Establishing an environment that is conducive to your writing success is another important element for you to consider as you begin your writing journey. I have a very short list of what works for me and my list is very adaptable and portable so that no matter where I am I can establish the right space no matter where I might be.

Do you think you would be in a state of solitude at a rock concert? How about sitting mid field at a football game? Maybe in the middle of a mall during the madness of the Christmas shopping season? No? I’m pretty sure none of these scenarios would work for me either. I also believe that I don’t have to be on a deserted island, or locked away in a room, or in the middle of the woods during a Nor’Easter to feel like I am the only person on the planet.

Maybe even more importantly, when I am writing I don’t feel the need to be isolated at all. We live in a world that surrounds us with many distractions. What I like to do is replace the distractions in my immediate environment with noise that has the potential of adding value to the stories I am trying to write about. This mostly comes in the form of music. Give me a set of headphones or my earbuds and I can create all the solitude I need to get my writing done.

Even when I am trying to create a session where I want to calm the waters and do some creative thinking with pen and paper in hand, listening to music is a tool that always works best for me. Some folks share stories of writing in a coffee shop with all of the chatter and busy kind of noise going on around them acting as fuel for good writing. In fact there are even apps available that can create an array of background noise for you.

What is going to work for you is something you will figure out over time. Try not to limit yourself to an environment that is tough to create. Instead find something that can distract the distraction and set you up for success with some of your best writing. There are times during the warmer days of summer when I will be sitting outside, the noise of distant traffic adding a hum to the air, birds chirping away, kids screaming off in the distance, but me, well let’s just say I feel like I am sitting in one big bird cage, protected by anything that may be going on around me.

My absolute favorite writing environment though is the early morning hours on no particular day. The quiet time of the day when it feels like the world is still at rest and the even the birds are just beginning to warm up their vocals. This is the time of day when my music takes on the life of a concert hall with just me sitting in the audience. Ha! The mindset this creates for me is something that makes this kind of moment portable. A moment I can replicate by turning it on or off no matter what is going on around me.

Solitude may indeed be an isolation of sorts. A desire for peace and quiet in the utmost physical sense. Unless you have the capabilities of moving to that deserted island it may be a challenge to wait for it to manifest itself in your everyday life. Instead create a mental image of all of the sights and sounds which will make this come to life for you. Make it portable, carry it with you wherever you go. Our best moments of silence often come to us when the noise around us is the loudest!

Talk soon…

G