Saturday Soirée - Do I need a special place to write?

Sure you do. Just remember that anywhere you choose to write is special because it is in that space, though unlikely, though not ideal, that you can write the words that are in your heart and tell the stories only you can tell.

To have the ideal writing space is a dream that may never materialize for many writers. I am yet to find or create the perfect writing space I have pictured in my mind. Maybe one day I will, maybe not. Nevertheless I believe that if passion remains with the love of the craft and the process, that is a dream that can wait.

Meanwhile, with pen and notebook, desktop or laptop, write wherever you feel comfortable, inspired and uninhibited.

A comfortable space can be anywhere of course - in your home, backyard, your child’s tree house, the park, at the office, the library, coffee shop, bookstore, by a river or lake, etc. Maybe you find comfort in a cushy chair, sofa, typist chair pulled up to a desk or table, sunk low on a beanbag, curled up on the floor or on your bed.

Wherever you settle down to write, make sure that it is comfortable enough not to distract from your purpose for going there. Wiggle in, find the best position and let the words flow.

An inspiring space could be one that oozes inspiration from its shape, its texture, its position, the surrounding atmosphere or the exterior view. More importantly, it should inspire you to silence or ignore the noise of all that threatens to dim the flame of your love for writing, obscure the words that burn in your soul and destroy your resolve to just write.

Even if your writing has nothing to do with deep personal issues or soulful reflection, the space where you go to record your words or your stories, should draw you in with its visual appeal and stir you emotionally. It should inspire you to put on paper or screen the stories in your head and thoughts and feelings in your heart that are clamoring to be written.

An uninhibited space would be more aptly described as a place where you feel uninhibited. You go there freely and excitedly, not because it holds some special or magical power, but because there within the confines of that place where you go to write, you feel spontaneous and unafraid, to write with wild abandon. There, you should be able to write uninhibited by internal urges and external calls to conform to the writing styles of others, to hide behind pretentious words and veiled revelations of what is true and important to you.

It is all right to dream of your ideal writing space but in order to move forward with your writing, you may have to release the dream for a while. Remember that the more you lament your lack of the perfect place to pen your words, the more likely you are to put off writing altogether. The result is that writing is relegated to the back burner as discontentment, ingratitude and discouragement take center stage, the words dry up and the passion begins to die.

Until you acquire or create your ideal writing space, find another that calls out to you, offering comfort, inspiration and the chance to write uninhibited.