Dungeon. Man cave. Broom closet. The table at the back of the coffee shop with the gimpy tilt. That is where the magic happens. The space. You could call the place where a writer writes an idea farm, a sort of blue collar place where they can get to the focused business of doing. That’s where, once they step into it, their mind and body recognizes that it’s time to shift into work mode.
But, the question comes up, “Do I really need a place where I go specifically to write?” Well, it depends. Everyone is different, but my experience (and that of many of my friends) is the same: if you ever hope to be a productive writer, you will eventually need somewhere to which you can disappear even if it’s just for moments at a time. And the reason is pretty simple: the world around us belches out a chronic smog of distraction and noise. Because of that it’s inhospitable to the fragile seeds of inspiration and creativity you’re trying to cultivate in the narrow slice of time that you have. So my answer is “yes, you should have a place to go if at all possible.” Continue Reading…