I’m very attached to my writing spots at home. Not only do I have my own office space, but the kitchen table is directly below a skylight. Sitting there I receive a lot of natural light.
They’re both great places to work on rough drafts, edits/corrections, and generally create. Sometimes, however, there are too many distractions at home. My loved ones. Other tasks which need to be accomplished. Someone taking a drill to the pavement outside.
Sometimes I need a change. I take my notebook or my laptop and go somewhere else. I look for a cafe during its off hours within walking distance or I travel further away, taking my writing tools with me.
This works especially well on a day I have go someplace else for some other task. I look for a spot, before or after. I sit down, order a drink (often black decaf coffee) and start writing. If I have little money to spare, I search for a library or a park. (The latter is easier with a notebook than a laptop.) I find a place to write and start working.
It takes me a moment to adjust to my surroundings, but the change is often stimulating. I’ve surprised myself with what I’ve come up with in these spots.
I’ll never forget writing on the deck of the Celebrity Equinox, a once in a lifetime experience. The chair was awkward, the distance between my hands and the table uncomfortable. Yet I couldn’t have asked for a more inspiring view, looking out at the Mediterranean, breathing in the seabreeze off waters which lap the coasts of Italy and Spain.
Like I said that was a once in a lifetime experience, which I could never have done if someone hadn’t been generous enough to take me on a trip. If you get a chance to do something like that, seize the opportunity to write. There’s something magical about such a moment.
Not that magical moments need to be so costly. You could find a wonderful spot to write, which stimulates your creativity and is a less awkward place to sit. There are park benches, dry spots in the woods, views which overlook beaches all over the world. One might not be far away from you. Right now it might be too cold to visit, but such a spot might be stimulating to venture out to visit.
I’ve often found such spots. They can be filled with distractions. They also force my brain to work, leading my hands to follow it unexpected directions.
Have you ever found such a place, dear reader? One outside your regular writing space which you found particularly energizing?