Writing is a totally portable passion: all you need is a pen and a notebook, and away you go.
Judy Reeves explores on the topic of places to practice writing in A Writer's Book Of Days [New World Library ISBN 1057731-100-0, 1999]. She suggests that varying the writing location can have a profound effect on the writing that is produced.
Here a few suggestions to get you away from your usual writing area.
Write in a Coffee Shop
Buy a latte, choose a corner table and get started. Listen to snippets on conversation and the jazz music and the hiss of the espresso machine.
Use the conversation you hear to start a dialogue in your writing. Or let the noises fade into the background and just write.
Write in a Garden
Let the quiet and peace of a summertime garden inspire you. Take a walk around and smell the flowers. Listen to the birds in the trees. Find a bench in the shade and start writing.
Write in Airports or Bus Stations
The energy in an airport or a bus station is palpable. So many people moving to and fro, saying goodbye and greeting loved ones. This is a great place to watch for interesting characters and strange behaviour. Most stations have a small coffee shop where you can sit unobtrusively and observe.
Even if you're not going anywhere, transit stations can be a great place to write.
Write Somewhere far Away
Travelling is a great way to wake up a sleepy writer's mind. Seeing new sights and sounds, meeting new people, and changing your daily routine will fill your writing with a new energy.
Keep a journal with you and write on the train or bus, or while your car is stopped at a red light. Rent a cheap motel room, close the curtains and pretend you're anywhere.
Or check out a writer's retreat, where you'll have the benefit of new surroundings plus a supportive community of writers.
Write Somewhere Else At Home
Try writing in a different room than you usually do. Perch on the edge or your bathtub, or whip up a batch of cookies and write poetry as their smell fills the kitchen.
The Vancouver International Writers and Readers Festival has a website feature called Writer's Rooms, where local authors dish details on their private writing sanctuaries. Every writer needs to find what works best for them.
Change Writing Locations Often
Writing in different places will help keep your writing fresh. New sensory input brings new inspiration. Just don't let yourself get too distracted by your surroundings. Absorb what's around you, take a deep breath, and write.
Sarah Turner - Sarah K. Turner's writing has been published in the Utne Reader and Event magazine, where she was a winner of their 2006 annual Creative ...
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