Where Do You Write?

Springs · Nov 3, 2014

So, I've been having a really annoying problem recently. I need relative quiet to write. Any kind of music or TV completely breaks my concentration, because I can't really hear the words in my head if there are other words fighting for my attention. I just graduated college this spring, so I'm used to having a library at my disposal and spending much of my free time there. Now that I'm home, though, I'm having a hard time replicating that. My house is very small, and there are enough other people living here that it's almost impossible to be home alone, or even just home at a time when no one's watching TV. If I manage it, it doesn't last long, and someone waltzes in and turns on the TV right when I'm hitting my stride. My bedroom is practically a storage room these days for all my old crap I haven't sold or need to put away in actual storage, so I don't like spending any more time in there than I have to. Also, the only place you can sit in there right now is the bed, which isn't very conducive for writing (I usually either can't get comfortable or start to fall asleep after a while). During the summer, I would just spend hours every day out on the porch, but now that it's November, that's no longer feasible. So I'm stuck with nowhere to go, and therefore only touch my WIP about once a week (and often less). It's driving me crazy!

There's a nice little library I know of about half an hour away, but their schedule is relatively incompatible with mine, and I could only really go there once or twice a week. I only work about 15 hours a week, which means I don't really have a lot of money for buying the food or drinks required to justify my prolonged presence at a coffee shop/restaurant every single day. I'm lost.

So I was wondering, for those of you who can't write at home, where do you go? What kinds of places can sustain regular writing habits?

Osulagh · Nov 3, 2014

Springs said:
]My bedroom is practically a storage room these days for all my old crap I haven't sold or need to put away in actual storage, so I don't like spending any more time in there than I have to.

How about you clean your room. Then you'll have that space to write.

And ear plugs.

A_Read · Nov 3, 2014

Headphones, listening to non-distracting music? Maybe find enough space in your room for a chair/desk? I do most of my writing sitting on the sofa, so comfort doesn't really bother me...

What about another library? Are there others nearby that might have better hours? Or maybe just order the cheapest coffee on the menu at a coffee shop...most places have no real problem with you staying for a few hours after buying just one drink.

threetoedsloth · Nov 3, 2014

I write my "Draft 0" longhand before transcribing into google docs, so I write pretty much anywhere. Lately I've been alternating between my desk at home and at work before I start the day.

Anna Spargo-Ryan · Nov 3, 2014

When you have a baby, one of the bits of advice the hospital gives you is to expose it to lots of noise. A baby that can only sleep in complete silence is a baby that rarely sleeps.

I think the same is true of writing. The more criteria you have around where you "can" write, the less likely you are to be able to fulfil these criteria and the less writing you will do.

Writing is portable. Try doing it in a bunch of different places and under different conditions. I write wherever I can. I write better if I'm at the library with headphones in (as compared to at the kitchen table with my children shouting), but I can do the latter if I have to.

Imagine if you establish the library as the only place you can write, and then someone comes along and knocks it down. Try not to enforce limitations on your creativity.

(And clean your room.)

Springs · Nov 3, 2014

How about you clean your room. Then you'll have that space to write.

For the record, I can't actually clean my room. There are things in there that need to go into storage, which we don't have the ability to do right now. I'm waiting on my dad to get storage space so stuff can go out of my room. It's not like I came on here to whine about how my laziness is keeping me from writing

Darron · Nov 3, 2014

Anna Spargo-Ryan said:
When you have a baby, one of the bits of advice the hospital gives you is to expose it to lots of noise. A baby that can only sleep in complete silence is a baby that rarely sleeps.

You are making think I should thank my terrible neighbors and the neck and neck sports they watched all fall.

For the writing in a good space, the trade-off between warm and quiet this time of year up north is what will do you in. Personally, I applaud you not being "that guy" that hogs a couch all day at a coffee shop. I think a question that would help you define what you're looking for is whether or not you need the internet while you write?

blacbird · Nov 3, 2014

Wherever I can, and I'm not tied down to any particular computery issue. I often write longhand in yellow legal pads, using Pen 1.01 operating system. If computery stuff is available, I'm okay using that. Doesn't matter.

And I can work in silence, or, perhaps oddly, with a "white noise" background, like in a hotel lobby or airport concourse or even a restaurant. What does give me trouble, though, is music, by itself. Somehow my brain wants to pay attention to the music, and that is distracting. But other than that, I'm usually pretty good at focusing attention on the writing, and letting the exterior stuff flow on past.

caw

BethS · Nov 4, 2014

Springs said:
So I was wondering, for those of you who can't write at home, where do you go? What kinds of places can sustain regular writing habits?

What about adjusting the time of day you write? Is there a time when the house is more quiet?

