Where Does a Writer Write? by Wendy H. Jones


I have had a great time today as I have been on a day trip to York. This was a round trip of nine hours by train and I loved every minute of it. With my trusty laptop in hand I was able to spend several uninterrupted hours writing. This got me thinking about where do writers actually write and what might be the most unusual place any writer has spent time writing?

Today I wrote in number of places the train being one of them. I also wrote at the station in a cafe, whilst listening to a steel band. Now I'm not sure if I should actually admit to this in a blog, but I actually quickly whipped out a piece of paper and pen and wrote something down whilst in the toilet on the train. One confession too many maybe.

The train gave me many different thoughts and scenarios for future books. This meant I had to interrupt writing my current WIP in order to jot down the ideas for the future. All great stuff though. As I write murder mysteries I will leave it up to you to decide what I have in mind.

I spent a pleasant half hour mulling over the most unusual place I had ever written. In the end it came down to a mud hut, in a Nepalese Jungle, in the middle of a hurricane, by the light of a candle. I thought that couldn't be beaten. I was proved wrong on my return to Dundee. Walking from the station to my car I passed a young woman who was begging. It was 10 pm, freezing cold and dark. Whilst I, and possibly most others, were thinking only of a warm house and bed, she was sitting on the pavement, under a blanket, writing as though her life depended on it.

I think this demonstrates the true nature of a writer. That compulsion to write no matter what. I drove home excited at the prospect of getting all this down in writing.

My question to you is, Where is the most unusual place you have been felt compelled to write? Please share in the comments. I am looking forward to hearing the answers.

Comments

Mari Biella said…
In between hitchhiking alongside the westbound lane on the M4. That was back when I was younger and more adventurous, and it's still not very impressive compared to the Nepalese jungle!

I find that sometimes writing in a different place, or in different circumstances, can spark creativity, even though I'm normally a creature of habit. If I'm stuck, I often try moving my laptop to another place, or taking a notebook and going out somewhere. Sometimes it works!
JO said…
In a hut in the rainforest in Malaysia ... I've also done the Nepali cyclone-thing (terrifying) ... by the side of the Siddhartha Highway, the car broken down, in the heat of the afternoon and needing a wee ... in a hut by a river in Laos and wondering where the rat was hiding ... but then I'm a travel writer, so nowhere is out of bounds when it comes to writing!
Susan Price said…
I'm a great fan of taking writing out of the house - it does seem to free something up. But I'm completely outmatched in this company. The best I can offer is: on a choppy North Sea between Shetland and Aberdeen, on top of a Scottish mountain as an osprey circled overheard, in a prehistoric wheelhouse on a Shetland moor while my partner dozed in the sun (yes! Shetland sun) and a small herd of Shetland ponies observed me warily.
I once wrote pretty much a whole novel aboard a boat in the Canaries where my husband was working. Ideal situation - I wrote on deck and we had no television, no radio and - for reasons too complicated to go into here - only two Marty Robbins cassettes for company. Gigha has been good for writing, for me, as well. I always seem to have my best ideas in the shower. Don't know why!
Lynne Garner said…
In the middle of a field whilst walking the dog. A fully formed picture book story started shouting at me - thankfully had phone on me so wrote it in the notes app I have.
Wendy H. Jones said…
Wow. There are some pretty awesome places here guys.It seems we writers are always thinking about plots

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