I am also sitting to the left of my computer, not the right. With cords under my feet. And I can't write. Well, nothing useful anyway.
I have writer friends who can write anywhere. They blithely sit outside with their laptops. Or take them to cafes. Or libraries. Or on planes. And they make progress. I don't. I am easily distracted and if it's all not just 'so' it doesn't work. Mind you, just 'so' simply means just 'my desk', which is usually messy and ugly and all kinds of wrong. But I have, after many years of freelance writing, trained into my body a Pavlovian response. I sit at this computer and I write. That's what I do (albeit sometimes via Twitter and Facebook). When people talk about 'The Zone', this is it.
Which is good from a focus perspective, but kind of boring from a 'where I write' perspective. I'd like to be able to say that I sit in the garden, with the scent of orange blossom in my nostrils. But the truth is that I would be hot, and there would be glare, and the words simply would not flow.
Much like tonight. With a printer cramping my style (and my ergonomics). So I'll manage a blog post, and that will be it. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll have adapted to my new surroundings and a new habit will quickly form. Hopefully.
Where do you write?
[image: my desk looks nothing like this one from theroxor.com]
I'm similar, and get a lot more writing done when I'm at my own desk with all its messiness and distractions. I have often had the romantic notion of writing in a cafe (tried once, made the mistake of having a large milkshake which led to an embarrassing coughing fit and I had to leave) and occasionally have had some success writing on the train down to visit my father (an hour-long trip - just right) but basically I need to be at my desk. I upgraded my laptop thinking I could take it to the park or even just the backyard and write while the small boy was playing but as soon as he sees it he wants me to look up motorbikes in Google images and it is all doomed.
ReplyDeleteI write everywhere - in my study, on the lounge, in my car, at the dining table, and currently in bed with my laptop on a pillow. The only time I have to sit at the desk in my study is first thing in the morning when I have my breakfast, sitting on the lounge or dining table with my laptop doesn't cut it when I am having breakfast and trying to write.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a writer but I am writing about our 2.5 month road trip so family and friends can keep up with what we're doing. I've never blogged, written or done anything like this before and have had great feedback for our simple travel experiences. We're in a caravan so it's either on the table or on my lap or on my tummy on our bed.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I almost exclusively write in my past & imagination. I certainly used to be a write-anywhere person, but lost my balance & the knack.
ReplyDeleteIn the process of working on getting words to flow again (yet another thing that was easier younger), I've begun considering paying more attention to place. It doesn't come easily as my intellect tells me it has no needs.
In the end, material realities heft their usual influence and the last laugh as I tend to flow swiftly from my keyboard to the dishes (which share a room).
Usually I write at my desk - out in the kitchen/meals while my boys draw at the table next to me. Sometimes I draft posts and emails on my iPad in bed or the couch - but the words don't flow as much without the tactile response of a proper keyboard.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm easy... x
ReplyDeleteI'm the same Al. I have to be at my desk, at my computer.
ReplyDelete(I can read blogs all I like from iphone, ipad or lappy, but must actually comment/write/work etc from MY computer at MY desk.)
Dare I tell you I cannot work at anything unless my desk is tidy too?
Anal.
I'm also super anal about where I write. If I'm working on a first draft, I MIGHT be able to work while on my couch (maybe... if the muses are in my favor). But I usually need to be at my desk if I want to get any work done. I also can't have any noise or outside interference around while I write. God forbid someone actually be in my apartment doing annoying things like talking or chewing. I just can't concentrate under those conditions!
ReplyDeleteI'm an anywhere writer-I have a little desk I use. I can write on the couch. Sitting at the dining room table. I love hearing about different people and their writing habits; it's so interesting to see the different ways that the process unfolds.
ReplyDeleteI used to do my blog writing at the dining table, which faced the TV that I sometimes had on, sometimes not. Then I moved house. Now I still write at the table, but it's a much smaller table and often uncomfortable as not much fits on it. So I've learned to write sitting on the couch with the laptop on the coffee table or on my lap as well as using the dining table. I could fold out the table to make it bigger, but then it takes up way too much space in the room. The printer sits on a bookshelf behind me and to use it I move it to the coffee table. I still face the TV.
