Young Writers Society

I recently started writing again per my usual Spring/Fall rotation, except this time I'm writing the story I generally reserve for Spring now... in the Fall. That's for a very good reason, but I won't get into it. Anyway, I was reading Nate's 101 tips for Writers, or whatever, and he says in there, "Pick one spot to write".

This sounds like the same advice I read in Stephen Kings "On Writing"... and on Laurell K. Hamiltons blog, and Neil Gaimans blog... and countless other writers I've run into.

Well, I'm here to speak for those of us who do not generally speak up--because we're damned busy.

I ride public transit (takes forever), go to school, work and do all the chores since I'm now living on my own. The time of a "designated spot" to write in has long passed for me... but there was no way I'd give up my Fall writing slot to wait for another season to pass and Spring to bring about inspiration again.

Anyway, I've found that if one has the right materials, and a good noise-canceling pair of headphones, one can simply bring the designated writing place with them.

I recently invested in a $45 leather journal and several of my favorite pens "Millenium"--nice archival inks at $2.50/piece--and a $35 pair of noise-canceling headphones. This means... if you don't look around at your surroundings, pay attention to much else, you can manage to go about your day, accomplish your chores, and still write to your hearts content when, say, you're waiting for a bus. Or on one.

Even with the creepy homeless people staring at you. Because you're not looking at them--you're writing.

Plus, it's a nice thing to fantasize "If this gets published--imagine how much this journal will one day be worth!"

That's a good tip. In fact, I didn't used to have a place to write and the bus and lessons (Yeah, I know, bad Kitty) were where most of my work got done but about a year and a half ago when Claire and I decided to write our joint novel, we automatically elected my room as the ideal writing enviroment and since then I've had trouble writing anything productive elsewhere. I mean, I can do rough drafts and such but the final draft has to be done in my room. Weid, huh? And practically off topic. Lol.

Agreed.

I have to agree, but it's worth noting that expensive isn't always the way to go. (Personally, I hate expensive pens and notebooks.) Find what works for you, not what seems most romantic.

(I brainstorm on the T. I've written several drafts of a short story in my head on the way to and from work, I just haven't gotten around to typing it up yet.)

Anyway, I've found that if one has the right materials, and a good noise-canceling pair of headphones, one can simply bring the designated writing place with them.

Yeah! Maybe your favorite spot doesn't have to be an actual, physical, stuck-somewhere place, but rather general surroundings, things that are familiar: like journals and writing utensils. The school bus used to be my favorite place to write because it was guaranteed that there would be no distractions, that nobody would bother me for at least those forty five minutes.

I write pretty much anywhere. Sometimes I take my notebook to school and write in the 20 minutes we're supposed to be reading. I do a lot of writing in my room and out in the lounge room. I don't like writing in complete silence, so writing around a few people or with music on is really good.

Always writing in the same spot tends to hinder some people- it's like, "Oh, I'm not sitting on top of the mailbox, guess I can't write! *wink wink*" Not a good thing, especially come NaNo season.

Ooh, a spring/fall rotation...? Was ist das?