A blog post today over at Book View Cafe (which linked to an article) got me to thinking about a conversation I had some years ago with Dana Cameron.

It was the deadest of the dead dog Sunday evenings, after the close of Malice Domestic. I'd planned to stick around for one drink, then found myself chatting with Dana until nearly 11:00 that evening, in the tapas bar.

Can't recall exactly when this occurred, but I know I was plotting out my 2nd book, so you do the math.



Over some lovely Macallan, we discussed how we were both "high-functioning introverts" – a term which, if we did not coin, we used for the first time that night. Dana and I are both extremely socially capable. We can function in a crowd, whether as part of one or in front of one. We even enjoy it…for a certain amount of time that is flexible, depending on the situation.

At a convention, we're both "on". As writers, as panelists. We get no down time, unless we escape to our respective hotel rooms–a practice that I've come to embrace wholeheartedly.

We're not shy, far from it. The main difference between us introverts and extroverts is that my idea of a wonderful weekend consists of me spending time alone, recharging my energy. For an extrovert, being alone is anathema and they'd rather be around tons of people.

Neither of us are right or wrong. That's just the way we are. I don't think I'm breaking new ground to hazard a guess that most writers tend to be introverts.

The older I get, the easier it is for me to play hermit and sequester myself at home. Then again, with the awesomeness of the Intarwebz, I'm never really out of touch. I email/chat with friends. I catch up via Twitter & Facebook. I'm as much in touch with folks from NZ and Oz as I am with my local buddies. It's totally brilliant!

That said, I do sometimes get a bit stir-crazy (witness the snowpocalypse of a couple of years ago, where I was stuck in my then < 400SF studio for 10 solid days). That's where the day job and my interaction with real world people comes into play. It's a balance that I've come to rely on. Four days in the office, three days at home. It works for me. It keeps me sane enough to deal.

How about you? What keeps you sane if you're an introvert? Or if you're an extrovert?