Monday, November 28, 2011

Blog Chain - The Perfect Place

Welcome to the last blog chain of the year :)  Tere brings us this question:

What conditions do you need to get your best writing done? Closed door, crowded coffee house? Computer or notebook? Can you just sit down to write, or do you need to wait for the time to be right?

I used to be a big believer in the perfect time and place for writing.  Except that for nearly three decades, I was so obsessed with needing the perfect time and place, that I never did any writing.  What I learned is that it doesn't matter where I am or what time of day it is.  All that matters is my state of mind.

That's right.  That's all it takes.  There are certainly things I like to have.  A cup of coffee, a keyboard with tappity keys like the ones on the Apple flat keyboards, a quiet room where I can put whatever music is in my brain on repeat.

But those things are difficult to come by.  I usually work with the sounds of dogs snoring beside me and the lawn people cutting grass outside my window or Matt playing video games in the living room.  Sometimes I work longhand, sometimes on my computer, sometimes in BN or Starbucks or sitting in the front seat of my car with my laptop propped on the steering wheel.

When it comes to writing, my state of mind is all that matters.  My intent.  When I sit down to write, I tell myself that I'm going to write.  I'm going to write like my soul depends on it.  And then it doesn't matter where I am or what time of day it is, only that I'm doing what I love.

Tere came before me and kicked this awesome chain off, and head over to Margie's blog to see what it takes to get her in the mood.  See y'all next year!


8 comments:

  1. Nice! I'm the same way. And I was like you too at one point, looking for the perfect place and time, but it's really what you make it. Hmm...like the perfect date...could be so many things.

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  2. I'd like Billy Joel to sing about the writing state of mind! I agree with you that sometimes you can't wait for the right time/place; if you're going to write, you just need to write.

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  3. It's kind of like time. There's no such thing as finding time, you have to make it.

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  4. I am so with you here. If I'm even a little stressed or depressed, forget about it. It doesn't matter if I have all the time in the world. If my mind is not in a good place, I'm not getting anything done.

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  5. I do need to be in the right state of mind to do good work, but sometimes the right conditions—a quiet house—are enough to sway my muse.

    Just got my new laptop yesterday, so I'm in a great mood when I think about sitting down to write. Until the next time I get stuck. ;)

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  6. The right place and time will always be interrupted by something. When the muse strikes, you just gotta stop and write.

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  7. Hmm... just to be clear - you are not also driving when you have the laptop propped on the steering wheel... right? ;)

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