The Power of Solitary Writing
By Maame Blue
It’s hard to find a quiet space for solitary writing sometimes, isn’t it? Even if you have a physical space in your home – an office, a shed, a clean corner of your bedroom – at times trying to block out the mental, emotional noise to focus on your writing can feel like pushing a boulder up a hill.
But the work requires that space, and as writers we need to find different ways to get into our internal world and into the story. Which means we need to get comfortable with being alone. That’s not to say that down the road, writing can’t be a collaborative process; finding fellow creatives can enrich a writer’s life, whether you’re sharing your work to build confidence, gain feedback, or even find inspiration. But the very first step is you, the page and whatever tool you’re using to write.
That means we have to shut out not just literal noise (besides music, if like me, you like to write to a soundtrack), but also the online noise. The videos and posts on social media that tell us exactly how someone else’s writing life is going, who is succeeding and failing at their own goals, and which authors are having wins, even the ones we look up to and hope to emulate one day. To get to the heart of what you’re writing, you have to focus on your work.
That means putting in the time with yourself, your own thoughts, feelings and ideas. Once you learn how to be comfortable in your own company, it can help you find solace and comfort in your solitary writing too. So here are some of the ways I’ve found leaning into the solitary, helpful to my writing.
- Writing in the morning.
You would have heard of morning pages before, but if you haven’t, it’s the practice of waking up and getting straight to the writing, even if you’re not fully awake. Me personally; I’ll wash my face to wake up a bit more and then I’m at the desk as soon as possible. If you have children, other caring responsibilities, or a full time job that pays the bills, rising very early in the morning might be your only time for quiet; a way to grab a moment just for you. I suggest that if approaching it for the first time, that you set up your writing nook/ desk/ corner the night before; get your notebook or laptop ready, so that you can literally roll out of bed and into the writing. And pay attention to how you feel during these quiet early mornings, because that will help you going forward.
- Writing in a crowded room.
I know we’re talking about the benefits of being alone when you write, so this probably seems contradictory, but it’s actually a great muscle to flex in the long term if you can master it. This is for those among you who can already stand white noise, and who also gain inspiration from being around other people. Whether you’re in a coffee shop, at the hairdressers, at a family gathering when everyone is chatting amongst themselves; inspiration strikes when it wants to and it helps if you’re always ready to grab it. It’s important to carve out that mental solitary space in your early morning routine, so that you recognise opportunities for it at other, less quiet times. If you’re able to pay attention to how you feel when you’re in that pocket of a writing flow (no matter where you are), the next time an idea strikes, you’ll be able to jump back into that mental space easily to jot something down, add something to your work in progress, or record that new idea that you can return to later.
- Making time to think.
Some people might call this procrastination but I’m offering an alternative perspective. Yes, sometimes we procrastinate because we’re afraid of failing, or the project feels too big, or we’ve set an unrealistic and unworkable goal for ourselves. But sometimes we just need more time to think. Even when you’re not writing, you’re probably writing – in your head. Thinking time; that solitary exercise that is entirely your own, deserves its own space and time too. Ideas need time to percolate and story problems need more than a few minutes to work through. So go for a walk. Do something with your hands. Socialise. Watch something that inspires you. Read something that makes you think. Be in the world and let your brain do the solitary work of building your writing practice for you.
Get comfortable with yourself and be your own first reader, because it pays to love what you’re writing, before anyone else does.
Maame Blue is the author of two novels; Bad Love, which won the 2021 Betty Trask award, and The Rest Of You, longlisted for the 2025 Jhalak Prose Prize. For TLC Maame reads Literary Fiction, Narrative Non Fiction, YA, Middle Grade, and you can find more about her here.
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