Guest Post by Bryan Cohen
When my wife and I moved into our latest apartment a few years ago, we made sure to get a place with a second bedroom. I planned to use that room as an office for my freelance and personal writing. My success rate for finishing my writing has never been 100 percent in any room anywhere, but that office tops the list efficiency-wise. As important as it is to have a dedicated writing space, I wrote my first few books in a variety of places. Wherever I wrote was my office that day, whether it was the kitchen table or the bedroom. When I feel stuck on my writing in a certain location, I’m happy to move to the next room to see if it can get me past my temporary writer’s block.
Here are a few writing locations you may not have thought of.
1. The Kitchen
I’m fortunate that my kitchen counter comes up to the perfect height for me to stand and write. Whether I’m writing by hand, using my laptop or typing on my Neo 2 electronic keyboard, the act of standing helps to get the blood flowing to my brain. When I pushed myself to the limit with a 2,500 word goal per day (in addition to my 2,000 words or so per day of freelance writing), I would find myself getting too tired or anxious to write. Standing up seemed to help that problem for at least a few hundred words.
2. The Garage
I like to think of my wife’s car like a tiny writing pod. I’ll sit in the backseat, move the front passenger seat as far ahead as it can go and relax into my personal writing area. I don’t turn the car on or anything. I simply sink into the comfortable seat and write. This location was always great for scribbling out a blog post by hand when I simply couldn’t look at a screen any longer that day.
If your garage is off limits because of odor or clutter, this is a good excuse to brainstorm your next book while taking out a few garbage bags worth of junk.
3. The Laundry Room
Our apartment complex has a joint laundry room in the basement of the next building over. I love bringing down a portable work desk with me and hammering out a few hundred words while my laundry tumbles. There’s something about doing two things at once that heightens my sense of accomplishment. “I worked on a book and I finally cleaned those sheets? I’m a rock star!”
I’ve also heard stories of multiple authors who wrote their books in their laundry rooms. Maybe the smell of dryer sheets has something to do with creative productivity.
4. The Bedroom
Now, before you tell me that writing on your bed will put you right to sleep, I have to say that I agree with you. Writing while sitting or lying on your bed is a recipe for disaster if you’re at the beginning of a writing session. If you only have 200 words left as part of your daily goal, however, the comfortable and relaxing accommodations of your bedroom may be able to loosen you up enough to complete them. You know how good ideas always come to you right when you’re about to go to bed? There’s no reason you shouldn’t harness this power during the tail end of your writing sessions. Make sure to set an alarm in case you actually do hit the hay.
5. The Porch
I live in Chicago, which could mean my porch is off-limits about eight freezing months out of the year. At least, it would mean that if I wasn’t crazy. Sometimes, you just need a little oxygen to stir the brain. If that means sitting outside when it’s 20 degrees outside in all of your coats and gloves that are thin enough to let you type, you do it. Maybe not for more than 20 minutes at a time, but it’s a perfectly viable thing to do for a crazy person a.k.a. writer.
I fully recommend a thermal top and bottom if you plan to brave the cold and your writing at the same time.
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A daily writing routine is one of the keys to becoming a better writer. If you have a hard time meeting your daily goals and you have to stay around the home, you should pull out all the stops to reach those goals. If you feel blocked, test out one of these five primo locations to get you out of your writing funk. You are the renter or owner of your entire home. You might as well use the whole thing to create your next piece of work.
About the Author
In honor of his new book, Cohen is hosting the “1,000 Prompts, 1,000 Dollars” Writing Contest on his website. Click the link to find out how to enter!
Bryan Cohen is an author, a creativity coach and an actor. His new book, 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, Volume 2: More Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More is now available on Amazon in digital and paperback format. His other books include 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts, The Post-College Guide to Happiness, and Ted Saves the World. He has published over 30 books, which have sold more than 20,000 copies in total. Connect with him on his website, Build Creative Writing Ideas, on Facebook or on Twitter.
Sometimes the living room and a big, comfy chair works as well.
Writing at work is good if you can get away with it!
I agree! Comfy chairs are great, unless they’re too comfy :).
Had a good giggle at this post! Have a look at my (very brief!) post on this topic –
http://pippahornby.blogspot.com/2013/11/hitting-spot.html.
Recently my car has been – if not necessarily my favorite – my most convenient writing spot!
Great picture, Pippa! I feel like somebody should start a tumblr of strange places they’ve written :).
Thanks for the guest post, Bryan. I like writing in different spots, too. Lately, I’ve grown to enjoy writing in the kitchen because my counters are tall enough to be standing desks. Whatever works!
You’re welcome! And thank you for having me. The kitchen is my #1 deadline writing spot!
Elizabeth, I love the new site. It looks first class, simple and easy to navigate. WordPress rocks, but you’ve rocked it better than the rest!
Peace, Seeley
Thanks so much, Seeley! Eldon at Blogheal ( http://blogheal.com/) did a great job. And thanks for coming by.
I’ve found I am much more productive if I sit at the kitchen table. I just need to get away from my computer and my desk.
Elizabeth, I love your new site!
I agree! I’ve got about a four-hour time limit at my desk for the day. Once it’s up, I’ve got to move around.
Elizabeth – Thanks for hosting Bryan.
Bryan – One of the things I really like about your ideas is that it allows one to get a bit of a change of scenery, even within the same apartment or house. And that can help get the creative juices flowing. Thanks
I’m glad you like the post, Margot! A little move from room A to room B can make a huge difference.
I write all over the place, too. Never the back seat of the car, though. I started writing my next play, Piano Bench Confessions, in my music room. It’s very inspirational! When I’m stuck, I play a few songs, then get back to it.
That sounds great! If only I had a music room. :)
HA! The garage! Though I confess to writing my first few books in my bathtub, so I shouldn’t laugh too hard. I still write in there some.
The bathtub?! That’s fantastic. What are the logistics of that? Legal pad? Tub tray?
This post totally captures my experience writing. I was quite excited when my hubby and I decided to make a dedicated writing space for me in one of our spare bedrooms. When it was a novelty to me I accomplished a ton. I was excited to be in there to write. Then the bedroom was the place to be (maybe this was the only way I could make one of our cats happy and still write–he wanted on my lap otherwise). Now it seems the living room recliner is the place to write. Maybe I’ll have to take the suggestion of kitchen next…
Thanks for the comment, D.L. Novelty is the key word there. I feel like I always need to keep switching things up to keep myself going. My wife really wants to get a cat, but I worry about it getting in the way of my writing! :)
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