Do you like to be alone when you write?

[Avid SciFi Fan]

I prefer quiet with no distraction. I find it helps me to focus on the writting at hand. I don't nessecarily have to be alone (as long as they aren't making a lot of noise or trying to have a conversation with me).

Sometimes I welcome the opinions of others staring over my shoulder. Sometimes I could go in one of several directions with a scenario and just need a nudge in a direction.

[hareid03]

I get really self conscious when I write and other people are around me. I mumble to myself a lot and scratch things out, and just would really rather not have people around to witness that. I don't like when people try to talk to me while I'm writing, because it gets distracting and I lose my focus. The worst bit about writing in public though is when someone tries to read what I'm writing. You're not being discreet and I can see you're trying to read what I'm writing, and I'm not okay with someone seeing it before it's done. It's raw and unedited, it's almost embarrassing to see my own personal edits in the margins and awful handwriting. I feel much better writing alone.

[rajesh]

I prefer to be alone

[lorenicole]

I too like to write by myself. I have to little children and am a stay-at-home mom. Trying to write when their up and running around making noise is close to impossible. The best time is when it's their bedtime

[Amheiser]

I definitely have to be alone when I write. I get too distracted when other people are around and there are other things going on. I do jot notes down any time I get ideas to think about, but when I actually sit down to write about them, it has to be someplace and sometime when there aren't any distractions. I don't like being interrupted when I am trying to write something and I don't like being grouchy to people if I'm trying to get my ideas written out and they are bothering me so I just do it when I can find some alone time.

[CYMH090909]

When writing I definitely would rather be alone then being around anyone or anything. When I write I lose my concentration really quickly and then can't remember where I was in my thought process. Or a lot of the time it comes to where I can't even remember certain words even when they are very simple ones.

[Krbustillos]

I love to be alone when I write. I prefer it to be in the early morning when the sun is coming up with a cup of coffee.

[hyrumseries]

Unless I'm collaborating, I like to write alone. People coming in and out, talking to me...it does nothing but distract me. I hate it when people go out of their way to find out what I'm working on--I don't interrupt you on the phone, why are you going to interrupt me now? It's frustrating, draining and incredibly off-putting.

As for environment: anywhere I have access to some sort of writing utensil. Stick me up a tree with my phone. I'll figure it out.

[TrishaAnn92]

I like to be alone when I write, it helps with concentration. If I try to write with my husband in the room, I usually get distracted by the TV or he will start talking to me. If I try to write with my kids in the room, I will not be writing. Haha

[CornishViking]

I love to be alone when I write...but its a rare occurrence. Its usually chaos here!

[meadow730]

When I write, I like to be alone, where it's quiet so I can concentrate on what I am writing and my train-of-thought. It's very easy to get pulled into what you are writing. Sometimes time seems to fly by and before you know it hours have passed and you have expressed so many ideas but you have only scratched the surface. It's easier to be in a quiet place so you don't get distracted by noises or other people.

[zaynab_m]

I prefer writing with no one else in my surroundings, though it's not impossible if someone else is there. Even if just one person is in my room when I'm trying to write, it's a bit distracting, even when they're completely silent. Of course, I can't write in noisy surroundings. It's practically impossible to concentrate! -Zaynab

[Christine_B]

I much prefer being alone when I write because otherwise I feel self conscious about what i'm writing. In general the environment around me doesn't really affect me when i'm writing. It's always been crazy loud in my house so I've gotten used to it. I like to write while i'm listening to music it makes me get into the mood of writing and have a rhythm to the words i'm writing.

[Pectabyte]

I prefer being in the room and working with my co-author in a google doc. We've known each other since kindergarten and springboard off each other very well.

[moderntimes]

Sharing a medium size apartment with a live-in girlfriend, neither of us is alone in the sense of isolation. But we're both grownups and have had relationships with others and so on, so she and I both know how to carve out personal space. So we may be in the same room, my gf reading a book and I'm writing, and we sort of leave each other alone for a while.

There's a thin line of course, as with any live-in relationship -- we are "together" but we also don't impinge on each other. It works out most of the time, which is all anyone could expect. When my gf sees me deep into the keyboard and frowning to myself, maybe grumbling, she knows I'm writing and not just surfing around like now, and to "stay away" ha ha. Likewise when she's intense on one of her projects, I know that it's best to cut her some slack.

So... I'm not generally alone in a physical sense when I'm writing but I "wall off" distractions pretty well. Hey, working in a big newsroom, you learn to focus.