What Do You Need for Your Writing?

I'm traveling, and I often talk to people along the way about being a writer. A motel clerk yesterday mentioned that she would like to write but claimed she doesn't have the patience for it. That got me thinking. What does it take--beside talent--to be a writer?

Patience is one thing, I suppose. It takes a long time and a lot of focus for a novel to get written. The idea for a novel, which everyone supposedly has in his head, doesn't just float onto paper or into a file. It's hard work to sit and make it happen, and a lot of the BITCH (butt in the chair, honey) is required.

I find that I need a chunk of semi-conscious think time. Driving or walking does it for me, but it works best if it's long-term. Car trips like the one I'm on are particularly valuable as I try out different scenarios, let my characters talk to me, and invent the antagonists who will make their lives difficult in the next book.

Ironically, I cannot write all that down on a road trip. I can make notes. I scribble on paper in the car (hubby drives, don't panic). I transfer those notes to the computer at night in whatever hotel room I inhabit. But I can't settle down and write. That takes extended time and a focused mindset.

I have friends who can write for an hour, even fifteen minutes on their lunch break. That isn't me.

After this trip, I plan to schedule several days of concentrated writing, putting everything I've been thinking about to work.

It's how I roll.