Writing Spaces

Writing Spaces

In the past year, I've written at a desk in my private office, in a dorm room, on a rock by a lake, in a tent, in a car, on a train, on a plane, in innumerable coffee shops, restaurants, and hotel rooms, on a friend's couch, on a friend's floor, and in a cubical in a large office building, to name just a few places. Each was different in experience, and the experience, I believe, influenced my writing.

I used to be the sort who said that I could only write when I was completely alone, at my desk, with my music, surrounded by my reference books, etc., etc., etc. Now I know those things to be crutches. Or rather, excuses not to write. I now know that I can write anywhere, anytime, if I am motivated. You learn this by necessity, when you make your money solely through writing and when your crutches just are not available to you for whatever reason.

But there's a more important point living in all this as well. Those different environments injected their own personalities into whatever I was working on. Writing in public can add an energy that it's difficult to get sitting in a room alone. A scenic vista is going to take your creative spirit in different directions than you'll get sitting in Starbucks. Not necessarily better, but different. I think as a writer, know how location affects your work allows you to use where you write to help influence how you write. It can make your writing better. Sometimes, it's just the change of venue. But even beyond the simple change, I think that writers who are very self-aware can begin to recognize that different venues work best for different kinds of writing. Maybe careful research is best done alone, but writing dialog is better when there are actually people talking around you. Or perhaps it's the other way around. I imagine it's different for every writer. But no matter what, most writers can likely benefit by getting out of their comfortable spots and trying something new, just to see what happens.