Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Of Hobbit Holes and Cafés


It’s a dangerous business going out your front door.  
~ J.R.R. Tolkien

I wonder if J.K. Rowling read Natalie Goldberg’s advice on writing back in the day. It’s a possibility, given the fact that she wrote the first three chapters of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone on napkins in Nicholson’s café – now called Black Medicine Coffee Shop.  Just imagine how renowned the place has become after Rowling put them on the map, gregarious folk flocking there to sip their magic potion while leaning over paper and pen. 

Goldberg urges her readers to sit in a café with handy-dandy notebook and give their hands free reign.  She suggests meeting with a friend for a “writing date” - a concept contrary to the stereotype of the lonely, anguished writer. 

My friend Katie tried her hand at writing in public places for awhile. Every day she’d go to McDonald’s for coffee and her morning pages.  She has enough poems from that stint to publish a collection called Breakfast at McDonald’s. Here’s one. 


Every Morning, Angela

cases the room at McDonald’s,
makes trips to the counter
for a napkin, more coffee, more sugar.

Her eyes check to see if any eyes
will meet hers. If any will allow her
to join them for breakfast,
will succumb to her customary ploy,
“I need a friend.”

Some face that gargoyle face, allow
her to eat with them, then later complain
of their conflict – having their space invaded,
their pity for her, their guilt
at the thought of refusing…

What would Jesus do? they wonder.

One who would not bow to Angela’s craft
said simply, “Even Jesus needed a place apart,”
excusing the stone in her own heart. 

Can you concentrate on writing in a crowded space?  I’ve tried and it doesn’t work for me. I get too distracted by Angelas.  I need a lonely place apart.  Like Bilbo Baggins I’m a creature of habit who doesn’t like to be disturbed. No racket or fuss in solitude.  

What about you? Have you taken Natalie’s advice and ventured out of your hobbit hole to capture adventure? Do you go about with a journalist’s eye, looking for detail outside your imagination?  Me, I’ll take the vicarious adventure any old day.   


Where is your ideal spot to write?  Does your best writing require privacy?
Or do you cheerfully come out of your hobbit hole every now and then? 




Linking with Seedlings in Stone


73 comments:

  1. I love what you shared here :) I get what I write from the adventures of the day. But yes, I often go to a quiet place to reach that deep place. Well, that quiet place doesn't have to be a church nor a forest :P I could find myself in McDonald's too :P I'm referring to my state of mind ~ I should be relaxed...

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    1. Melissa, as long as it’s far from the madding crowd. A forest, a beach, a lake with geese, a bookstore, I’ve done it all. And yes, a peaceful state of mind is paramount. Who can write under stress? XOX

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  2. Oh, Debra, you know me - I am in my Hobbit Hole, only exiting to the nature provided on my backyard deck to listen to God's inspiration and engage in the silence where He can pervade my soul.
    Years ago, lonely and alone, I would sometimes visit a certain restaurant and take my journal with me so eating by myself would not seem so bereft of human contact. I did make contact with others at times, but there was nothing lasting. However, the observations I made of the behaviors of others helped me, in some inexplicable way, to heal and to move forward. To meet the future unafraid and with the conviction that God truly cares for each and every one of us.
    All that being said, all that being done, I love returning to my Hobbit hole, where my writing takes wings and flies . . .
    Love and blessings, dear friend!

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    1. Martha, I thought about you on your deck in the woods, coffee in hand, surrounded by majesty. That’s where I’d find inspiration too. I’d come out of my hobbit hole any day to sit on that deck. I’m so glad you’re not lonely and alone anymore :-( I’ve seen people eating by themselves in restaurants, and thought I’d have to have my journal too if I were them. The journal would keep you company.
      Love and blessings dear friend!

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  3. I am like you Debra. I need enough solitude in order for my brain to produce without the interference of the cacophony around. Goldberg to me is the story of the author more than what she wrote about. I never read a Harry Potter book, but I can see the despair of a person who has nothing and still believe in make believe and magic.

