Where do you write?

shannonmac · Jul 22, 2008

In a world of distractions... ie: internet, phone, work, life...

where do you write?

currently I write in my bonus room of my house (meaning I put a desk in there and that is where my laptop is located), however I'm wondering if I left the house and sought a place that was a bit quieter and out of my normal "safe zone" if I would feel more productive and get more done.

Thoughts?

p.s. I don't have kids, I have dogs who seem to know when I'm busy and howl at me while I write (mommy can't type and scratch your back at the same time). But I do constantly find myself looking something up on the web, and then I end up surfing, and then I end up downstairs throwing in laundry, and then I want something to eat. I kind of remind myself of how I used to be in elementary/high school when I was told to go get my homework done. This isn't often, when I am in the zone, I am in the zone (if only I could concentrate for 3 seconds to find the zone!)

maybe I just have A.D.H.D.....

Gillhoughly · Jul 22, 2008

Where you write is less important than getting to a place in your head where you CAN write.

Ol' 61 · Jul 22, 2008

I am so lucky that we had a bat in our house two winters ago, and it swooped into my youngest son's room. It freaked him out so much he moved in with his older brother. So I have a desk in the old bedroom, with a couple of bookcases and a dresser. I painted it a happy yellow color, and if I can just get my hubby to put up my curtain rod, I could actually get dressed there in the mornings, since I commandeered the closet too!

Had this not occurred, I would be dragging my laptop off to the bookstore, which is what I did before we moved into this house. One really does need a room of one's own!

Sometimes, if inspired, I will write at work, if I am at a lull. Unfortunately, I get interrupted a lot by the woman in the office next to me, who has to share every piece of drama from her life...but that's another thread! If her life was interesting, it would make a great book. But, alas, it isn't.

Cecilia

shannonmac · Jul 22, 2008

Gillhoughly said:
Where you write is less important than getting to a place in your head where you CAN write.

that is quite possibly the best bit of advice I have heard in a long time!!!

Ren · Jul 22, 2008

I get up early every morning, before my son or husband are up, and ride my bike a few blocks to the coffee shop. I cheat a little and leave my laptop at home so I can't get distracted by the internet or IMing people; I just bring my notebooks and pens.

I'm lucky in that my husband works second shift and doesn't have to leave the house until 2.30, so I can have 4-7 hours of time to write, if I want it.

superman skivvies · Jul 22, 2008

I write in the center of those distractions; at a computer, and recently with the AW forums waiting patiently in the taskbar for me to need to look something up and then get derailed here for forty-five minutes. It's a good system, though. Checks and balances.

Inkspill · Jul 22, 2008

I write in my room, in the most secluded part of the house. I crank up some soft music (however oxymoronic that phrase may be) and start typing.
It's really all about the state of mind, as Gillhoughly said. If I don't feel like working, I could be in the most writing-conducive environment ever and I will not get anything done. Likewise in the most distracting environment, if I want to work enough.

WannabeWriter · Jul 22, 2008

I write at home and also on the train ride to and from work.

Mythica · Jul 22, 2008

My bed, up against some propped up pillows. Sometimes I'm writing on my boyfriend's couch when I'm over there. Watching a bunch of college guys play video games for six hours straight can get boring. Writing is a nice escape.

Gillhoughly · Jul 22, 2008

shannonmac said:
that is quite possibly the best bit of advice I have heard in a long time!!!

I stole it from Joe Bob Briggs:

Nobody can tell you how to write,
but there are certain things you can do
to get to a place where you can write.
There are three of them:

Write every day.
Write every day.
Write every day.
This is all I know.

ChaosTitan · Jul 22, 2008

Also agreeing with Gillhoughly's advice. I don't need to be in a specific place, with a specific drink, or specific music. If I have free moments and a pen/paper (or computer, if I'm home), I'll write. Crowded hallway, lunch break at work, wherever.

simplyaven · Jul 22, 2008

I write in the living room with my 4-month old son next to me on his playmat. I don't get distracted. When I need to write it's an urge, so nothing can really disturb me. I don't mind the baby being here too because I can always share time with him and then go back to writing. Besides, he sometimes helps me to take an important break and look back toward what I've written (in my mind).

Sunshine13 · Jul 22, 2008

Must be nice. I simply haven't got to that point yet.

I once had my own office, but then I gave it to my daughter and made it a playroom. So the living room is where I write, on the couch. Probably why I end up getting adjusted or massaged (not as much as I'd like). So not comfortable after a long time.

But my favorite is the coffee shop up the street. I get about 2 hours on the weekend where my husband watches the kiddo so I can write.

But I can't wait until school starts, she'll go two days a week for 5 hours, so I'll have about 8 hours of writing time a week. Woot! I plan on doing it other than the house. I get too easily distracted by chores and stuff.

simplyaven · Jul 22, 2008

May be including kids in the process is not a bad idea. I'm a freak when it comes to children and reading - books are a must. I read to him when I write and this way I revise and he gets used to the reading

Straka · Jul 23, 2008

When I was younger I had to write an specific spots... but as I did it more, I found I could write anywhere. Generally its at my desk. For long spells I really need my ergonomic keyboard less my hands fall off.

