Where do you write? I write in my mind. But I can’t get completely in to my mind if I’m in certain places physical.
Home is the worst. Too easily distracted by tasks and jobs that are ongoing. Dishes, laundry, yard work, all these things seem to call to me. And they’re not calling pleasantly. Dammit.
That’s not to say that you, or I, can’t write at home. It just requires some planning. You need a place in the home that has no other purpose.
This is sanctuary
It’s okay to have a window in that place, so long as it doesn’t have a good view of the uncut, unkempt lawn.
If there is music available in said place of seclusion, it’s best if the music is canned or streamed. Adverts on radio can be distracting. News can be worse.
Respect your sanctuary
Never use the space you set aside for writing, for anything else. Do not sew there. Do not read there. Do not fold laundry in that space or do income tax or watch TV there. (What are you doing with a TV in that room anyway???)
The trick to writing at home is to have a space that is for writing only. Get your mind and body trained to understand that when you enter that space you will be writing.
Does this mean you can only write in that space?
Hellz No! You are a writer. You can write anywhere. But not doing anything but writing in that space means that it is your writing sanctuary. When you sit down to write in the kitchen or the living room or on the deck, and the world keeps calling to you in its ongoing effort to distract, your response will be to go to the space that is only for writing.
If you’re in your space and you choose to go somewhere else to continue writing, that’s your choice. But if it doesn’t work, you can always return to your sanctuary.
Where else?
Where? Anywhere. Cafés are often great places to write, there is nothing within a café’s walls that is typically your responsibility. But beware that you do not overuse the café of your preference.
I personally was unable to get even 100 words of this very post contrived at my favourite café as everyone who walked in through the door was someone I knew who was wanting to exchange pleasantries at least, and one or two would have settled in for the long talk. So I left.
So if writing in cafés or other places of similar nature appeals to you than by all means avail yourself of them.
But remember, there’s always your sanctuary. You do have a sanctuary, right?
