I'm back at the place I'm housesitting and that means back using the dial-up connection. For that reason, and also because I'm still pretty tired, I'm going to keep this short. Today is the last day I'm house- and dog-sitting. As for my plan to get into a writing routine: it didn't really happen. More accurately, it didn't happen at all. Due to various unforseen circumstances, I ended up spending far more time back home than I planned to and while I'm at home I tend to just watch TV. Home is not where I'm at my most productive. I need to find somewhere without any distractions, somewhere I can think of as solely my writing space, and make a time everyday to go there and write. I was thinking of using a library so I might try it through the week.
One of the writers on The Simpsons (the show's most prolific writer, actually), John Schwartzwelder, used to do all his writing in a diner. He'd go there in the morning, sit in his regular booth, and spend the day chain-smoking and drinking coffee while he wrote - that was his daily ritual. He felt comfortable in there; he needed to be there to write. When anti-smoking laws forced the diner into becoming a non-smoking restaurant and John couldn't imagine writing without being inside of a cloud of smoke, it seemed he would have to find a new place to work. His solution: build a replica of his diner booth inside his home. Once he did that he happily began doing his writing from there.
I think that's pretty cool for a couple of reasons. Firstly, he significantly reduced how long it takes him to get work. Secondly, it's a solution that most people wouldn't ordinarily think of when confronted with the same problem. Lastly, it makes for a great story. I suppose it also goes to show how some things are more psychological than anything else. He needed to be at the diner to do his writing and he didn't feel like he could do the work from home. But now he is working from home; he just had to trick himself a little to make it happen. Maybe I need to convert my garage into a diner.
2 comments:
yeah, writers famously work in coffeee houses etc
i always think of internet cafe's if i needed an alternative to home
cheers
Writting wakes me up at night, I come up with my best ideas while I am sleeping. I guess it goes to show you that your brain never stops working, it's just, I wish it would do it more quietly some nights.
Also, I've been giving one of your older post some thought. The story about the girl and the perfect summer you spent with her. Have you heard from her lately? Are you at a place in your life where you can relocate? It sounds to me that there is something there with that relationship. You see, most women, especially American women, can be crule and heartless. And if that girl still contacts you from time to time, then it seems to me that she still has a connection and feeling for you. And if you truly feel for her the way your story led me to believe, the perhaps she is worth pursuing. Anyway, it is mearly food for thought. I hope I have not complicated things for you with this comment. Have a wonderful weekend, and good luck with the writing.
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