Space to Write
People who write have to allocate time and space in order to do so. (Obviously.) If you wait for the time and space to happen by itself, it usually won’t, or it will be taken over by a myriad of other possible activities.
For me, space to write is a matter of focus. I can write at any available time and anywhere, but I need to be able to focus to write anything decent and, especially, a crappy first draft. So finding a space and time in which to write is really an ability to find a way to attain that focus.
In a practical sense, I can write equally in a quiet room or in a noisy cafe where the noise blends so nothing in particular stands out. I can’t write in a room where my kids will often interrupt me.
Some people like to find a special place where the ritual of settling into their surroundings helps them to sink into their writing. In my constantly changing environment (changing people around me, no dedicated writing room, a constantly changing timetable that bends with family demands) I write anywhere. Inside or outside, at home or not. My laptop is my room. My awareness sinks into the screen. I don’t notice my surroundings unless something or someone specifically intrudes – or unless I get stuck and begin to procrastinate.
But my biggest hurdle is other projects that also require focus. When I focus on a story, it plays in my mind even when I’m not at my laptop. While I’m making dinner for the kids, I might be running through a scene in my head. Definitely, while I’m driving somewhere familiar. Lately though, because we are embarking on a renovation, I’ve been doing the same thing with the design of my house. This is falling back into an old pattern for me, since I used to be an architect. So all that focus on writing has been consumed by this other project.
Right now, for me, finding space to write is about finding the space in my head to hold multiple creative projects. To do one well, the other sometimes has to take a back seat. My renovation is finite, but will be ongoing until at least the end of May next year. Somehow, in the midst of that, I hope I can maintain a space where I can write, even if I can’t use it as much as I’d like.
(In the meantime, I can at least keep my submissions up. And I have a recent acceptance going online next month.)
Do you prefer a special place to find your focus, or do you find the right conditions in many places? Do you give up or do you keep writing when your primary focus is demanded elsewhere?
