Where and When I Write

There is something I noticed.

I've been advised in various writing books (such as those by Stephen King and Chris Fox) to set aside a time and a place for writing every day.  Various criteria are given as to how to chose the location, how long to write, and so on.  This is not the subject of this post ... what is written in those books can be found in those books.  This is about what I observed about myself.


Yes, it is difficult to write when I am working in the same space as another human being, particularly one who frequently interrupts or randomly interjects communication when I am mid typing, resulting in a situation where my creative flow is lost.

That is not the only issue though.  How did I discover this?  By trying.

First thing in the morning, when I am alone, and said person is sleeping next door, I still don't feel like writing.

When I am away from home alone, staying in a hotel room, and said person is on the other side of a great ocean, sleeping peacefully in another time zone, with no imminent threat of interruption, I still (usually) don't feel like writing.  First thing in the morning or otherwise.  I wish I could say it was otherwise, but it is not.

When do I feel like writing? When does the "muse" visit my otherwise bored and empty mind (since I'm being quite honest here)?  Well, for me, it is while I am out walking.

Walking outdoors, whether it is for a short errand or an all-day coffee-shop jumping excursion, is when ideas come to my mind.  Little pieces of dialog.  Little bits of plot.  Random scenes of untold stories, or even of stories I have had in my mind and in my laptop for many years.  This is when they come.

I record them by voice, or I sit down in a coffee shop and type them up on my phone.  I even got one of those little portable lightweight USB keyboards for this purpose.  I can connect it to my phone with Bluetooth so that I have a somewhat proper keyboard for the time being, without having to lug a heavy laptop all over town with me.

Or I jot down the thought, or record it by voice, and continue the flow of the concept once I return home.

"Read a lot, and write a lot," is what they say.  Or, it is what Stephen King says that "they" say, in his book, On Writing. I've been struggling to comply with the "write a lot" part of this within the framework of my current lifestyle, constant travel, packed schedule, and a mind full of vital and incomplete projects connected with not just my future but the betterment of Man.  First thing in the morning, I'm more likely to work on literacy materials or tackle technicalities connected with email deliverability, than I am to sit down and plug away at a work of fiction.  Perhaps that will change in the future - I hope it does, and it is my goal that it does.  

But for now, walking may be my key.  

Location: Tintagel PL34, UK

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