Worst 3 Places to Write your Book

So last week we delved into my favourite 3 places to write, to be inspired and be able to concentrate whilst you do it. I accept that these are not the only places to write and everyone has their own special environment, but there are terrible places to write and you should avoid these at all cost.

1. In a Car

Road noise, other cars and the driver needing to chat makes the car an unpleasant place to find your writing groove, join on to that a bit of motion sickness and someone always wanting the radio on and it's a recipe for disaster. I can never concentrate in the car, every time I try I get annoyed and put the iPad down and sit in a mood about not being able to do what I wanted.

I had missed it out but it should go without saying, do not attempt to write a book whilst driving the car yourself, it's not big and not clever.


2. In the House

There is no worse environment for trying to find your grove than with your partner and kids running around constantly trying to go about their business. It's not their fault, they just want to live and you want to write. Your time and space is never your own, unless you have a writers den (something akin to the Batcave) then you will never be free from the relentless, noise, screaming, TV and questions;
'did you sort the washing?'
'should we put the heating on?'
'What shall we do about dinner?'

I can only write at home when everyone is out, but even then the lure of the TV, computer, mobile phone or job that needs to be done sometimes takes over and I find myself too distracted to do what intended.

3. Pretty much anywhere where there are kids in bulk

I love my kids, don't get me wrong, they are the best thing in my life, other peoples kids however are never as good, also any group of kids where they are on mass is a nightmare, the noise level is indescribable, it's unfathomable, the sheer amount of movement that goes on and the lack of concern for boundaries makes it impossible to get any creative juices flowing.

I have known people who thought it would be a good idea to take the kids to a soft play area so they could write whilst the kids run about in safety, it doesn't work, don't even consider it.

Bonus 4th. Work canteen

Not all of us are fortunate enough to be able to write as our full time job, it may be our passion but we still need to pay the bills. Finding time to write can be hard so the temptation is there to write during lunch breaks, great idea, just don't do it in the place where you work. Why? Very little writing will actually occur due to the myriad of questions from co-workers;
'Are you writing a book?'
'What's it about?'
'Am I in the book?'


That's it folks, follow the rules and avoid these nasty blockers to creative writing and you may get on a bit better. If I have missed any or you have your own nightmares, let me know in the comments below.

Written by Martin Wallace