Top 3 Places to write your book

I hear constantly how people would love to be able to write a book but they never have the time, or they become distracted or it's really hard to concentrate. In the end these are all usually excuses, in truth writing a novel takes discipline, it can be very hard to sit down, put your phone aside and just write.

But we can help our discipline along a little, we do that by solving some environmental factors, the biggest one that I constantly need to resolve is location, where am I going to sit and write, technically with my laptop I can write anywhere, but not all places were created equal. So here are my top 3 places to write your novel.


1. In a Café
Why in a café? Can it be any café? For a start it's out of the house, which it needs to be, a point I will cover in a different blog, but it can be quiet or it could be noisy but it's not your noise, it's background, it's people unrelated to you, giving you the ability to tune in or out as you see fit.

A café also serves the purpose of having a table and chairs and the ability to top yourself up with warm beverages aiding in the concentration procedure. But you are also removed from your own surroundings and you have nothing else to do other than type out the words you want to say.

2. On a Train
I used to hate all forms of public transport, they seemed so slow and you were surrounded by strangers, I loved to drive, more efficient, quicker and I have my own tunes. But now, at least once per week I ride the train, usually into London as it's a nightmare to drive in and I arrive at my destination relaxed and unstressed. What I can also do whilst on the train is write, I don't tend to take my laptop, instead opting for my iPad instead as it's lighter, but I can fold out the little tray table in front of me and concentrate on my story, for an hour I have nothing else to do, I'm still getting where I want to go, but now I get to progress my story and it can be rather amazing what you can get done in an hour.

3. In a Den
The den can be anywhere that is private, no-one else around, no noise, no TV, no music, just you, a desk and a chair and nobody else. Preferably close to a Tea making facility as one has to remain well lubricated to do their best work.

The quietness will inspire you to drift into your own world, the world of your story and let you concentrate without constant distraction.

'you have nothing else to do other than type out the words you want to say.'

The key thing about all three of these locations is the ability to drift into a world without distractions, away from your life, partner, kids, tv and internet. Just to be able to shut yourself away the same way as you would with a book, you cannot read and do something else at the same time, the same is true of writing.

The positives I find with the Café and Train are that sometimes the activity around you that you are detached from can act as inspiration for your writing, the world around us shows human interaction and as that is heavily involved in what we write it can be nice to absorb it.

That's my list, what do you think, did I miss anywhere, have you got other experiences? Leave me a comment below.

Written by Martin Wallace