5 New Places to Write

by Cathy Baker | Faith | 14 comments

Local cafes top the list of favorite places to write but in A Writer’s Book of Days, Judy Reeves suggests several more places to try:

Laundromats: Thumping noises, lint-filled air, quarters clanging, and the scent of soap and bleach offer a completely different sensory experience. 

Outdoor areas in nature: Take a walk, take your shoes off, take the time to lie back on the grass and write. And just because you’re in the green and blue open spaces doesn’t mean you have to write pastoral. Often the opposite of where we find ourselves is what we write, as Ernest Hemingway said, writing of Michigan while hunched over cafe au lait in a Parisian cafe. 

Bus depots, train stations, airports, and other way stations where travelers come and go: Stay in one place and observe the people in transit. Pick up the buzz of motion and let its vibration inform your writing. 

Public transportation: You write while they drive, and let yourself be transported to somewhere else, both in body and writer’ spirit. 

Your bed: Fluff those pillows, grab a hot cup of coffee, and try practicing this location first thing in the morning while sleep still clings to your consciousness, or at night before you slide down into dreamy repose.