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    1. Ana, silence IS golden. I’ve only read the first Rowling book (the one above) and that was enough ;-) But I love her real rags-to-riches story – seems almost like a fairy tale. I’m reading The Hobbit again with my daughter and loving every minute of that story. Tolkien’s my man! As for Goldberg, I just love her easygoing style, the way even a simple cucumber becomes magical in her eyes.

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  4. Don't think that I'm a social butterfly (I'm not at all) but when I've tried to go to the coffee shop to write I've either wound up talking to someone (often highly beneficial but not the point) OR I sit and stare at everyone there and can't think of a thing to write. Once out of town recently, I couldn't get internet at my dad's house and I did venture to a coffee shop and caught up on some very productive blogging time but I think I was so far behind in getting work done that it overrode my usual deer in the headlights type of experience. The other thing that I don't understand about leaving home to work in a public place is there are so many inconveniences to put up with... like what if there is no where to sit? what if the table is too small to spread out all my stuff? I much prefer to work at home, even with all the distractions.

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    1. Lynne, to take Natalie’s advice, I’d go to BAM and other coffee shops, but never found it productive. But every afternoon I’d sit with my daughter in the café area and do school work and this was majorly productive because all kinds of people came up and offered to help ;-) A neighbor, who happened to be an architect, joined us with his after work Americana and tutored in geometry. For free. And there were resource books everywhere, so that was a blessing.
      But writing, give me the privacy and comfort of home. Give me solitude or give me death!
      Hugs!

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  5. Debra - it doesn't matter where I am when I am writing. I invested in a laptop when I started writing because my life required I be mobile. I never thought about it (a good thing) when I started out, I just wrote wherever I was when I could. Later, I learned many writers required conditions to write. Settings, noise free, on a certain desk, at a certain time, when the moon is high, etc., Not me. It's a good think I hadn't read any how to books before I started otherwise they might have influenced me. I do believe a writer has to honor his/her self and write when, where, and how, it's fits with their psyche and conditions. I think the same applies to writers who don't type a work without an outline. I can't write that way either.. I just write and go back and clean up my work after the fast draft. I love posts about writers and their quirks.

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    1. Brenda, I couldn’t agree more. About the outline…. Forget about it. Been there, tried that. I even read an article once, “How to outline your novel in 20 minutes.” I did outline the novel, but guess what. I changed it half a dozen times, and in the end it practically wrote itself. There is no formula, no one-size-fits all when it comes to writing. As for place, some writers need a retreat, a conference, a view. And while those events and places work magic for some, I just need to sit my arse down any time of day and turn on the timer. Plain and simple.

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  6. Debra,

    The Harry Potter books marked CC's childhood. First, I read them to her. Then she read them to me. Then we watched all of the movies ... so we shed tears when we saw the last of them ... the same year she graduated high school. That said, I can write away from home if it's fairly quiet. I actually prefer it sometimes ... because I can't see dirty dishes or laundry or unmade dinner. I'm an extrovert (according to the Myers Briggs), so I need a balance of alone time and being amidst the "energy" of people.

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    1. Terri, what a bonding experience between mom and daughter; nothing like spending time together immersed in adventure. I wouldn’t trade those moments for the world. These were the best years of my life, first reading the books, then seeing the movies. That was the rule: first the book, then the movie. I’m a homebody like Bilbo, who loves his routine, his creature comforts, his pipe. He’s the one who inspired this post. Yeah, I’m reading The Hobbit again and loving it. Then we’ll watch the movie.

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  7. I normally write in my room when I'm alone and everything's quiet. Though I do jot down lines or phrases while I'm out when inspiration strikes. Maybe I should try her advice one day and see what happens.

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    1. Anne, anywhere, anytime is the “write time.” Yesterday while I was on the phone a brilliant idea popped into my head and I grabbed a piece of scrap paper and wrote down the inspiration before it had time to escape. While the other person was chatting up a storm, I was scribbling away. Glad I wasn’t driving!

