It is said that the writing life is lonely, and in some ways it is: you're working by yourself -- no one there to talk to, no one to share what's going on. But when you're actually writing, you're in your own world, oblivious to whatever surrounds you, and you don't feel alone. Your characters are your friends and you're fully engaged with them. Nevertheless, published or unpublished, you hunger for sympathetic companionship. You can join writers' groups or spend a lot of money going to conferences, not necessarily to sell or advertise your work, but to mingle with writers and, incidentally, to network.

Or you can, as suggested by Martha Grimes, read biographies and autobiographies of writers, not necessarily to learn from their experiences (although you will), but for companionship. You enter the world of a writer and become a part of that world. You're a writer and s/he's a writer and you're together while you're reading about her or his life. It's an illusion and probably a little crazy, but so what? Eliminate the madness from your life and what do you have? Tedium or worse.

Have you read Martha Grimes's FOUL MATTER? It's a funny novel about writing and the publishing business by a first-rate writer. Try David Morrell's LESSONS FROM A LIFETIME OF WRITING. It's informative as well as fun to read. One of the best by one of the best is Annie Dillard's THE WRITING LIFE. If you want to go out west with a writer, try Tony Hillerman's and Ernie Bulow's TALKING MYSTERIES. And for a gathering of pieces by writers about writing, try JUST OPEN A VEIN, edited by William Brohaugh. Tons of books about the writing life are out there. Curl up on the sofa with one.