returned from a weekend of socializing. First at the wonderful Redwood Writer’s Conference (Kudos, y’all, for a job well done, especially for a 1st year!), then visiting half a day with friends, then my mother’s birthday party.
And now, home again for the first time since Friday, I don’t want to visit my social network, forums or Twitter, where interaction is involved. I need to replenish. I’m socialized out. And this is also the place from which I write.
The extroversion is the “collection” side of my nature–I go out into the world and take in stimulus and impressions, stories and characters, but then I must hole up, sometimes even withdraw, to this inner cave or I will have nothing at all to write, and no energy with which to write it.
Yet many writers are professed introverts through and through–they prefer the silence and solace of their own company How about you? Does socializing add to, or take away from your writing? Can you be easily defined as an introvert or extrovert, are are you a shade of gray?
We all learn differently. Some of you may need the crack-slap harshness of a teacher’s burning gaze on your actual skull to motivate you to learn. But many people I know prefer the silence and stillness of working at their own desk without those nasty halogen lights or the sound of fellow students snapping their gum.
I have never been good at taking compliments. Fortunately in the world of writing there’s so much rejection that the compliments are few and far between. I take those when they come because they’re precious–they’re drops of water in a dry wasteland. Since Make a Scene was first published in November of 2007, I have received some of the kindest words from writers who have read it. From newbies to established writers, I’ve gotten some really cool thanks for compiling the information on scenes in a way that brings it home. It’s been so gratifying (and a relief, too) that those words I scribbled furiously at my lonely desk managed to make sense and help writers. I am humbled beyond belief.
This week I’m featuring a great, informative interview with Christina Katz, whose new book: Get Known Before the Book Deal is crammed with detailed, useful information about how writers can build a platform. Her answers are so meaty I decided that I’ll post one question and answer per day for the next 7 days. Each one is fabulous, so don’t miss them!