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  8. I enjoyed reading everyone's comments. Like you I've only ever read the first J.K. Rowling book, but I did enjoy watching a documentary for television that she did one time, where she went back to visit the places she lived and wrote before Harry Potter. She was visibly moved when she entered the rooms where she lived and presumably wrote too, as she without a doubt will have kept a journal I think.
    It varies where I write, sometimes I have to be alone in the quiet of my room, but then other times I can put on music and become inspired. Other times in the past I've thoroughly enjoyed writing in my journal in a cafe or a hotel somewhere. Natalie Goldberg is terrific!
    That poem really manages to tell about loneliness and describes guilt so well. Some people go there to meet-up, whilst others go there to get-away.

    Hope you are well Debra,
    Hugs Jane

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    1. Good to hear from you Jane. I’ll bet the documentary was worthwhile. There is never a story about an author I wouldn’t be interested in watching, especially someone so successful. Anyone who went from living on welfare to multimillionaire status would hold my attention ;-)Wonder how it would feel to go from writing query letters to agents and publishers to just writing a new book and knowing it will be a best seller. I mean, talk about fairy-tale land! Thank you for the music mention. What kind of music inspires your writing? Do tell.
      Hugs!

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  9. Debra, I still keep Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones, by my bed, and just yesterday I ordered a copy for my daughter. I used to write in public. Some of my best stuff has been written on scraps and fast food receipts. These days it all seems so planned. I go to my writing room and power-up my Macbook. I think I need a dose of wild mind writing, where I bind and gag my inner editor and let my literary freak flag fly.

    As you know I'm heading to Massachusetts to help a family member who is very ill. I hope to also take some time apart and prime my authorly well. Maybe do some of that wild mind writing at Dunkin Donuts. They have one on every corner up there. This post of yours has inspired me. Thank you sweet Debra.

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    1. Leah, not to worry; you do enough wild mind writing already. It doesn’t seem to me that you gag your inner editor often. Your work seems to flow naturally, the literary freak flag waving strong and free! But I get what you're saying. As Natalie put it, “The best writing comes from inside you and is not ‘edited’ by your mind or your ideas about what other people might think.”
      Do try to take some time in MA to sit in Dunkin Doughnuts and set the wild mind free.
      Traveling Mercies and Hugs.

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  10. Sometimes I enjoy a noisy place because it helps stimulate ideas. Sometimes I prefer the dead silence of my house. It just depends on my mood... but I definitely believe in writing on scraps of paper the moment the idea(s) pop into your head. I found a poem the other day that I had thought up in the shower, written down, then forgotten about... I loved it! You would think I spent a lot more time coming up with it. :)

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    1. Rachel, I believe you can find inspiration anywhere. And your poems almost always make me smile ;-)Do you ever write songs? Record your dreams?

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  11. I write best alone although I occasionally venture out to watch people where I could observe and take some notes for later reflection and writing. ;)

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    1. Joyce, you take your notebooks along when you go out? I haven’t done that in a long time now, but one of these days, now that fall is near, I may sit outside of one of the cafés in town and see what happens. Yeah, I should try that again.

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  12. Iv never tried writing in a public place. The only place that is crowded and yet stirs the writer in me is the church. It often moves the writer in me and i come back into my solitude and write, like the last one I wrote. I even prefer hiding my feelings from any person standing next to me so cant possibly write in public and be noticed!

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    1. Jerly, I’m loving all your story-telling, no matter where you write them. Wherever you’re stirred to write, it’s paying off. You are rich in stories.

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  13. Hi, Debra.

    I'm fortunate in that I can pretty much write anywhere. Unless I get a blog post idea at three in the morning, I write those on computer, but I've been drafting the book in longhand in pencil. Somehow makes me feel closer to the story, if that makes sense. (Doesn't really to me, because it's my story- I lived it.)

