"They say to write what you know… so crazy cats and laundry?"

I know, I know. I know a lot more things than crazy cats and laundry. But having my world consist of them for a couple weeks has been very relaxing.

Some writers need constant inspiration from the world around them. Others need to be more isolated, to let the ideas emerge from their subconscious. As I stated in an earlier post, I tend to feel like my writing is more "seeing" than it is creating, so I would class myself in the second group.

I know that I need social interactions, that I can't be by myself all day, every day. Still, I have a higher need for solitude than a lot of people. Trips to the library and the grocery store, choir rehearsals and possibly dance lessons, and plenty of correspondence with my fans seem to fit my needs just fine.

Of course, I'm still on vacation at this point. I'm learning the ins and outs of the voice-recognition software, finding out how difficult or easy it is to let it work for me. I've also had an expected but still annoying reaction to hearing my writing spoken aloud.

I'm used to having my writing go straight from my thoughts onto the page without any audible input. Even though I work alone, in my bedroom, fairly late at night when my roommate is sleeping and the only people around to hear me are the cats (who aren't people but you know what I mean)…

Well, what I'm trying to say is, I get embarrassed. Hearing spoken aloud the words that have played in my head, even in my own voice, makes me self-conscious.

Although I've heard my work read aloud before, it was always finished. When I saw flaws, there was nothing I could do except promise myself I wouldn't make that same mistake again. Irrationally, with a work in progress, I feel more humiliated by imperfections and end up stopping before I get very far.

I know that recognizing a problem like this is the first step to fixing it. I just wish someone could tell me what the second step was!

(Note to readers: No, this does not mean that I'm not going to write. It just means I've hit my first obstacle and am working on a way to get around it. Thoughts are welcome, but please, phrase them politely. This is a family blog.)