Sept 8th, 2020
Where you write is important. Finding a spot you can call your "writing spot" is crucially important. There are a lot of reasons for this, most of them psychological. Some of them likely a bit superstitious. All of them integral to the process you need to create whatever you dream up.
There are lots of writers out there with great anecdotes about their writing process, including where they find it best to put pen to paper. Or fingers to keyboard. A writing desk in a room near the back of the house or a Starbucks downtown. The basic idea of a "writing desk" was always intrinsically linked with the idea that once you sat down at that desk, it was writing time. It was about creating a mind-state conducive to that kind of thinking, conducive to the act of creativity. The desk itself was kind of secondary. There's a link at the bottom for some visuals of the writing areas of famous authors.
In our current times, the dark times known as the year 2020, I know not everyone has a space for a writing desk. Some people can't even afford a desk; or space for anything at all considering the eviction crisis hitting around the world. So, let's readjust this whole writing desk notion.
What is really meant is that you designate a space in which the only things you do are write, create and develop. If you, like most of us these days, spend a lot of time couch potato cosplaying lately; all you need to do is move to the other end of the couch. If you have a bed and a bathroom and a door because your apartment sucks; then go to a coffee shop... Then go across the street to the park because dammit social distancing!
Once in the place you designate for the creation of this story/world/writing of all kinds, it is important to then be able to focus. Identify the distractions that could knock you out of the headspace you need. For example, you phone, other tabs and windows on your computer, that rattling noise in the air conditioner, the rumbly in your tummy or that six-year-old running around wiTh A fULL BaG of MILK... ILLBERIGHT BACK.
Some distractions you can avoid with timing, others with willpower or decent plan. But all those distractions need dealt with at some point and in some way. And there will be distractions, always distractions, forever distractions... But that is okay; we can learn to deal with them and adapt and carry forward in our journeys of creation.
***
Part of any location is what exists in that location. If you choose a Starbucks there will be tables, chairs, free wi-fi and baristas. If you write in a library (remember those?) then there will also be chairs and tables but a little less likely to have that half-caf mocha chai latte you like.
As much as the location needs to be conducive to your process, so do the tools of the trade or just the random items around you. Public spaces give you great views of people, especially useful for describing how someone in your world looks or moves. Saves you the trouble of making things up yourself, the whole random world is right there walking by you.
A location in your home, such as an actual writing desk if you feel like being boring about it, loses some of the benefits of people watching and lattes but gains a great deal of privacy and comfort. Maybe your desk is a lap-desk that you use while lounging on the couch with documentaries in the background. Maybe its a comfortable office chair in front of a massive monitor with tabs open everywhere and instrumental music in the background.
Personally, I would love to be able to switch back and forth. I used to love going out for some people watching whenever I wrote dialogue and character descriptions. But whenever its time to put words to paper (or the electronic equivalent) I tend to be a late night, wait for the rest of the house to go to sleep kind of writer.
Location for me presently is not the easiest thing to lock down as I am currently unwell, and my house is often very full with minimal room for personal space. Taking my own advice right now is not entirely possible. But one day, I will have an office I love, this I swear. For now, I am happy with my laptop beside the couch in the middle of the family room.
***
Breaking my overall message down is this: find what works for you, then do that. There's not much more to it than that. Maybe take notes on how well you work in certain situations or locations, for the sake of objectivity at least. All the advice in the world pales in comparison to experience.
See what works best for you.
Eric
Here a couple links I found concerning famous authors and where they do their writing.