    Great post,

    Casey

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    1. Hi Casey, I’ve read that the thinking process is different when writing longhand than typing, that there is scientific basis for the pen’s superiority over the keyboard. Some of the best witers in the world still prefer to write everything the old-fashioned way first, then transfer it over to keyboard. Me, I do some of both. There may also be a scientific basis for the pen's superiority over the keyboard when it comes to writing development and cognitive functions. They say the brain is more actively engaged. All the best with your work.

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  14. I hadn't really thought about writing at a cafe or restaurant before. I'm going to try it sometime! Sometimes I'll write at the river by us or in the car while waiting for my son to get out of school.

    I never knew that about JR Rowling. I learned something new today. Thanks! :)

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    1. Jessica, oh the river, what a peaceful place to write… funny you should mention that because just today I was imagining what it would be like to hold a writer’s retreat at my friend’s house by the river. Those sunsets are magnificent. She lives on a hill overlooking the water, and has plenty of room in her home to accommodate several writers for a 3 or 4 day retreat. Still pondering that possibility…

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  15. I can pretty much write from anywhere. Once when I was out walking I saw a quote that was painted on a building. I just happen to be holding onto a flyer I picked up and used the back. Sometimes I take a break from blocking and take out the camera.

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    1. Marcie, nothing like a handy flyer to jot down a quote or a thought of your own that surfaces suddenly. Then there’s that camera that can capture the moment in a flash.

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  16. I sometimes get "ideas" in the midst of chaos and crowds, but no, I don't stay in that space to write. I love my quiet spot--a peaceful corner in my bedroom. And if I can't get away from people in my room, I plug in my earplugs and listen to music to shut them out. Thought-provoking post, Debra. :)

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    1. Beth, a peaceful corner of my bedroom is my sanctuary too, a place apart from chaos and crowds. I don’t have earplugs. If I need to drown out noise, I turn on the fan and the drone helps block the noise of the dog yapping incessantly one block behind us :-(

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  17. Oh I love this! I love Natalie Goldberg- read her years ago. Back in the day I wrote mostly in coffee shops on the East Side of Providence, RI. I write everywhere and anywhere. Coffee shops and surfside. Home and out and about. Roadside, if the Spirit moves me and I pull over. I really more now than ever write at home. But now that I said that, surely I will be compelled to write elsewhere.

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    1. Dawn, write wherever the Spirit moves you! We can’t be letting genius ideas or masterpiece material slip through our fingers like water. Those ideas evaporate before you can count 1-2-3. Here one minute, gone the next. I've had it happen one time too many :-(

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  18. I envy people who can write anywhere, anytime. I prefer the quiet solitude of my hilltop with the view of nature. But then, maybe I should venture out and give the coffee shop a try -- as an experiment. One never knows...

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    1. Jayne, when did a good experiment ever hurt anybody? I’m tempted to run over right now to Starbucks in the back of Target (the quieter Starbucks than the one on the highway) and try it out again. I’ve almost forgotten how longhand feels anyway. Maybe we should do that experiment and report back…

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  19. I can write in a public place, such as a cafe, restaurant, or airport, so long as I have no traveling companions and no immediate deadlines.

    Two hours between flights? You bet! I can block out all the hustle, bustle, and noise to get a blog post done.

    30 minutes between flights? No way! I can't lose myself in the world of my words and also focus on flight status announcements.

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    1. Joe, you are a lone writer like me. I can’t imagine writing with a traveling companion. How distracting would THAT be! I’ll bet you thrive during those 2-hr layovers – what better use of time than taking dictation from God!

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    2. I do quite a bit of business travel, and have adapted my own routines for use of time, etc.

      When I travel with my wife, I have to make a conscious effort to adjust, and focus on enjoying her company, rather than trying to get anything done. Otherwise, I can become an unbearable annoyed grump...

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    3. There is a time for everything under the sun, and just being with your wife is the most sacred act of all. Because your priorities are righteous, God gives more grace. ~ Blessings Joe.

