Quiet and Connection: Busting the myth of the solitary writer

Welcome back to 'The Life of H: Sarah, Reimagined,' where I share poetry about the biblical matriarch, Sarah. Today's poem is about traveling with Sarah, and speaking of traveling ...

In addition to this week’s poem, you’ll also find news of an upcoming virtual writing retreat that you don’t need to pack a bag — or break the bank — to attend. PLUS the recording and handouts from last week’s Dreaming on the Page Mini writing session are now available.

Writing alone in a garret might be a myth in need of an update. Photo by Bonnie Kittle on Unsplash

Maybe it’s because I used to be a journalist …

But the idea of only writing alone in some solitary garret isn’t my dream of the writer’s life.

Granted, I love my second-floor writing studio where I can look out the window at deer, squirrels, and the occasional fox or bear trotting down the hill across the street.

I also love taking my laptop to a café or propping my notebook on my knees while I write at the beach. The ambient sounds cocoon me in concentration — a skill I developed during the years when I had to churn out stories on deadline in a newsroom where desks were clustered together with no walls between them. The sound of fingers tapping on keyboards was punctuated by ringing phones and conversations between reporters and editors. Any ideal notion of a writer in a room of her own for quiet contemplation was quickly snuffed out for me.

Sure, there’s something to the myth of the solitary writer. I, and most writers I know, are overjoyed at having a day with nothing on the calendar but time alone to write.

And when I’m deep inside the imaginal dream in which I create a poem or paragraph, I’m less than cheerful if someone interrupts me.

Still, I love to peer over the top of my screen to see the back of other people’s laptops while they’re at work, too.

At least three times a week I meet virtually or in person with other writers. We say hello and check in for a few minutes, then we spend a couple of hours or more writing in each other’s silent company.

My idea of a relaxing getaway includes packing my laptop, yellow legal pads, and plenty of pens along with my bathing suit and sandals, and heading off to meet a group of writers with whom I’ll sit in a circle most of the day, not saying a word.

We don’t do much sightseeing, but we derive a lot of pleasure by penning poems and stories in one another’s company, sharing meals, and reading aloud from what we’ve written when the day is done.

Sarah’s story has found its way onto the page during many such gatherings. She’s been prodded to life by writing prompts I’ve received (or offered) in groups. And like a circle of doting aunts and uncles, the group members with whom I’ve shared hours of companionable silence, have encouraged Sarah as she’s continued to take form.

I’m sure there are plenty of writers who never join groups and can only create character and plot in seclusion. But I don’t happen to know any of them.

For me, and for the writers I know best, writing is a quiet ritual for connecting. What we’re doing is the most elemental act of bonding for members of our narrative-loving species.

Sitting in circles and sharing stories, in whatever form, is an impulse as old as time. It’s one that Sarah would surely recognize—though she’d need some coaching to get up to speed on the computer.

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What I wrote at one of those writing retreats

Today’s poem “Traveling with Sarah,” tracks my thoughts as I drove north through New England, en route to a writing retreat in Coastal Maine.

Listen now:

”Traveling with Sarah,” ©️Copyright Tzivia Gover, Third House Moon, LLC, all rights reserved.

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Speaking of writing in community, you won’t want to miss this:

The writing retreat you don’t need to pack — or break the bank — to attend

Register now for the summer Stay Home and Write online retreat.

In this low-cost Write-at-Home retreat, you’ll work on a big project or just get in the flow with daily writing prompts and virtual check-ins with a community of other writers.

A weekend retreat, Aug. 16-18, from 4 p.m. Friday through 4:30 p.m. Sunday. $75 regular price with generous sliding scale price options.

Learn more here.

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The Dreaming on the Page Mini Writing Workshops are my way of saying thank you to all subscribers to my newsletters.

Plus, paid subscribers receive even more bonuses, like the ones below …

Missed the Dreaming on the Page Mini Writing Circle on May 14? No worries. Your replay and handouts are in here ⤵️