A Room With a View

I’m really bad about sitting in my writing cave, aka my dining-room office corner, and hacking out copy or prose or poetry for eight hours a day. But once a year I treat myself to my own personal writing retreat. It’s really me tagging along on one of my husband’s continuing education conferences, but hey, I can call it what I want- I am a writer after all. So today, instead of sitting at my desk trying not to be distracted by the dyer buzzer, I’m looking out the big windows in my room on the eighth floor of one of my favorite spots in the world, Traverse City, Michigan. The windows overlook the Grand Traverse Bay, and the view comes complete with rolling hills and trees just beginning their spring fling. One year we got in on the cherry blossoms, and it looked like snow spread out over the orchards with splashes of yellow dandelions thrown in for good measure. Beautiful!

But I digress. This place does that to me. Today’s post is about finding a new place to write at least once in a while. It’s so refreshing to look out and see something different. We need that in ours lives- whether you’re a writer or a doctor or a mom- in order to stay fresh and remember there are many lenses through which to view the world. It’s good for your manuscripts too, because finding a new place to write every now and then may just help you see your work with the fresh eyes we writers so desperately need at times.

So get up from your desk and find a new place to write from today. Right now! Just unplug your chord, pack up that laptop and go! Buy yourself a cup of coffee as a treat and invite your characters to come out and play. You may be surprised at how far you can go just by changing your view!

Sensibility- The imagination needs feeding. If your muse seems hungry try getting out of your writing cave for some fresh air and fresh perspective.

Sense- Choose one day each week or month and go somewhere else to write. Coffee shops, the local library or the park are great choices to jumpstart your creativity.

Where do you go when your writing needs a change of scenery?