Admitting What We Really Are

Last night I caught myself babbling to myself in the kitchen as I was fixing my dinner at 10pm. It all made sense to me. I was working out dialogue from the chapter I'm writing. My kitten was by my feet, waiting for some shreds of cheese and intently fixated on her daddy. She may have been wondering if I was having a stroke or breakdown, but was likely just waiting for me to open the bag of cheddar jack and spill some on the floor for her.

I realized what I had been doing and chuckled to myself. It would look pretty weird but I catch myself doing this kind of thing fairly often. I've also been known to zone out for minutes at a time, lost somewhere in the pages of my work in progress. I'll rouse from my reverie as my wife is shooting daggers at me for vacantly looking at a wall while she is talking to me or asking me a question.

Maybe I'm alone in this, as a writer, but I kind of doubt it. I think it's time that we all stand up and admit that we are a different breed of human being. I have come to terms with the fact that I am eccentric and am learning to embrace it. I've always been a bit aloof (which is probably why my wife's stuffy ragdoll cat and I get along so well,) but over the past year I have noticed more and more often that I will start thinking about something involving my stories and mentally leave the world around me for a few minutes.

Saturday we had some company up at the lake and we were all playing with the kids out in the lake. I caught myself wandering away from the group as I was contemplating how to add a romantic side story to part 3 of Maestra that didn't exist in the first draft. It kind of hit me out of nowhere and I didn't even realize that I silently left my group of friends, wandering out past a buoy in contemplation of how to add depth to my writing.

I'm curious if other writers find themselves doing similar things like this. I doubt I am alone in this. Regardless, I'm ready and willing to finally admit what I am:

Eccentric, aloof, solitary, quiet, reflective, obtuse, quizzical, introspective...in other words; a Writer!

Let's admit it: We're a touch odd. I am fine with it and wouldn't have it any other way (my wife might.)