Finding out you're a social writer

I've realised that I'm perhaps a rare breed - I'm a social writer. 

That doesn't mean I like to write in a roomful of people. I still have to be alone pretty much of the time, scribbling in notebooks or tapping away on the laptop to actually get words and ideas down and work out what's going to happen to Tilda while she's in Nargan (Book number 4 of the series - making slow but steady progress). 

What it does mean - for me at any rate - is that actually, I think what I enjoy most about calling myself a writer is having the opportunity to talk about writing and books and helping people with their writing, based on my own experiences. 

Now, as we all know, the coronavirus restrictions have prevented much of that kind of opportunity from happening; it affects the everyday, not just writing. I haven't been into the school library to talk books with students since last March, haven't been into any schools to do a creative writing day, and I miss my little writing group with all the different prompts we used to challenge ourselves with. 

There have been moments of interaction of course - the virtual zoom launch for Tilda and the Mines of Pergatt, for example. Dropping off signed copies of the paperback to local readers or the Post Office for another. But on the whole, my motivation to write, on my own and within my own four walls because there are simply no other options for venue in a covid-riddled world, simply isn't as strong when I don't have the opportunities to interact with other writers and readers. 

It's made me wonder what I like more - writing stories, or meeting the people who read what I've written or who I might be able to help? 

Thing is, I wouldn't have one without the other, would I? 

So on that note, I'd best get back to Tilda. I left her in a coach, on the way to Nargan... 

Now where did I put my pen?