Over the years as our family grew, my “writing room” stayed mostly constant, until it eventually became a bedroom for kiddie # 3 and I moved my writing desk to the basement.
That didn’t last too long since the basement ended up becoming our bedroom. Now my “writing office” is usually the kitchen table (although there are also times where it was the living room couch, or even the living room floor). The kitchen table certainly has it’s drawbacks, as it lacks sufficient privacy and I can’t listen to music as loud I would would prefer, for fear of waking up the other humans inhabiting our side of the duplex.
It’s really interesting to me to see how you setting affects your writing, in both good and bad ways.
Way back when, in the days where I still had my own computer room / library / office on the lower level in our house, most of my writing took place there. I would turn off all the lights except for a small lamp over my computer desk. I’d pick out music that fit the mood of what I’m working on and it was actually a pretty cozy place to write.
While it was mostly great, it wasn’t perfect. First off was the placement of my desk. It sat with it’s back facing the doorway to the room. You might not think about it at first, but there were times when that made it really hard to write. Like most writers, I don’t like the idea of anyone reading over my shoulder. While I know my wife has never done that and probably never would, that lingering paranoia still exists that she (or anyone else) could pop up behind me and see an unfinished product, thus embarrassing me and crushing my self esteem as a writer. Okay, I exaggerate a bit on that last part, but you catch my drift–no writer likes the idea of someone unexpectedly viewing an unfinished work in progress.
In this aspect, the kitchen table has been somewhat helpful. Considering about half of what I write is horror, I have to admit I wasn’t always crazy about having my back facing the doorway. It’s a lot safer to put on the creepiest new age music I can find, dim the lights and try to scare myself into writing something terrifying when I know that if there is a monster lurking in the shadows, at least I’ll be able to see him when he comes for me. So there’s that.
As fun as it is writing in the middle of the night, I do my best work at the Scooter’s up the street. I’ll often head there on a weekend for a good two or three hours. I’m more productive there because I know that there is nothing to distract me so I can really get in the zone and push out a couple thousand words like it’s nothing. The only drawback there is that the coffee isn’t free, and neither are the cookies. Sometimes the wireless connection is spotty, but that isn’t a bad thing when I need help keeping the distractions of the internet at bay.
In closing I just want to emphasize how important your location can be. You’ve got to find a quiet relaxing place with minimal distractions where you can get in the zone and get your best writing done.
And what about you? What are your best (or worst) writing locations. Leave a comment and let us know!