Also, you may have to decide which is worse for the writing--noise and distraction, or a cluttered room. Opt for the lesser of two evils.

M. D. Ireman · Nov 4, 2014

Anna Spargo-Ryan said:
When you have a baby, one of the bits of advice the hospital gives you is to expose it to lots of noise. A baby that can only sleep in complete silence is a baby that rarely sleeps.

I think the same is true of writing. The more criteria you have around where you "can" write, the less likely you are to be able to fulfil these criteria and the less writing you will do.

Writing is portable. Try doing it in a bunch of different places and under different conditions. I write wherever I can. I write better if I'm at the library with headphones in (as compared to at the kitchen table with my children shouting), but I can do the latter if I have to.

Imagine if you establish the library as the only place you can write, and then someone comes along and knocks it down. Try not to enforce limitations on your creativity.

(And clean your room.)

Interesting analogy with the baby. I was going to propose a silent room in a recliner, but you may be on to something here--so long as you allow yourself the opportunity to write in optimal environments every once in a while as well.

Niccolo · Nov 4, 2014

+1 to the white noise. I use an app on my iPod and fill my brain with white noise when I'm writing. It also helps me get into the zone. When I hear white noise, I know I'm in writing mode.

readitnweep · Nov 4, 2014

I've written in waiting rooms, on my lap in my car, in coffee shops, my backyard and in my family room while my husband watches football and my sons are practicing drums and bass guitar. Sometimes, I write with all the background noise. Sometimes I have headphones on.

Earlier poster was right: if you're goingto push through and write, you'll make your circumstances work.

Taylor Harbin · Nov 4, 2014

The only time I can write with other people around is if I'm transcribing something or just making notes for a future project. If I'm writing a draft, I have to be shut off from the rest of creation. Sometimes I'll listen to classical music, as anything with lyrics distracts me.

Mfraser · Nov 4, 2014

What Readitnweep and Anna said - best to get in the habit of writing anywhere. Don't be too attached to word count, at least at first. Just practice sitting down for x amount of time and trying under non-ideal conditions. That said, I'd still go to the library etc when I had a chance, to mix it up & get some real work in.

My dirty writing secret? I work on my novel at work, in my cube, whenever I can fit it in. It is totally distracting (I don't want my boss or a colleague to notice) but the day doesn't have enough hours so....

Rebekkamaria · Nov 4, 2014

I mostly write on the couch, my laptop in my lap, headphones on and epic writing music in my ears. Nothing really bothers me when I write. I'm mostly dead to the world when I'm writing. Except, I'm easily distracted by the internet. /o\

Tyler Silvaris · Nov 4, 2014

I do have difficulty writing at home. Sometimes it's because my kids are being rowdy. Sometimes it's because the best computer in the house sits in the dining room with a clear view of the television and my wife's odd television shows. Sometimes it's because I hear the calling of a bazillions guns littered across Pandora waiting to be unleashed the next time I pick up an Xbox controller. I can go downstairs to the basement and write there, but the computer is older and the environment is sometimes stifling. I have a laptop, poor thing, but rarely have time to go hunting for a good writing spot.

The ultimate irony with all this is that I do my best writing these days at work. I work security and especially on long weekend shifts when nothing is happening, I just write and write. The novel I finished writing and submitted a to a competition a couple months ago was mostly written during long shifts at work. I step away to handle other tasks as needed and then come back. Sometimes that's frustrating, but I'm more on task with the work mindset, I guess.

Jamesaritchie · Nov 4, 2014

I can write pretty much anywhere, and I do. I have my own office now, of course, but this was not always the case. I had to learn how to write wherever and whenever I could. Now I write on the patio, at the park, at the library, way out in the woods, and I love spending afternoons sitting in my favorite redneck bar, eating a greasy hamburger, drinking a Bud, and listening to the jukebox.

But it's something born of necessity. If you want to write, you have to learn how to deal with distraction, learn how to write in whatever conditions you find yourself in.

And sometimes you simply have to do whatever it takes to make a place where you can write. Is there a reason you can't find more than fifteen hours of work each week? Early on, I worked for several months in a cheap basement, and I mean cheap. Twenty-five bucks a month, and it wasn't worth half of that. It was open to the elements on two sides, and every rain poured a foot of water into it, along with all sorts of insects, and the occasional snake.

I "upgraded" to a three hundred per month apartment that wasn't much better, but was, at least, snake free.

But sometimes it's a matter of going int any available room, closing the door, and making yourself write, regardless of what's going on in the rest of the house. If you want to write, if often comes down to sucking it up and writing, no matter what. If you can't do this, then the only possibility I see is to find a better job and move out.

