Sarah's Response

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#802

“Often writing is best done in places we seek out. The physical environment has to be conducive to writing.”

I can’t decide if my writing is connected more to time or to place. Initially, I would say that my best writing is connected to time: very early morning, very late night or on a tight deadline. In the first two instances it seems that my writing is best when I’m still closely connected to sleep and have broken down or let go of mental barriers. In this way, it makes sense that the Guidelines worked well for me.

Last night I was writing in my journal for the first time in months and I realized that ever since I started keeping a journal I’ve used the same “method”: I write in bed and try to see how long I can stay awake while I’m writing. I will start sitting up with the paper in my lap, and then will end up on my stomach, writing with my head lying down until I physically can’t keep my eyes open anymore. It becomes a kind of wrestling between my mind and body. There are ink stains all over my quilts and comforters because I like using rollerball pens (it makes it easier to race against my body), but I am not always able to put the cap on in time. Sometimes I wish I could write while I was sleeping.

However, right before bed is rarely when I do my best writing; the morning is when I am able to write seriously. In college this usually meant I was on a very tight deadline, but it also meant that I was sitting in a quiet, sunny kitchen or on my porch, and at the same time I could fantasize about the romantic life I was going to have, writing on sunny porches for all of eternity.

When I worked in an office, contrary to Van Manen’s thinking, it was highly conducive to writing. When my boss wasn’t yelling at me, I was able to channel my energy into something that allowed me to escape. I am not trying to make that sound sad.

I do not work well in living rooms or in comfy chairs. I’m writing this on a couch and keep wanting to fall asleep. Van Manen resonates here with me as well.

When I was a freelance writer I tried to work at Starbucks, or in small cafes when I was feeling anti-Starbucks. This was only so I could be around people, and was rarely productive because I would always get wrapped up in what someone else was talking about. This time of my life is when place was most integral to my writing, and at the same time, most problematic. In Manhattan, you will rarely find a coffee shop you can actually sit in, and I would hunt for those places like [insert metaphor here]. I couldn’t write at home because my home doubled as my office, and I slowly went insane sitting in the same room for days on end.

When I’m traveling, I can’t write on a laptop and always bring a pen and paper with me. However, I do use my phone to keep track of overheard conversations and snippets of things I might like to return to. I also use my planner for this purpose, and jot notes in the address section.

“When I have entered this space world of the text then we are somewhere else”

Only if we’re lucky. Or maybe, only if we’ve found the right time and place?

[Author]

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