Resolution #3: I want a special writing space

Over the last two days I have looked at some New Year’s Resolutions that writers often make. One that features on many lists is the desire to find a special writing place.

Some writers think having their own writing space will make them true writers. Because only with a dedicated area can they find the inspiration to write.

The reality is a true writer can write almost anywhere. Right now, I am sitting in a room filled with bouncy houses and screaming children. There is loud music and an A/C unit on high. But I am still writing. The only thing stopping some writers from actually sitting down and writing is their own outlook toward their craft.

Dawn Arkin

Is this one of your desires, a resolution that you made at the beginning of the year? While it is nice to have a dedicated place for writing, this is not essential. Let me list some of the places I have done some writing:

• I have written in bed, while sitting in church and during a staff meeting when I was a teacher.
• I have written while waiting for a plane – and while in a plane.
• I have done some writing while driving in a car – actually, my wife was driving at the time.
• I have composed poems on the beach, in the shower, in bed, by the campfire and in a classroom full of children (modelling is so powerful) .
• I have written stories on a park bench.
• I sometimes write with the television blaring.
• I am able to write in a comfortable hotel room, on an uncomfortable bench in a chilly lodge in the shadow of Everest and in front of a roaring fire at home on a winter’s day.
• I have written with sweat pouring down my face and with the wind nearly blowing me off this planet.

You DO NOT necessarily need a special place to write. If you have a writing studio or special writing place – fantastic. But it is not essential. A writer writes, no matter what the location, no matter what the circumstances, no matter how he or she feels. A writer writes. Period.