Do you like to be alone when you write?

[JanDem21]

I think out loud when I write so I perfer solitude and no interpretation or distractions. Thinking out loud helps keep me on track, though I might take longer than you average person to fill up a whole page. I ask my self questions like "Is that really something they would say?" Or "Does it make sense for them to react like that?" My family finds it weird but for me its helpful. I like when its quiet and I'm the only one home, I can work in the kitchen and eat a snack. Though if I have someone I can bounce ideas off of and they respect that I need quiet then I don't mind if I have company.

[Vermont Reviews]

I do prefer to be alone when I write. I write at home or at the library. And sometimes by the lake.

[moderntimes]

Over the years, I've learned to wall myself off for study and writing. In a large collegiate environment, you cannot always be alone to work. So it became necessary for me to create an artificial separation for working, even if sitting in a student union with noise all around.

This has worked very well for me and now I can write (and read) in most any environment. Concentration is necessary but it's better than not writing unless you're in the perfect quiet and sedate locale. Hey, I share a nice cozy apartment with my wonderful girlfriend, and she can't be asked to sit like a stump while I'm writing.

Best to learn to work amidst distractions. Let's face it -- in the business world, where you're working for a living, you cannot always have a nice shell to sit inside of. So it's a good idea to learn how to wall off distractions by willpower.

[Msshannonperry]

Yes, unless I'm collaborating with someone else on a book or poem. Usually, I prefer to write alone.

[Braktooth]

I can write in a variety of environments, but what I really prefer is dark and quiet. All I want to hear is my music and the keyboard. If the room is dark except for my work area, even better. I find reality distracting when I'm really trying to think, especially creatively.

[moderntimes]

As I say, sometimes it's just not possible to work in seclusion. So it helps to develop a "magical protective shell" so you can work among distractions. Not a perfect solution but one I've found works for me.

[JudyM5]

I like to be alone in a room but I don't have to be alone in the house. I like silence and warmth.

[moderntimes]

Being in a relationship, the monkish solitude some require just isn't a possibility for me, unless I weirdly break up with my terrific girlfriend.

I therefore am able to create my own "cone of silence" around me despite the fact that my lady love is sitting nearby. She thankfully respects when I'm deep into my laptop and so she doesn't interrupt unless the house is afire.

[Mille]

I absolutely have to be alone to write. I can't even have music on. It's too hard to access those subtle thoughts and feelings that can really transform a piece of writing if you are distracted.

[moderntimes]

As I said, I learned to write within distractions when in college. And that served me well working for a big newspaper as a "stringer" -- a stringer is paid for piecework but not on salary. Nevertheless, back in the old days of manual typewriters (big clunky and noisy Underwoods), you'd be sitting at a desk in the main newsroom, nicknamed "the pit", with maybe 30 other desks, everyone at each desk pounding away on a story. These were not even electric typewriters -- the big old manual types, which made a helluva lot of noise. Multiply that by 30, have phones ringing all the time, newsboys running back and forth, people shouting "copy!" and editors yelling at someone in the pit?

And you STILL had to write a story, and do a good job, too. Someone who just had to sit in solitude and quiet? Wouldn't last a week in a newspaper office. You've seen movies of press rooms? It's just like that except more chaotic and noisy.

I guarantee that this cures anyone of the solitude gene, ha ha.

These days, of course my girlfriend respects my need to be uninterrupted, and if I'm working on a book review or article or book, I'll let her know that I'm in the "cone of silence" (kudos to the old TV show Get Smart) and so things are rather easy going. But never totally quiet. I just don't need it any more.

I however cannot listen to music when writing. Loving classical, Mozart and Beethoven always win -- you cannot just listen to them as background stuff. Being trained in music, I find myself following the patterns and themes and so I really cannot play music while writing or reviewing. But random stuff is fine.

[Loverockers]

Definitely. I get the privacy I need to think without any distractions. Plus, when I'm thinking too hard, I make weird faces (lol) and sometimes, when I'm not sure if the scene if flowing smoothly, I act it out. So yeah, I like to be alone when I write.

[Jolyon Trevelyan]

Yes i do prefer to be alone when i write.

[joefowler]

I MUST be alone to write. Any distraction and my mind goes wonky. I need peace to keep what's left of my mind working properly.

[prospero1501]

I absolutely HAVE to be alone when I write, at least when I'm at home, due to distractions from the kid, pets, or husband demanding my attention. Once they come home, the t.v. goes on, so I have to wait until they go to bed. Sometimes, I can write at a Starbucks because none of the background noise is directed toward me, or requires my attention.

[Grant Costello]

I'd love to be alone when I write. I have a noisy wife and two kids with autism, so it's rarely peaceful when plying my craft. But a survivor finds ways to survive.