For years I could only work if I was parked in my office chair in my office at my desk. Call me a creature of habit. Call me nutty. Call me a new chick with new-found flexibility. So many of my writer friends would tell me about going down to their local coffee shop to write and I simply couldn’t wrap my head around that notion. How the heck could they do that? How’d they survive the distractions? The noise?
I finally get it. Starbucks is my newest productivity friend. Plug in my headset, give me a water or a venti Tazo black sweet tea with light ice and I’m set. The counter staff knows me by name. They occasionally ask how the book is coming along. In fact, I’m perched at one of the tables as I type this.
So, the whole point is not that I’m a new Starbucks devotee but rather the whole idea of opening yourself up to a new or different process. I finally figured out that I could write under different circumstances than at my desk, in my chair. It’s been very liberating and oddly empowring — I suppose the notion that an old dog can, in fact, learn a new trick.
What about you? Any habits you’ve changed lately? Any new notions or way of doing things that you’ve embraced?
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Oh, very glad to read this. I have very similar habits – can only write when I’m at my desk, only if I have at least two hours to write, etc, etc. So far hasn’t been too much of an issue, but I know it would be better if I could adopt the anytime, anywhere approach that so many other people seem to be able to manage! I take heart that you’ve been able to make the change! Enjoy your tea…
Jennifer, I have a friend who does 90 percent of her writing at her local Starbucks, and swears that she has trouble writing anywhere else! For myself, I spend a lot of time in airports and on airplanes, and have discovered that yes, I can write in those cramped seats, even if my neighbor is surreptitiously reading my material from the corner of his or her eye. The conditions aren’t ideal, but I’ve gotten a lot of writing done at 30K feet!
I love going down to our local bookstore and writing. If the phone rings, it doesn’t distract me because I know it’s not for me, (Though if my family ever decides to start tracking me down this way, we could have a problem.) If I’m working at home, I alternate between the desktop and the laptop just for a change of scenery. Glad that Starbucks is working out for you!
(H) Hey Jennifer! Glad to see you over here!!! I’ve missed you SQ ladies!!!
I have not attempted the writing at Starbucks or the bookstore, yet. I’ve heard it can do wonders to bust down that wall of writer’s block and I may have to use it.
I’m really looking forward to your new series coming out next year. Can’t wait to see what you have up your sleeve!!!
Tami (D)
I haven’t tried writing in public yet, but I may. I seem to work better when there is chaos to ignore.
Hi Jen.
Glad the book is going well!
We don’t have a Starbucks or a bookstore on my side of the mountain so I’ll have to keep searching for other options. I have found that being around water (pool, fountain, lake) seem to get the ole creative juices flowing. (Well that and the urge to pee) I’m trying to find a way to write while floating around in the pool and not get everything soaking wet! So… I bought a little 1 man boat/float thingy and I’m going to give it a try this weekend. I’m sure the neighbors will think I’ve lost it but the joke’s on them. I lost it a long time ago! (H)
I’ve always been jealous of my two critique partners who have laptops and will travel anywhere to do their writing. I’ve tried once (no laptop yet, just took pen and paper) and it took me so long to get into my scene. I HAVE to be in my office at my computer. But hey, this gives me hope. Maybe someday, when I get an i-pod and a laptop…
Melissa, I’m living proof you can do it. No kidding, that I just never got it before.
Okay, Karen, I’m bowing before you because writing on an airplane is difficult. I’m even uncomfortable reading a mss on a plane because some nosey Nelly is inevitably peering over my shoulder.
Rhonda, I’ve started writing in bed on my laptop too. Have laptop will travel…around the house.
Hi, Tami!! I dunno about the writer’s block — maybe it’ll keep me from getting it. One can always hope. And I’m excited about the series.
LOL, Heather. That’s probably a darn good thing when there are kids and pets involved.
Okay, Sherry, I have this mental image of you floating around in the pool in a raft diligently working…and I’m laughing along with your neighbors. (H)
Jillian, the laptop and ipod are two of the best things ever!!