Write where you are

I've been reading about famous writers and their writing spaces, which are as varied as the writing styles themselves. John Cheever put on a suit and rode the elevator down to the basement storage area of his apartment building, where he took off the suit and wrote in his boxer shorts. Virginia Woolf said every woman should have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction. Ernest Hemingway wrote standing up,and Marcel Proust wrote in bed. Charles Dickens would rearrange furniture to make the space conducive to writing, and Thomas Mann had a large desk covered with objects, reducing the actual writing area.

I'm always looking for a good place to write. I don't know what makes it good, but I know it when I see it. A few weeks ago, I found a new coffee shop inside a creative community space/art gallery in a former strip-mall bar that features a long wooden table near the front windows, and I love it.

I recently visited Lindenwood University's (St. Charles, MO) new library with its soaring wall of windows. Contemporary furniture and seating in an open space with high ceilings invite everyone to sit, read, or write. A small coffee shop is tucked to the side, and the stacks include rows and rows of tall book shelves with chairs and desks scattered throughout. I love it.

I wanted to compare the new space to the old, and see how it had changed since my days as a grad student. I spent a lot of time in Butler Library, built in 1929, with its dark, castle-like lobby and old, soft sofas and massive fireplace. I loved it.

Butler Library had carrels not much larger than a small closet in the (even darker) basement. Students could close the sliding doors to shut out the world. I remember looking out the window onto a street with beautiful old houses on the other side, but I'm not sure if that's accurate (it's been a while). Windows or not, I loved it.

Regardless of where you write, and whether or not you like background noise or complete silence while staring at a blank wall or taking in a spectacular view, it's really not about the space. Just write where you are. I'm writing this with my feet on the coffee table in my family room with the computer resting on my lap. It's not the coolest space, but I'm writing, and I love it.

Mary Horner is the author of Strengthen Your Nonfiction Writing, and teaches communications at St. Louis and St. Charles Community Colleges. She completed the Writing Certificate from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and is a certified medical writer.

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8 comments Butler Library, Charles Dickens, Coffe shops, Hemingway, John Cheever, Lindenwood University, Marcel Proust, Thomas Mann, Virginia Woolf

Why is writing _____?

A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult - Thomas Mann

Last week when I was searching Google about this post, I typed in "Why is writing ... " and the algorithm automatically responded with two words: "so hard." Exactly. That's just what I was thinking. Why is writing so hard?

While texting a friend this afternoon, my husband asked why I was sending such a long text.

"It's not that long," I said, "I keep rewriting it."

He then asked how long it takes me to write a text.

"It usually takes a while," I said. "I don't think I've ever written a text and sent it without rewriting, editing and/or sending an addendum."

"I guess you feel pressure as a writer to write everything well."

That's putting it mildly. I always feel pressure to write perfectly, to make my words ebb and flow and create a melody so beautiful that it literally transforms a person. Sometimes it's overwhelming. I overthink almost everything I write, including social media posts and comments to social media posts. But it started a long time before social media existed.

Many years ago I was at my aunt's house for a family gathering, and someone brought a birthday card for my cousin who had recently moved out of town. The card was being passed around for everyone to sign, and as my brother gave it to me he said, "You're a writer, I bet you'll write something great!"

As soon as those words left his mouth and reached my ears, they travelled to my brain and immediately proceeded to shut off every ounce of creativity I had. Too much pressure. I sat there for quite a while reading the other comments on the card like "Have a great day!" and "You're only as old as you feel," and "Have fun, but not too much fun!" And I tried to come up with something original, witty, and writer-ly. And I had nothing. So I passed the card to someone else, thinking the perfect phrase would come to me any minute.

A couple of hours later, as I left her house that evening, my brother asked me what I wrote on the card.

"Happy Birthday," I said, embarrassed. We both laughed.

Why do you think writing is so hard?

Mary

Mary Horner teaches communications at St. Louis and St. Charles Community Colleges. She is the author of Strengthen Your Nonfiction Writing, and a freelance writer and editor.

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6 comments editing, pressure to write well, rewriting, texting, Thomas Mann, Why is writing so hard