Is Finding Your Writing Comfort Zone Truly Necessary?

by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth

Virginia Woolf famously declared that a woman needs a room of her own if she’s to write fiction. I’m discovering the truth in that statement. My wife recently cut back on her work, which means she’s at home more. A good thing. But her mother and our son are already at our house most of the time. And with construction going on behind our house, it’s difficult to find the quiet time I need to concentrate on writing.

So, I’m venturing away from home these days to find a place where I can work comfortably. I didn’t realize it would be so difficult. I thought I’d only need a chair and a table. An outlet for the laptop. Maybe Wi-Fi. A nearby bathroom is a must. It’s the middle of summer here in South Carolina, so air conditioning is mandatory. Food, snacks, and drinks are important if I’m to write for longer than fifteen minutes. 

I’ve tried some nearby places. I love our new library but, honestly, it’s too libraryish. Yesterday, I went there and worried about taking in my drink. Shh. No one said it but I worried about bothering anyone by talking or being too noisy. It’s a great place, but not a place where I can relax. And all those books. They called out to me to take them home.

I’ve tried the nearest Starbucks. That’s the go-to-place for many of my friends. But ours is one large room with floor-to-ceiling windows on the sunny side. Too bright, too open, and too loud. And I’m too much of a people watcher to get anything done.

The search for that ideal writing spot is harder than I thought.

But it isn’t just a comfortable physical place writers need, is it? We also need to find the emotional space we need to work. Life gets complicated and uncomfortable. I know all of you can make a list of the noise and distractions that are going on in your lives. Saying buckle up and get through it is simplistic at best and really just plain rude. Many of us are going through stuff we shouldn’t laugh off. It’s real. I understand. It’s part of life where illness, death, war, pain, broken friendships happen to everyone every day. Just because someone else has it worse doesn’t mean your pain, or my pain isn’t as important.

It's strange that the emotions of life make it difficult to write. Yet writing is a way to deal with those same emotions and problems. And going through trials gives our stories the edge, the reality our readers want.

Another obstacle to writing has just jumped onto my chest. My cat thinks it's time for her nap, and my chest seems to be her chosen place.

I may be spending too much time hunting for the ideal writing spot. I know some mothers who wrote with their laptops set against the steering wheel of the family van while their kids practiced sports. Some writers got up two hours before they have to get their kids ready for school to work on their stories. Others stayed up until after midnight so they could write when the house was quiet and everyone else was asleep.

Maybe searching for the ideal spot with all the comforts and none of the distractions isn’t the best use of my time. Although sitting under a shade tree writing on a deck next to a lake with just a hint of breeze does sound nice.

And maybe, waiting until life settles down and my health and my family and the world stop acting out of control. The thing is, our lives will always have ups and downs, twists and turns. We only have the impression that we are in control. God didn’t promise us a smooth journey. He does promise he will always be with us.

I think that’s one reason our stories can resonate so well with our readers and other writers. It isn’t that we have everything together or live lives isolated from the trials and troubles that others have. But it’s that we don’t let them stop us. We may have to take a break from our writing from time to time, but we always find ourselves back in the chair with a pen in our hands or a laptop on our, uh, laps.

We’re writers. Whether we do it for a check, to teach a lesson, or to share our family history we write for the pleasure of writing. It can be and often is frustrating. And we may think about quitting and sometime will. But we return. We’re writers. And we work for the prizes of writing those two words, the end, or hearing from a reader, oh, I get that.

And if you’re a writer you understand. 

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Is Finding Your Writing Comfort Zone Truly Necessary? Insight from @TimSuddeth on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Tim Suddeth is a stay-at-home dad and butler for his wonderful, adult son with autism. He has written numerous blogs posts, short stories, and three novels waiting for publication. He is a frequent attendee at writers conferences, including the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference and a member of Word Weavers and ACFW. He lives near Greenville, SC where he shares a house with a bossy Shorky and three too-curious Persians. You can find him on Facebook and Twitter, as well as at www.timingreenville.com and www.openingamystery.com.