Writing - a lonely business?

I write because I 'must'; I also write in order to earn a living. Most of my income comes from associated activities, not the writing itself, but as long as I am working with words, I am deliriously happy.

I've heard it said that writing is a lonely life but I've never found it so. Once I am 'into' a piece of writing, I am in the text and no longer 'here'. The characters who people my work are so real they sometimes walk the floor with me as I pace, trying out different responses for them. On the other hand, in order to write I need to be alone. There are many people who can write, no matter where they are or who is around them, but not me. I can take notes, jot down ideas, and do research, but I cannot create.

Growing up in a large household, I didn't have the luxury of being alone, so never wrote. Married, working and with children, I was never alone either. Besides, in those days it was the women who did all the housework, the cooking, cleaning and so on, so time was short too. But those years were not wasted; I read voraciously, I kept journals, and I made notes and jotted down ideas.

It was only after my children were grown up that I finally had both the time and the space to write. I joined a writing group, I took classes, and I got involved in the writing community. In other words, I began my apprenticeship.

In these times, writers probably do have it a bit easier, with partners who are willing to lend a hand with the housework, but it still can be a long process from blank page to publication. It took a couple of years before I had my first piece published, and then there was a bit of a drought before the second; I have not seen a flood yet, but I do manage to earn enough to keep myself alive, and to enable me to continue to indulge my passion - words, language and writing.