I've been meaning to write another reflective post for ages now, but things keep happening and I change what I intend to say and keep changing my mind. But here it is.
Last year I experimented with places to write because I found it hard to concentrate and really focus on what I wanted to achieve. Writing from home wasn't working, as I was too easily distracted and if the phone rang or something needed doing, I stopped writing. So getting out of the house seemed to make sense. Many writers go outside to write, like a coffee shop, a co-working space, even renting an office. I had to find what worked for me.
So I tried taking my lappie to a local hotel and setting up in the lobby by a mains point (my laptop battery gave up a long while back!). The first time I tried this, I managed 4000 words in a morning session and I was chuffed, promising myself to do this at least 3 times a week.
Two months later (!) I achieved it again, and over a fortnight, I completed a lot of rewriting and new work at the hotel, in 4 hour stretches. Afterwards, I had a numb behind but it was great to work without distractions, as I found I could switch off from what was going on around me in this environment.
I also tried taking the fold up table in the bedroom and setting up there, and this worked quite well too.
BUT sitting at a computer screen for long stretches hasn't done my body much good - back ache, headaches, stiffness are all end products. So my next experiment will be trying to change my lifelong habit of hours at a time of writing to taking a break every half hour or so for a 10 minute walk. Or even trying writing for an hour a day.
Not managed it so far.....
Related post:
http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/writing-dreams.html
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