Ideally...

Journal 3-1

My ideal writing space eh? Well that's actually a lot tougher than most people might think. I used to be able to write anywhere - even in cafeterias full of shouting students in high school. As of late I find that it's been more difficult for me to find a snug place for me to settle down and work hard on something. I've gotten really lazy about serious projects and though for the most part I know why, there's a small part of me that thinks, "Damn, this sucks."

I can go to Barnes & Noble and sit down and force myself to get going, which has worked on several occasions, once being that 8 hour spree that got a lot done. At my house I managed to get things moving once my mother, father, and little sister went on vacation, as I had to stay home and watch the dog (which was cool). I think I couldn't ever get comfortable writing during the summer was because I didn't want to get on a roll and then hear, "NIKKI!" from my dad, totally derailing my train of thought because he needs help with some random thing or another. I hate when people interrupt me when I'm on a roll...I get like Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets.

But I'm not getting to where I should be. My ideal writing place is somewhere that I don't get distracted and start daydreaming. Even being alone in my dining room with not-quite-right music playing will detour me. But then again if I'm in the library with no music I still start zoning out. Ironically, I think my most productive areas are in the classroom, before and occasionally during a class, both in high school and college. It's like my secret way of not paying attention. No...I know what it is. I read once (pretty sure it was in my Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul book) that writers love to write and hate to write (because it's fun and yet it's still work). So true. When it's as a distraction to things I don't mind avoiding (not like I want to avoid my classes, but it makes for something to do when one gets bored...or something like that), then it's a lot more fun. But when I have to actually sit down and force myself to think of things (time to go lasso a muse), it's work and some of the fun gets sucked out of it. Kind of like when you're working at Dairy Queen and you get free ice cream but you still have to deal with stupid customers.

So yes. At a desk with chattering people around me is my ideal place to write, where there are things I want to ignore so that I focus entirely on my work. Weird huh? =D