Deccydiva · Jul 23, 2008

I'm on my own in a house where the nearest neighbour is a ten minute walk away and the nearest shop is four miles. The ground floor is open plan so it's my living, cooking, writing and sleeping space. The computer is right in the middle by a lot of big windows so I can gaze into the wilderness and watch hares, birds, butterflies... do I get distracted? Probably, if it's not the wildlife on going on a forum it's Judge Judy or Jeremy Kyle on TV! (Research, I call it!)
I walk the dogs three times a day and on the walks I run things through my mind especially if I am stuck on a plotline or character then dash back to the computer to get it down, however roughly, before I forget it! All the writing is done at the computer, there's nothing jotted on pieces of paper, I would lose them very quickly in the mess around me.

tehuti88 · Jul 23, 2008

That's weird, I thought I answered a question like this yesterday... o_o Oh well. Don't mind doing it again!

I write at the computer in our unused dining room merely because that's where the computer is!

And I write by hand far too slowly to keep up with my brain (plus I tend to backspace a lot, and using the eraser, well, that's just excruciatingly slow).

It'd be nice to try writing elsewhere, but without a laptop, or the patience to do it by hand and then have to type up the copy later, I don't imagine that happening soon.

Leaving your safe zone to try to get more done? It depends on how you deal with your surroundings. I keep thinking I'd love to write outdoors, but I'd be distracted by the bugs and by people walking by (I'm terribly shy) and such. It'd be nice to go sit in my favorite place and write, but then I'd be too happy being in my favorite place to get any writing done!

The computer in the dining room, at least, is pretty mundane and dull so I can focus on the writing itself and not on my surroundings. (Though I do look out the window sometimes.)

I am never online when I write. I keep the two strictly separate. I guess this is the one advantage of dialup.

scribbler1382 · Jul 23, 2008

The 2nd largest bedroom in the house is my "office". Unfortunately, this meant fixing up one of the other bedrooms to be my wife's office (fair's fair, I guess...luckily we have a four bedroom house and only one kid!). The only thing I don't like about it is my office isn't just for writing. All the finances, computers, etc. goes on in here. More often than not, I take my laptop (sometimes my Alphasmart Dana) into the unfinished basement and sit on a 17 year old ratty couch to write.

If it didn't sound like more busywork to avoid writing, I think I'd finish a small room in the basement with only enough space for a table, a chair. Sound-proofed of course, with a big-ass door. No phone, no email and an evil curse for anyone dumb enough to knock. <sigh> Yeah, I wish.

NatJM · Jul 23, 2008

I wrote the bulk of my debut novel long-hand while commuting to work and during my lunch break at my desk.

Now, I am in the editing stages and I do that at home, on my computer in the bedroom, but I am considering getting a laptop and doing my editing in coffeeshops and in big bookstores (I wish we had Barnes and Noble in England, but the big Borders on Charing Cross Road is quite good).

For me, I find that my best writing comes when I need to escape from the noise around me so being in a public place is actually very helpful. However, comfort is an important concern as I do have back problems so I couldn't afford sitting on a bad chair for too long.

darrtwish · Jul 23, 2008

I write in my bedroom, where my computer is. I'd like to be able to lounge around the house and write wherever, but due to the fact that I only have a desktop I can't. I will scribble random ideas down wherever though, and I like to do revisions somewhere other than my room, but all actually getting words down on paper happens in my room.

DeleyanLee · Jul 23, 2008

When I first started writing, I shared a bedroom with all three of my sisters. I quickly learned how to block out distractions that didn't threaten physical injury.

Now it doesn't really matter WHERE I write, so long as I've got all the mental/emotional things in place. The hardest time for me to find is time just to let my mind wander and explore the possibilities of the story without falling asleep. Actually sitting down and putting it on paper is the no-brainer.

shannonmac · Jul 23, 2008

The funny thing is, I always find that I have these great ideas on my way in and out of work. I used to carry a small notebook, but found myself trying to jot things down in traffic, I think I need one of those tape recorders, so I can just dictate to myself. I wish there was a train or bus I could take to make use of the 35 miles each way!!!
(oh yeah and it would save me on gas too!!)

scribbler1382 · Jul 23, 2008

shannonmac said:
The funny thing is, I always find that I have these great ideas on my way in and out of work. I used to carry a small notebook, but found myself trying to jot things down in traffic, I think I need one of those tape recorders, so I can just dictate to myself. I wish there was a train or bus I could take to make use of the 35 miles each way!!!
(oh yeah and it would save me on gas too!!)

I tried that when I was driving a couple hours each day (tape recorder), but though I'd record stuff, I almost never transcribed it out. Traffic noise was a problem, too. I take the train now, and alternate between my Alphasmart Dana, cell phone and notepad, but know I don't HAVE to pay attention or die, I also read and sleep a lot!

sharla · Jul 23, 2008

Ol' 61 said:
I am so lucky that we had a bat in our house two winters ago...

That would make a great hook!!!

Just that beginning sentence made me laugh and I had to see why.

Pachydermia · Jul 23, 2008

oh- i am in the process of rearranging my room so i can have a specific writer's office.
(well, okay, that wasn't the reason at first... but now it is!)
i have written on my bed, but writing in bed always seems to be counter-productive for me, because when i'm in bed i'm like- oh, this isn't important, i'm just lounging!
and then i get on absolute write.
so- i have a desk (built into a bookshelf) that i wrote the entirety of my nano novel on, and that seems to work for me.

on the xubject of coffee shops- i've never understood the fascination. Surely i'm not the only ADD author out there who can't sit for five minutes in a coffe shop without people-watching.
hmm

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