ReplyDeleteI write in my head when I run.
ReplyDeleteI write longhand in a notebook in bed at night.
But on a computer? I have done the cafe thing with limited success (if there is one piercing voice to interrupt the gentle murmur, I am done for). Generally speaking it has to be in my study in a state of utter serenity and perfect order (I won't show you a photo of my study, it will make you vomit).
I mostly write in my room. Sometimes I write while stuck in long boring meetings at work.
ReplyDeleteI write best when I am not at a computer. Notepad and pen seems to work best for me. Frustrating!
ReplyDeleteOn a train, on the sofa on the laptop, in the kitchen on a scrap of paper or under a recipe, in bed in the middle of the night with one hand stretched out from underneath the duvet to scribble on the pad that's on the floor beside the bed. Anywhere.
ReplyDeleteThough I haven't had any of those good ideas that come into my head at the most inappropriate times recently, but they're on their way, I can feel them like a word you've temporarily forgot, and you can feel it coming back.
This morning I wrote on the kitchen bench, then when the children reached fever pitch I slunk into the bedroom and *gasp* shut the door to finish what I started.
ReplyDeleteHaving 3 boys has really taught me how to ignore the sun glare, the toast crumbs, the screams and the "Muuuuuuum, he HIT me!!"s.
I wish I had a set place to write! Whenever, wherever it hits me I just go. But my desk,oh man! Before I can even start writing at my desk, even if I have great ideas, I have to clean it off and dust it and straighten my folders, and by the time I get down to my keyboard, I am exhausted...sometimes this is good, because I can succomb to writing. But sometimes it would be nice to use desk as a writing sanctuary.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a set place to write! Whenever, wherever it hits me I just go. But my desk,oh man! Before I can even start writing at my desk, even if I have great ideas, I have to clean it off and dust it and straighten my folders, and by the time I get down to my keyboard, I am exhausted...sometimes this is good, because I can succomb to writing. But sometimes it would be nice to use desk as a writing sanctuary.
ReplyDeleteOh, sorry! I hit enter and added my comment twice!! Sorry!
ReplyDelete-E
I am a write anywhere sort of person. Either at my desk (but it must be tidy, can't concentrate otherwise), or on my laptop on the couch or outside. I would love to be outside more but my laptop screen isn't the best in bright sunlight.
ReplyDeleteWherever I am comfortable! Couch, table, bed, backyard. Wherevs. I am like you at work though. Can't get anything done unless I am at my own desk, using my own stuff. Go figure. x
ReplyDeleteI'm all over the place. I write anywhere I can. On the couch, in a waiting room, coffee shop, in bed, etc. Wherever I can get my creative juices flowing :)
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of 'sitting down to write', but regular chunks of child free time are hard to come by, so out of necessity, I write snippets here and there. As a result, however, it's all still a bit haphazard. I'm realising just how important habit can be.
ReplyDeletesince I don't have a laptop I always write at my desk...which is in my own little space that my husband helped me create with a table that he built with his own hands and I painted bright blue...my pink filing cabinet and all sorts of randomness. Occasionally I will borrow my son's laptop and sit on the couch to write, but that's only recently and as it's winter I haven't ventured outside to write. I do think I could write anywhere though and I have requested my very own laptop for graduation!
ReplyDeleteI write anywhere I can, whenever I can squeeze it in. I've taken to starting blog posts via my phone when on the train, or when waiting somewhere, and finishing them via my laptop either on the lounge or on my bed. Rarely at an actual desk, although I do have one (currently piled with washing!)
ReplyDeleteGreat topic! It's interesting reading what others are doing. :-)
I can write anywhere that's comfortable, but sunny or has a view of the outside world -- so I can look out when I want to. Can't do claustrophobic writing.
ReplyDeleteI can write anywhere but I have a few techniques to get me through tricky geographies.
ReplyDeleteI think writing anywhere takes practice and flexibility. I don't have set ideas about exactly how my writing will happen, I just try and have faith that it will. I think the 'zone' comment is important. Some people can get into the 'zone' without that zone being a physical place. I can write anywhere but the minute a child comes in the room, the 'zone' evaporates.
Great post!