Favorite Place(s) to Write

I knew I wanted to be a reporter since I was 8 years old. And, of course, my mother knew that I would be a writer long before then. Today my career entirely revolves around telling good stories -- it's an absolute dream come true!

When I told my mom a few months ago that I'm going to thrust myself into book writing... there was about 5 minutes of silence on the phone.

"Yeah, I know," she said. My mom is not the type to say, "duhh!!" but if she was, that's probably what she would've said. Darn woman knows me better than I know myself... (sometimes)

While the thought of writing sounds so romantic/serene/flowy... it's not. It's a labor of love. No, worse. Some days it's a hard fought battle. Half the battle is just getting over the fear of starting. And the other half is just mustering the confidence that what I'm writing is worth writing.

I've been thinking alot about productivity -- especially because, since Superman has been around, I've been working extra hard to maintain a high level of productivity. But I feel guilty when I am spending more time writing than with Superman.

Mark Twain, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and all those other fancy shmancy writers had getaways to inspire their writing. I have a 30 page manuscript due in 2 weeks and don't have the vacation time nor the place to arrange a shmancy inspirational getaway.

This conundrum has taught me alot about forcing productivity. I've found that my favorite place to write is ALONE.

Doesn't matter if I'm in a cubicle, at home, at a coffee shop, or on a bus. I can bang out stellar copy when I am alone. No one looking over my shoulder. No one around so that I feel guilty that I'm stealing time away from togetherness.

Sad, I know. But if I'm going to get anything done, I've got to do it alone!