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  20. 'Breakfast at McDonald's' is such a terrific idea for a collection -- and a promising one if the poem posted here is any indication. I can read in public places and, on rare occasions, I can manage to write (almost as if I'm inhaling the stimulation). More often, I'll make note of things that strike me and put them into a story or essay when I'm in the quiet of my office -- or someplace else in my home. That's what laptops are for -- right? In a word - I need quiet to keep the wheels turning, though I'm forever amazed at what gets churned up in the most unexpected places at the most unexpected times.

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    1. Deborah, Katie is contemplating that McDonald’s collection. She’s already published two poetry books, so I’m sure she’ll go for it.
      I make lots of notes, too, then transfer these to my computer. If I’m in the zone first part of the day in the sacred space, the pen flies and pages of longhand, like automatic handwriting, may emerge. Every so often this may happen on the computer, but it’s rare in all cases.
      I’m still pondering your words about the memoir you recently read, the one that didn’t meet your expectations, and hoping not to make that same mistake as the author :-(

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  21. Hi, Debra! ~

    I can't imagine writing the 'big stuff' in a noisy place surrounded by people. That is what I do in the wee hours of the morning when everyone else is asleep.

    However, I love taking my laptop to coffee shops, pubs, parks, and all kinds of crazy places to watch people, facebook and blog (as in reading & commenting).

    I would love to have a 'writer's date' with you sometime...

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    1. Linda, I can’t imagine myself writing the Real stuff in a crowded space either. But I can see you gathering fairy dust early in the morning and writing from that quiet place.
      If I had a laptop worth anything (mine is an antique now) I’d enjoy the coffee shop/café scene too - for the networking anyway.
      Wish you didn’t live hundreds of miles away, I’d like a writers’ date with you too.

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  22. honestly, you know of my last four months, so you know I haven't really been all that out and about. I write best when I'm alone anyway. What you said, about looking around at people, looking into their eyes, watching their actions – it's life lived out – it's a story on the face. When my brain comes all back together, and I can wander around a little bit, I might try this. Thank you Debra, thank you for being there as I was down the rabbit hole, thank you for this today. God bless and keep you and all of those in your care.

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    1. Craig, I know a little of your hermithood, why you don’t get out and about. I see it as a holy thing, the way God calls us to that lonely place apart, some of us anyway, and we heed that call. And even if circumstances (like sleep deprivation) keep us anchored to our hobbit holes, it’s ok. There is a place of rest, even when sleep eludes us. Thank you for your blessings. Right back at ‘cha.

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  23. I also write best when I am alone; when things are quiet.

    But I can also write in very beautiful places, like at the ocean, even when others are around. In coffee shops I can write as well, but often drift into writing about the people I am observing.

    Journal writing, as opposed to longer, more shaped pieces, can happen just about anywhere. But if I am trying to be particularly intelligent or thoughtful, quiet is best.

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    1. Britton, I’d love to write in a scenic spot again, like the ocean or the mountains. I remember the days – years ago – when I dreamed of having a spot on earth, a remote landscape somewhere far, far from the madding crowd where I could be a full-time writer and not be bothered with trivia. My dream was to escape the rat race altogether and just look out at waves crashing on the shore, or colors sprouting on the mountains, oblivious to the world. I was such an idealist, such a dreamer.
      I’m with you. Thoughtful pieces need peace and quiet. Absolutely.

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  24. As a reporter I have written scripts everywhere - in cafes, in cars, most memorably perhaps on my knees outside a top security prison. I blog at my desk - because i want to be able to cut and paste links and add photos - not really because of the writing part - and as for fiction - I often start chapters on the tube - I think being out and about is great for inspiration and adding scenes that may relate to where you are or someone you see - but yes there are times I want privacy too. You can't write your whole novel on the tube. At least I don't think you can, then again.....

