Last week I explored the issue of getting words onto a page. I identified the difference between ‘writing’ and ‘keyboarding’…and the need to always have a notebook on hand (or several). I keep one by my bedside, one in the car, one in my bag, one on the coffee table and one in the toilet. True dat!

As a writer, we ponder everything…ourselves, others and the world around us. We are also are a channel, that must be open and receptive to insights and answers to our inquisitiveness. In other words. we need to be open.

Yet, like many of my writing colleagues, we are also introverts, that really need time alone to think and process all this incoming information.

So this week, I pondered the dilemma of writing with the door ‘Open’ or ‘Closed’.

Naturally, I love to write with the door closed. It’s my ‘journal’ time, my contemplation time, my questioning time. In this space, I also read a lot…jotting down notes about another authors opinions, writing style or even their vocabulary. If so inclined, I can then start keyboarding…organising, formatting, editing…

This closed door space is an important space. Its safe and it’s productive. Here I sit…isolated, safe, productive and SO happy.

But I know, I KNOW…that I must interact. What good is a writer, when no one knows who you are. But, but, but…I don’t WANT to.

Knowing I must,…I open the door…..

I read & react on socials, I blog, I tweak my website, I share an online presence.

This open door writing, is as equally important as closed door time. It’s imperative.

It knocks the edge off of fear…fear of judgement…fear of vulnerability…fear of feedback!

Working outside the comfort zone has proven vital for my growth as a writer. Opening the door has exposed me in a way that I haven’t processed yet.

But, I’m finding that any fear has been mostly unjustified. At worst, there has been some social interaction, where miscommunication has required clarity. And although this is hellish in my world.  It is necessary.

I need to expose my thin skin to all part of the process.

Once this is openness is achieved with a dedicated, regular practice, I can then recoil back behind my closed door…to breathe, process and rejoice in my new-found community. It actually feels good.