Change of Scenery

I've read this piece of advice from several different authors; leave the house from time to time – go to the library or a coffee shop and do some of your writing there. Supposedly, a few hours writing in a different location, away from the usual distractions of your home can help you concentrate on your writing. In fact, Joe Haldeman – well known in science fiction circles – says that he takes a bike ride several miles to his favorite coffee shop, where he does his writing – longhand – in a notebook. I was left with the impression this was the only way he could write, but I might be wrong about that.

I haven't mastered the 'working in a coffee shop' method of writing. While it's true a coffee shop doesn't have the distraction of housework that needs to be done, it does have the distraction of 'goodies' that want to be eaten, and I don't need those empty calories. I also am so shy, so nervous around strangers that I find myself constantly looking around me to see who has come in, who might need the table I'm using… No, I'd rather work in the solitude of my own home. With one exception.

My hubby gets a little upset with me when we go on vacation. "You're here to relax, not work!" He doesn't seem to understand that writing hasn't become work for me. I enjoy it. If I didn't have to sleep, I could do it 23.75 hours a day, 7 days a week. So, spending my vacation afternoons and evenings on my laptop, working on my stories, is almost as much fun as spending our mornings in the theme parks.

That's my occasional change of scenery, I guess. The resort where we stay is already clean, so I don't have (as much) housework nagging for my attention. And it does work; in my first five days here this time, I've got 2 stories ready to mail out to contests. That's more than I got mailed out in the last four months. So, if you can handle the coffee shop scene, by all means, try it. I'll continue with my 'working' vacations.