Writing is a solitary pursuit. It takes silence, concentration, patience, and provides a ready excuse to escape any awkward family gathering.
It also takes the forbearance of your friends and family as you toil away on the page or laptop and anguish over rejection letters and bad reviews.
What do they think about it?
My husband is hostile and unsupportive. Not a great writing environment.
I'm in the middle of writing my first novel. I'm not so lucky. It's considered a hobby (not a real job) to my family.
My husband doesn't understand the life of a writer. I require solitude, understanding. We live in a cramped apartment where we are basically right on top of each other. I have no place to hide unless I write at the local coffee house. He seems to require alot of attention and often tries to wrench me away from my laptop, and has been known to come looking for me at the coffee house. If I'm at home, I write when he is at work or early in the morning on weekends when it is quiet.
Other people I meet and admit to them I'm writing a novel seem to be impressed about it and I have a few very supportive friends who read/comment on my work.
Sometimes I can discuss plot snags with my husband. But I have to do this obviously while I'm out to dinner or on a walk with him, time taken away from my writing. He often has very good ideas, but he refuses to read anything I write.