A Place to Write

Aside from joining a writing guild, the best move I made was getting a dedicated writing room. Three years ago, we moved to a larger house and I was able to convert one of the bedrooms into a writing nook. No more trying to write at the kitchen table, sitting on the couch the bed, or deck where and the continuous interruptions from television and conversation.

A writing space doesn’t have to be an official office, rather your own space where you are comfortable, relatively free of interruptions, and have the necessary resources at hand. One author stated that she writes in coffee shops, spending a couple of hours in one before moving to another, then another. Another has a storage shed converted into “writing shed”. Yet another, an office with his desk facing a blank wall where he isn’t distracted by the view out the window.

For me, I prefer a room with a view, and closing the blinds or the door work well for those occasions when I need to block it out. Windows provide distraction I control and find inspiration without losing my train of thought. In fact, I often find the weather as inspiration for a scene or story.

According to a study conducted by the University of California Irvine, it takes over 23 minutes to refocus on a task after being involuntarily distracted from a task - as a computer programmer, I can vouch for this.

Even if it isn’t a room in your house – perhaps a coffee shop, library, university student union building (where I spent countless hours studying during my college days), even a camp trailer or RV – wherever you can stake out a spot dedicated for writing, it may be the boost you need.

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