Going from full-time employment in a demented office setting to the solitary life of a writer working at home has had a few well-intentioned people telling me to make sure I get out among other humans regularly, lest I become a semi-feral hermit, now that I no longer have to deal with colleagues, clients and superiors. I suppose some fear that I might end up holding lengthy conversations with my dog during the daytime, when Mrs Thomson is away. That’s not to say the dog isn’t a good listener. He is, but he’s not the talkative kind so an observer might think that I’m just a little off kilter if I do it too often. It got me to thinking about the introvert versus the extrovert. By natural inclination, I’m the former, but during my working career, I’ve had to pass as the latter if only so I could seem to be someone who might actually be enthusiastic and motivated about the job. So many people in my former line of business tend to be on the extrovert end of the scale that getting along meant going against some of my own instincts. Working as a writer at home, I no longer have to pretend and that notion comes as a relief after decades of putting on a façade for the world. I stumbled across an amusing article earlier today that compares introverts and extroverts and figured I’d share it. Take a look and see if you recognize yourself. I know I did.
http://www.quietrev.com/6-illustrations-that-show-what-its-like-in-an-introverts-head/
The first draft of Fatal Blade (Decker’s War – Book 3) is past the three-quarters mark and things are heating up for Decker. In the last week, I’ve been able to write a full chapter, ten pages or so, a day and while it won’t be done quite as per the schedule I’d set myself, i.e. by the first of April, it won’t take much longer after that. Then, it’ll be the rounds of re-writing, editing, proofreading, etc. I’ve told my editor to clear her calendar for mid-April and I hope to be able to send her the manuscript by then. In the meantime, though Spring has sprung, we’re battening down for a last snowstorm due tomorrow. Since I’m now on pre-retirement leave, I can thank my lucky stars I don’t have to live the messy commute that comes with every little weather hiccup. Listening to the traffic report on the radio is quite enough.
To the emancipated cube slave:
You have been the victim of delusion. There is no free world; it is just an office painted in different colors. With windows. (But you still do not have to worry about the commute home.)
Paint your office walls beige, cover the windows, play soothing PA announcements. Set up a cube-like refreshment station, like a coffee maker, candy machine, and soft drink machine.
Chain yourself to that keyboard. Stop wasting time, because your readers have hired an ex-college Writing Professor to badger you for every chapter.
Sincerely,
your fan club
Delusion – hmmm. That might explain the voice I hear demanding status updates, bi-weekly reports, daily word counts and fresh blog posts. Strangely enough he sounds like Zack Decker and not my former cube slave master. Yes, yes – I’m getting back to the manuscript now.
Speaking as a fellow cubical dust bunny I am so very happy for you. I’ve got about seven or eight years before retirement and I know that I will happily allow my inner introvert to shine free when I finally get there.