In an interview, one of my favorite illustrator/authors, Shaun Tan (“Tales from Outer Suburbia,” “The Arrival”) talked about creative people and solitude:
“It’s always this thing where people have got good ideas and people are great artists, but it takes a certain kind of personality to be able to sit still for that long. People often overlook that when they talk about creativity.
Skill is one aspect, but the other aspect is sheer doggedness and ability to work through the tedium…This sort of work can be quite introverted and you can spiral into it…
That’s one thing that’s bad about the job sometimes—the lack of interaction with people. I think humans are designed to interact with other people on a regular basis.”
If, like me, you sometimes tend to get a bit too isolated, schedule some days out interacting with people.
One great way to find people who share your interests is to go to Meetup.com. There are groups all around the world based on just about any topic you can think of. Most of them are free or have a token charge to help pay for a meeting venue.