Once, a friend suggested buying an expensive ergonomic chair to keep me writing at my desk. I almost did, but then remembered I can write while sitting on squeaky or wobbly chairs in coffee shops. I’ve written some of my best work on long flights or train rides, stuck for hours with strangers. Somehow, that transported me into the inner space of writing.
SOS: If you are in need of urgent writing help, scroll down to the section titled “Looking In and Out” for concrete writing tips.
When I didn't have a regular writing space, I fantasized about it. I thought that having my own room/office would lead me to write better and more. Yet, once I had one, I didn't use it enough and felt guilty. Having an office didn't lead to creative bursts.
Instead, I ultimately realized I work best by rotating through different “writing stations” throughout the day. “Writing stations” is the term Julia Cameron uses in her book Write for Life: Creative Tools for Every Writer (2023).
My first writing station of the day is my couch, where I sit with a cup of coffee, a journal, and a pen. I rest my back and extend my legs, take my journal, and start jotting. I write about feeling blocked (if I am), resisting, or having inspiration. I set my day’s goals. Sometimes, it is just revising one paragraph or a section or writing up a scene.
Then, I move to my next writing station, which is my desk. I love to have my coffee hot by my side and play Rachmaninov on my Alexa device. Most of the time, I respond to emails and do searches. And, at times, I do write. It is more about showing up and keeping close to my writing projects.
When in revision mode, I print out pages and spread them on the dining table. I still use this dinosaur technique despite having a large monitor. I take a pen and move pages around. Sometimes I use scissors. I feel guilty about using so much paper. I do recycle, though.
After the second writing station, I take a break, walk my dog, go to Pilates, and then move to my last writing station of the day: a coffee shop. I have developed almost a Pavlovian reflex: I enter the coffee shop, see people around me working on their laptops, and I, too, get coffee, take out my laptop, sit down, and enter “the zone of writing.” I never work for more than two hours. First, sustaining my attention and focused writing for longer is hard. The second reason is more mundane: two-hour free street parking.
It might be tempting to think that an amazing ergonomic chair will be the key to unleashing creativity. But it might not be your key. Good chairs, though, are good for our backs.
Looking In
1. Close your eyes and think of a good writing experience you have had. You might think of several. What did the space you were writing in look like?
2. Open your eyes and spend 7 minutes describing the space(s) you recalled. You may think of this prompt as “Describe the spaces you have completed your best writing in.”
3. Next, list the qualities these spaces have in common, such as: a quiet space (or the the opposite—low-grade chatter in the background), daylight (or lamp light), a tidy desk (or papers spread out on the desk), a desk facing the window (or away from it), etc.
4. Finish by spending 5 minutes answering the following questions:
In my current writing life, what spaces possess some of these qualities?
Can I create or find more spaces with these characteristics?
Do I need to have a steady writing space, or does my writing space move with me?
Looking Out
For inspiration, peek into these writing spaces: The Writing Spaces of Famous Writers