With social media fragmenting, I’m bringing back my old “You Tell Me” Wednesday discussions to try to get good old fashioned blog conversations going. If you’re reading in a feed reader or via email, please click through to the post to leave a public comment and join the discussion!
We’ve all got a favorite writing spot. What’s yours?
If you’ve been following this blog for a bit, you probably know that my favorite spot is The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, CA. It’s one of those places where I feel lucky to be there every single time.
What about you?
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Art: En yole sur la Seine by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
abc says
One of our coffee shops downtown. No one in particular–depends on my mood, but I like the energy of people around me, watching folks pass by out the window, and being out of the house where I can’t think about my laundry or dishes. Also, because, caffeine. Oh, and sugar. Pastries!
Neil Larkins says
Ooo! Nice!
Giulia Clifford says
Recently? In my kitchen at night. My husband uses our home office to work from home when he does hybrid work, so I don’t have a room to hide. But my kids are asleep at night, so the kitchen is a place like another. It’s quiet, there’s nobody around, and I have my laptop with me. I can put music on and make myself a cup of coffee. That’s precisely what I’ve done as I type.
Before I left Italy in 2003, I used to write in a McDonald’s at the rail station. It was nice and cool (air conditioning), I could get food and a drink when needed, and nobody would disturb me. I used to alternate writing sessions with sessions I would spend time in the nearby bookshop, going through the blurb of the books and reference books for sale and buying myself some. The times when I had all the time in the world. Nice ole times. I’m not as lucky anymore that I have kids.
JG Surma says
There’s a greenhouse near me that has a cafe inside the greenhouse itself, so in the middle of a Minnesota winter I can go there and feel like I’m working on a patio. There’s something refreshing about the smell of plants and dirt.
G.E. Sevenau says
At my desk, in the loft, first thing in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee. The coffee, the stillness of the house before my wife and our pets begin to stir, alone with the characters in the story before the chaos of the day slowly builds around me and takes over. My most cherished time.
Cate says
I don’t like having a favorite place, because it limits my capacity to get writing done if I can’t get to that place. Since having kids, I’ve learned to write wherever and whenever. During their naps, sitting in the car at sports practices, and at home with the chaos of life happening in the background. This means that when I do get a moment, and I’m sitting on my sunny patio with my dog at my feet, hot coffee or cold wine nearby as I work on my stories, I appreciate it in a way that I wouldn’t if I were able to write in that setting all the time.
Sonja McGiboney says
A better question for me is where is the most productive place to write. That would be inside an 8×10 shed with my daughter Rachel’s dog, Evie
It’s not any old shed, it has electricity, A/C and heat. There is a small desk and next to it is the daybed in which her dog sleeps. Sometimes Rachel cuddles with Evie and I admit, I’ve taken a few naps with Evie myself.
Rachel had Evie before she had a husband. They learned quickly that Truman’s lungs couldn’t handle the dog so Evie became a backyard dog. Rachel worked from home at the time and she created this little office space/dog house.
The shed is not my favorite place, but there are few distractions so I am productive. (I am currently in the shed. While Rachel s in New Mexico and Truman is working, I am in the shed keeping Evie from going nuts because this was the only day the roofers could come to replace the roof.)
I am not sure I have a “favorite” place since I write all the time wherever I am.
Petrea Burchard Sandel says
My locale is much the same as yours, Nathan, and I do love to write at the Huntington when I can (just find a bench and write in my journal). My truly favorite place to write is anywhere not in my house where there are no distractions. Once I was fortunate to spend a blissful weekend at the Mt. Wilson Observatory and I got so much done on my novel. A retreat at a friend’s cabin in the desert was also a great experience. I wish I could do that more often. For the daily work, I have a small office in my home and I shut the door, turn off the internet and go at it.
paul W Stephens says
Where do I like to write?
First, I refer to writing as the act of typing. Perhaps, that’s my way of disguising what I’m actually doing in the company of others . Eliminates visitors’ curious questions.
I type using an Apple desktop. Did consider a laptop, but I’m weary of carrying one in public. Besides, too many distractions, as I like to watch people. Even a worse scenario, my accidentally leaving a laptop behind, like at a Starbucks. What’s more, an observant thieve nearby, “casually” sipping his/her beverage, might be waiting for the right moment to pursue a find. Yes, I’m paranoid. Heck, for me, a laptop isn’t cheap to replace nor do I want strangers hacking my files.
Generally, I do my best typing when home alone. Afternoons or nights are ideal when its quieter. As I mentioned, anyone present can be a distraction.
During moments of flashing thoughts, I dash to the keyboard and quickly input. In doing so, I have no idea how long I’ll sit in front of the computer – five minutes or an hour. When my friend, Turtle, visits at night to view TV with me, he starts asking me annoying questions, “What are you doing? How much longer? All the while, he knows what I’m doing in the other room.
Note taking are handy but only when I’m out and about. However, I find mine, at times, difficult to read due to sloppy penmanship and hasty thoughts scrawled every which way on scraps of paper. With those scrawls, its best I “translate” them at home ASAP before I forget why I had jotted them down.
That’s it.
03-22-2024
Chris Bailey says
I love fresh air. I’ve written in my hammock overlooking a salt marsh, by a pool, on a porch. The romantic notion is lovely. The mosquitoes, the sweat dripping off my elbows, the too-narrow lounge chair arms, the glare–not so much. So I retreat to my home office, open a window, and produce words in comfort, surrounded by plot charts on the wall, notes spread on the desk, and reference books all around.
Wendy O'Connell says
In my head while I’m swimming.
E. Jamieson says
I actually like to change up where I write regularly. Keeps me from getting bored and distracted. Writing at my local library right now, but I also go to a nearby park regularly, a relative’s house, or just stay in my living room. 🙂