Who Knows Where Or When?

You’ve decided to really become a writer this year. You have an idea and you’ve grown that idea into a plot. Now, whether you’re writing a short story or a novel, genre or literary, it’s time to get down to it. But every writer’s process is different and it’s time to find yours.
Where will you best tap into your muse? For some of us, the best place is a home office. I really like settling down at my desk in a small room that is used only for writing. The walls are lined with bookshelves that are full to overflowing. Being surrounded by my role models is inspiring, and seems to help the words flow.
Other writers crave the wide open spaces to create. You may find the sounds of backyard birds to be the perfect white noise. Sunshine and the gentle breeze on the deck or porch can be the perfect mental assists for some authors, and you don’t have to travel away from home. 
But I know some writers who can’t produce at home. for some writers peace and quiet dampens their creativity. They work better in the midst of chaos. So sitting in a nearby coffee shop or fast food restaurant may be your thing. None of the distractions of home can intrude: your kids, bills, favorite TV shows and too-comfortable favorite chair are all out of reach.
After settling on where you want to write you should figure out your perfect time of day. I believe each individual has a best time to write, based on their own bio rhythms. Whether or not I’m right, some writers I know say they are much more productive in the wee hours of the morning than any other time. Some only work in the middle of the night.  Others devote their mornings to other pursuits and get down to the writing in the afternoon. I do my best creative work during and around the lunch hour.
I’ve found unexpected advantages to writing at the same time every day. The mind is a creature of habit and responds to some stimuli just the way Pavlov’s dog did. If you write at the same time every day you may find, as I have, that your brain is warmed up and ready to create when you sit down at the keyboard. I can stop in the middle of a chapter, or sometimes even the middle of a sentence, and when I return the next day I can pick up exactly where I left off.

Spend the next week deciding where and when. Next week we’ll talk more about how you write, and how to stay motivated.