You're a college graduate, so you should be able to find some kind of job that will give you the freedom you need.

spikeman4444 · Nov 4, 2014

I write in my closet sometimes. My gf and I live in a one bedroom and she is loud and annoying and so I just go in the walk in closet and write in a very small corner . It helps me focus. Or I go to the library, but as that is not an option for you, I'm sure you can find space in your room even if it is small.

Dana_B · Nov 4, 2014

Hey, Springs

I think trying to train yourself to write in any situation is a good idea--likely a time-consuming and frustrating process, but a good idea if you could pull it off.

That being said, what about a hospital waiting room? There is activity but tis usually relatively quiet overall. Most hospitals have multiple waiting rooms, so you can vary it and not draw much attention.

Personally, I can write just about anywhere, but cannot listen to music while writing. Like blacbird said, it seems my brain tries to listen to the music or the music evokes feelings/inspirations that don't fit what I'm working on!

Good luck, you'll figure it out.

jaksen · Nov 4, 2014

Does your house have a 'laundry area?' (If it's an older home - in the cellar?) If so, while the dryer is turning or the washer washing, their rhythmic sounds might just drown out what is going on (overhead.)

There was a fairly well-known writer who started her writing career doing this, writing in the laundry area of the house. There was another who wrote in a kitchen on top of a refrigerator. (He was tall and fridges were short in those days.)

Got an (elderly) relative in the area? Hop on over to his or her house. For a little company they might leave you alone for a few hours. (Older people who are retired or live alone can be very quiet folk and sometimes just having another body in the house can be very comforting to them.) If you get really lucky they just might fix up a little 'writing room' for you.

If really stuck, the corner of the kitchen table with headphones on set to low-distracting music or white noise. When bothered, tell whoever you're doing 'research' for an article for some obscure journal, and yes, that they PAY if you sell it to them. (Lie a little.)

And, do you have an attic?

Putputt · Nov 4, 2014

I second those who suggested learning to write anywhere. I did the same, trained myself to ignore most distractions, and it's helped a ton. The secret is, of course, ear plugs.

My favorite places to write are cafés, just cause they're livelier than an empty house. I could sit there half the day, ear plugs in, and just get lost in the writing.

Thewitt · Nov 4, 2014

I have the ability to ignore things like radio and TV, so I write anywhere.

Mostly I write at my desk in the living room of my condo. I live alone, so it's just me and my cats - no distractions.

When I'm not writing there, I can often be found writing on my iPad in the bar where my girlfriend works as a singer.

If I'm traveling for work, writing will occur either in my room if the desk is comfortable, or in the executive lounge.

Quiet is never needed, and in fact if it's too quiet I'll hear sounds from far away which may distract me, so I'll turn on music or the TV as background noise.

WriteMinded · Nov 5, 2014

Noise cancelling headphones, or move all that stuff out of your room. Maybe a corner of the garage with a space heater and a down jacket?

Quickbread · Nov 5, 2014

I have had to learn how to write anywhere. I write and brainstorm on my iphone (using Evernote) while I'm commuting to work on the train. For a long time, I got up an hour early to write while the house was quiet. Now, I sometimes stay up an hour later to write for the same reason. I bring my laptop to work and crank out new words on my lunch break. I print out pages and edit them while commuting. If I'm driving, I'll use a voice recorder to brainstorm ideas or work out problems. And the only music I like to play while I'm writing is Miles Davis, but it's not essential. Nothing is essential except a way to get the words and thoughts down.

Lindy · Nov 5, 2014

With an 11 year old, an 11 month old, and another one on the way, I really find it impossible to write at home...because someone always needs something. Always. Especially when I try to sequester myself.

I'll usually wait until my husband is home and dinner and homework are finished and then I'll load up and head to a diner in town that's open late. I'll put on my headphones (or not, depending on my mood), and get down to business. It doesn't hurt to find a place that serves great coffee

Where Do You Write?

Springs

Osulagh

Independent fluffy puppy.

A_Read

threetoedsloth

Anna Spargo-Ryan

Just pokin' about

Springs

Darron

Always trust a geologist

blacbird

BethS

M. D. Ireman

Cynical Optimist

Niccolo

readitnweep

Taylor Harbin

Power to the pen!

Mfraser

Hoping For the Best

Rebekkamaria

Pixie with dust, beware

Tyler Silvaris

Master of the Shadowcloak

Jamesaritchie

spikeman4444

The snozberrys taste lke snozberrys

Dana_B

...living on hammock time...

jaksen

Caped Codder

Putputt

permanently suctioned to Buz's leg

Thewitt

WriteMinded

Derailed

Quickbread

Lindy