Sometimes you just need a change of venue.
I’ve been fairly productive lately, with a number of wips floating around the internet looking for love in the slush piles. This week, I sent a mystery novelette to Mystery Weekly Magazine, and am now working on a literary flash piece.
I don’t plan in advance what I’m going to take on next; I just wait for the Muse to tell me what genre I’m going to work in. Usually it’s sci-fi/fantasy, sometimes it’s crime/mystery, and rarely, literary. Like most writers, I just do what the voices in my head tell me.
But sometimes, even if you’re inspired, you gotta get away from the computer and the Great Distractor that feeds it. So today, I was out on the back porch, armed only with an ink pen and a legal pad. Instead of the crypt-like silence in my loft workspace, the occasional shout of children playing or a bit of bird song would drift through the trees. My wife and I practically live on that secluded back porch in warm weather. In the evenings we sip wine and talk as the sun sets. Later, we’ll read or work puzzles by the glow of the oil lamp. (Me, crosswords; she, Sudoku)
So, fellow writers, do you sometimes need to change writing venues? What’s your favorite getaway?
My usual getaway for writing is a walk around my college campus or a spell sipping coffee in a local diner. I like to people watch.
The Philosophical Fighter,
Sounds like a good tactic to me.
I agree… walks are good, and also showers. Solitary spaces:)
Elizabeth,
They’re vital to mental and spiritual health.
Although I deeply admire you and other writers, I’m glad I’m not one.
I don’t think I’d ever feel free. ♥︎
Kara,
It is an odd compulsion. It has its costs and its rewards — like any addiction.
I find lone train journeys are usually full of inspiration, not that I take many, even in normal times.
cath,
Yes! About two years ago, my wife and I took a train ride through the South. I found the time to write a couple of new stories. The gentle rhythm is indeed inspirational.
I think it’s awesome that you let things flow as you feel it, that’s real..