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    1. Well reporters, yeah, traveling about goes with the territory. But on your knees outside a top security prison? Adventure! What press do you work for, and are you are still a reporter? On blogging… some don’t even count that as real writing because one can publish anything and everything at the press of a button. One woman recently bragged that she’d stopped editing her work. This made me cringe.
      On novels… I can see that outer world scenes could enhance the writing by being there. Either that or your imagination has to be bold and vivid. Thanks for sharing your interesting experience, Mum.

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  25. I can write whenever and wherever I want, only it comes out different. If I'm angry, I write depressive or angry stuff. If I'm happy, I write positive and inspirational stuff. I've written lyrics to multiple songs while just walking down the street after a certain events. I've written up as great blog posts and short stories while sitting in my room alone. It varies, really. I prefer being alone, by myself, though. Silence is helpful when trying to concentrate. Definitely.

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    1. Yep, moods shape what we write and how we write. Lately I’ve censored the rants though, as much as I have to say about certain issues, I tend to suppress those because, well, they don’t help others. But in the journal, yeah, ranting is fine. Songs, I’ve written my share of those too. I’m sorry to hear about your friend going away. Write more about that, it’s cathartic.

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  26. I love to write in quiet places. But a coffee shop would be a treat for me. Nothing like a hot cup in my hands and a warm flicker of inspiration flowing through my head. Life with five kids isn't quiet, so I'm definitely used to noise-- bring it on, I can write anywhere. Of course, my dream spot is a quiet mountain cabin with a stream trickling out the window. Maybe someday..... :) Thanks for stopping by the Overflow and encouraging me today.

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    1. Alicia, you’re an easy one to encourage ;-) It doesn’t take a stretch of the imagination to tell the truth. I know you can write anywhere, anytime, just engage the kids in play and have at it. But they give you so much writing fodder. Children keep our creative juices flowing because they are so full of wonder, and it’s just contagious. Oh, a mountain cabin with a tricking stream… a dream come true.


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  27. I don't know if it's unique or odd or not, but I can write anywhere. It never occurred to me that others might not be able to do it, because it comes easily to me. Once I start writing, I block out the world completely, or I ride on the waves of sound, color, scents and textures in this Zen-like fashion. I use these wonderful 8 1/2 x 11 hard cover artist's sketch books that I find at Barnes & Noble stores - they have unlined, acid free paper that is just ideal for journaling. I keep one of those with me at all times so that I can capture moments when beauty visits. Beauty visits often, I find, when I'm prepared that way. :)

    Much love,

    Dawnie

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    1. Dawn, thanks for the tip on being prepared for beauty. Artist sketch books would put you in the frame of mind for capturing rare moments, sublime moments even. I have so many journals, I can’t even begin to describe them all, some lined, some unlined. Some are small enough to throw in my purse and go with me. My daughter kept a nature journal at one time, at the advice of Charlotte Mason, and every day she’d sit in the yard and capture butterflies or squirrels, cats or dogs, anything live that crossed her path. Journals will be here when the internet shuts down, when the power goes out, should an asteroid hit the earth – God forbid!

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  28. Hi Debra. :-) Okay, ideally, the setting for me should be really really quiet. Preferably late at night when everyone else has gone to sleep, or very early morning, where everyone else is still asleep. And my dogs should also be quiet. And... I need to be alone. Yes I have a lot of requirements hehe and as much as possible, I do need to be in my hobbit hole.

    But then these are not possible all the time because these days I've been sleeping early and when I wake up in the morning, everybody is already awake. And I no longer bring the laptop in my room because once it's in there, I am tempted to stay up all night on Pinterest and Tumblr. When I do have thoughts, I type and save them in my celphone.

    So the only solution for me is to quiet my mind. And the thoughts freely flow.

