by Megan Haskell
One of the things I truly love about being a writer—one of the major reasons I started writing in the first place—is that we can work anywhere, at any time. Writers aren’t (necessarily) tied to an office, though they can choose to work in one.
A morning writing session at my desk, with water, coffee, and a snack. Yum!
We’re not even required to sit at a desk. How about on the couch with a favored companion?
Cuddling with a writer’s best friend
Or get away from home entirely by heading to the place where everybody knows your name? (In my case, that’s Patch Coffee Co. on Portola. Basically my home away from home.)
Writing at Patch Coffee
I’ve even been known to write at the kitchen table with a baby in my arms.
Just weeks after the birth of my younger daughter, I was back to work while she napped in a baby sling.
As well as at night after the kids are in bed with a nice glass of wine to minimize the self-editor.
Sometimes a little liquid relaxation can ease that troublesome internal critic.
I don’t have pictures of it, but I’ve been known to write on my iPhone while watching my daughter practice Tae Kwon Do, while parked in the car waiting for school pickup time, or on my iPad while outside in the backyard watching my girls play.
Habits are good and rituals are sometimes necessary to get in the flow, but there’s no single “right place” to find inspiration or work on your craft. In fact, one of the things I teach in my productivity courses is that there’s always time to write. If you keep an open mind and stay flexible with your workspace, you can find five minutes here or ten minutes there to put words on a page. And you can do that anywhere.
So what’s your preferred writing setting? Share in the comments!
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Legend has it, I was born with a book in my hands. Thirty-ish years later, I’m a stay-at-home-mom who prefers a good story over doing the dishes. Only now, I’m building my own fantasy worlds! I’m the Award-Winning author of the Amazon bestselling series, The Sanyare Chronicles, and Program Director of O.C. Writers. You can find me on my website at www.meganhaskell.com, Facebook, and Twitter.
The docks on Balboa Island that have blue and white stripped poles are public docks. Anyone can sit on those docks and fish or watch the boats go by or WRITE! It’s very inspiring there for those who actually have time in their lives! However, you need to charge your battery ahead of time because there are no outlets on a floating dock! I actually took an old-fashioned physical notebook (the kind with metal coils and everything) with me the last time I was there.
I used to write in my head while standing in line at the grocery store and then be able to remember the paragraph I wrote. I can’t do that anymore, so do it while you’re young!
I grew up thinking it was rude to watch people so I never was much of a people watcher in Malls and so on, but now I try to think of adjectives and phrases to use for the people I see out and about in public places and ascribe those characteristics to some of my characters.
This piece is a great reminder, Megan, for those of us who might have gotten lax in the practice of writing wherever we are. I think I’ll walk around the Back Bay now and write a paragraph in my head and see how much I can remember when I get home.