Write Where You Are

My cabin in the Arcata redwoods
(front porch Eames Ottoman chair included)

The next installment in my series of posts about the writing process and my Solid Ground writing journey.

I am an extrovert. As such, I have traditionally done my best writing in places like airport bars and coffee shops, where the opportunity for human contact is high, but the expectation for it is low. I wrote the first draft of my novel, Solid Ground, in these bustling environments, but in the fall of 2012, my designated barstool in my neighborhood Starbucks let me down. I had somehow become easily distracted and unfocused, and I was bogged down in the second draft of the manuscript. I shared my frustration about the slow pace of my progress with my friend and writing mentor, Jeff, who recommended I take a sabbatical. Jeff has seldom steered me wrong, so I immediately began researching reasonably priced options for a writing getaway. 

Now, as I said, I’m an extrovert. When I talk with others, both strangers and friends, I feel invigorated and alive. No matter the circumstance, I like to engage, find out what everyone else is thinking. Did you like the movie? How hoppy is that IPA? What're you in for? The subject matter is less critical to me than the opportunity for interaction, which is the primary reason spending a month alone and “unplugged” in a secluded cabin in the northern California redwoods scared the hell out of me.

An Arcata visitor drops by

For four weeks I lived in a remote thickly-wooded area on the outskirts of Arcata. I had no phone, no television, and no Internet. I spent every day alone.

I walked majestic forests, reflected on life, and to my delight, I edited three hundred pages of Solid Ground. (I also watched the entire Showtime serial killer series Dexter on my laptop, which in retrospect was possibly a poor choice for isolated cabin viewing.)

Seriously though, I was spiritually and creatively rejuvenated by my time in Arcata. And when my month was up, I packed my manuscript, said a fond goodbye to the family I’d rented the cabin from, and I returned joyfully home.

Home…where the same distractions I’d faced before still waited to drag me away from my story. Every. Single. Day.

I had forged some positive writing habits though during my sabbatical and I molded them into regular life as much as possible. Still, my retreat hadn’t provided me with a silver bullet to slay the twin demons of procrastination and diversion. So, I set about my daily routines, and I returned to writing at Starbucks and at the desk in the spare bedroom of our condo. And over time, I completed the second draft of the book, and eventually, I finished a third draft and a fourth too. A myriad of life distractions arose at each step of the way and I fought them, as I still do. Because I want to be a writer.

I wouldn’t trade my cabin in the redwoods for anything (and I’d go back in a heartbeat), but one thing I learned from my time there is that life isn’t like that month in Arcata. Most of us don’t have uninterrupted hours each day to write and edit, and most of us write at kitchen tables that are nowhere near ancient forests. I’ve discovered that, for me, everyday writing life is everyday life—with a job, a spouse, and enough tennis and whiskey to distract me for a lifetime. But if writing books (and finishing them) is important to me, then I can’t wait for the perfect creative circumstances to arise. Like every other writer, I have to carve out writing time and then discipline myself to use it. 

Arcata was a remarkable experience of inspiration and growth. Ultimately though, to finish my novel and have it published, I had to commit to the real work of writing in the only setting that truly matters—butt in chair, hands on keyboard.

Jeff's first novel, Solid Ground, is available in print and ebook 

at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online retailers.