    Much love to you and God bless you always, Debra! <3 :-)

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    1. Irene, late night is ideal, when no one is stirring (not even a mouse :-) Peace and quiet welcome in this house. Very early morning? Lord, get me up. I want to be a lark again, know what it’s like to see the rising sun, the first chorus of birds waking up the world. I’m not on social media that much at all. In fact, I’m about to join a writers’ revolution and just concentrate on the writing I really need to focus on, the memoir, etc. I’ll keep you in the loop my friend. Have a glorious weekend!

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  29. I sometimes do better than expected in the library's cafe: bustling but not too crowded. I can't breathe well in crowded places. As long as I'm around trees, and if there's a bit of rain coming on, I can write better. Great post again, Debra! Can't wait till 'The Hobbit' is showing.

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    1. Claudine, you’re the first to mention the library. What a great place to find peace and quiet in which to write. I have two libraries close to me. I live two blocks from the college library (open to friends of the library) and the public one, just a few blocks over. Have a wonderful weekend, friend!

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  30. I'm with you. Writing in public places hold too many distractions for me, although it may be a good source of material if I'm ever at a loss for words.

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    1. Lisa, not to worry, we’ll never be at a loss for words. Never. We have a wellspring of treasures hidden deep within; we just need to dig deep and excavate.

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  31. I LOV0000000000E this post.

    And I loooooooooooove Natalie G. I've read Writing Down the Bones several times & all of her other books, too.

    I do not write in public places as Natalie suggests. I am more of a stay at home writer, more of a quiet writer..and I def. DO NOT want a partner!!

    Loooooooooooooove. xx

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    1. Kim - Natalie and Anne, Stephen K. and Kurt V. were among my writing mentors. I’ve never had a writing partner but have been a part of small writing groups on and off for years. Have a wonderful week. Hugs!

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  32. sometimes i do write in crowd and but mostly alone..i do need privacy..debra how are you dear after so long time?hope everything is ok in your life!!hugs and kiss<3..

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    1. Zarnab, I knew it, that you were a lone soul. Your writing reflects that. Keep writing about those things that trouble or delight, as you are now doing. Thinking of you during that wedding… will you have an arranged wedding someday too? You are teaching me so much about your culture. What a fascinating subject on which to write. Hugs!

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  33. Ironically enough, my friends call my house a hobbit hole, or a hermit cave. I'm prone to drawing all the shades closed and writing in the dark, keeping all household distractions to a minimum. The problem for me is I know the internet is right there and I tend to succumb to Siren calls. But I do get my writing done.

    What's even odder though is how much I actually enjoy going out and being with people. If it's not a coffee shop in the morning, I'll visit the airport at night. Something about the airport inspires me. A place where many people are coming and going, the air is saturated with stories from the various travellers. As I sit and write, I feel the stories floating in the air. At times they even fall upon me and I stop writing and try to digest the surroundings, taking notes. Even if it doesn't inspire what I'm writing at the time, it usually gives me a few notes for something new to write about.

    Does that even make sense?

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    1. Jeffrey, so great to know a fellow recluse and hobbit-hole dweller! I love that, like Bilbo, you don’t mind a little adventure as well. Going to the airport probably does fuel the creative fire too. I can see it now, those stories floating in the air, those people coming and going. It was that way awhile back at the Luna Bean Coffee Bar. All kinds of folks meandering in from the homeless to the intelligentsia to the musician to the poet to the artist… what an eclectic place to hang out and absorb stories. I get it.

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  34. Debra, while I was in Spain, I took to carrying my notebook to my favorite coffee shop. There, in the early morning hours, with the sound of the sea as my backdrop, I would sit outdoors, bask in the sun, and write. The waiters would smile whenever they saw me walk in and ask, "Did you bring your notebook and pen?" Sometimes I wouldn't write an entire post and instead, I'd jot down ideas for future posts. Other times I sketched what I saw or people watched. All of these served to inspire me to be more creative, to truly observe and be conscious of my surroundings. Sigh. How I miss that little beach town! :)

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    1. Bella,good idea. If you say it works, and Natalie says the same, I'll get out to the nearby coffee shop and spend some time with myself and my notebook. Hugs!

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