A Writer's Perfect Setting

As a writer, I am often imagining different settings. One of my greatest settings is of my own perfect writing scene. A serene environment ideal in its conductivity of creative writing.

I have just gotten back from a brisk walk in the gorgeous autumn air of Germany. Miraculously, my dog behaved perfectly and both the kids have fallen asleep on our way back home. The sunshine and cool air have reset my mind from a morning of changing diapers, grabbing “foof” for my toddler, and arranging batman stickers on endless scribbly papers. The array of golden and amber hues of turning leaves have turned my mind to wonder at God’s creation, and I am ready to do my own creating.

After getting home both the kids remain asleep as I transfer the toddler from the stroller to his crib and the baby to her rock-n-play swing. As the dog falls asleep on the floor I brew a fresh cup of coffee or chai tea, pull out my fully charged laptop, grab my notebook and pen, and get to work.

My hair is swept up in a messy bun out of my face so as not to distract, my makeup is on, and my beautifully painted nails tap at the keys to the rhythms of undisturbed thought. My house is clean, the kids are sleeping, I’ve showered and dressed, the dog is walked, and I am free from other responsibilities to focus on the story at hand.

Here is the thing though. This scene doesn’t exist, and if it does, it is a rare occasion. There will always be other obligations and activities to keep me from writing. A typical day will bring my toddler begging for the vacuum or “Na na” as he calls it because he loves to help clean, dirty dishes will be waiting in the sink to be placed in the dishwasher, and a Netflix episode as we wind down for naptime and I nurse my two month old will be a much needed mind-numbing reprieve. A successful nap will mean I spent a few minutes alone with my husband when he arrived home from work while the kids slept.

Each of us has our own set of responsibilities, priorities, and coping mechanisms to get through the day. (Hello Facebook and Netflix; at least, those are my crutches.) But more than that, the stresses of changing diapers and maintaining a home, of going to work part time, or of taking night classes while working full time and raising kids. . . They can become more than just responsibilities. They can become excuses. Whatever you’re facing, don’t let it become your excuse. I know, it hurts to hear that. It’s even harder to not do, but it is so worth it.

If you want to write, write. While I have been writing this, my toddler has sat beside me, stolen the controller and messed up the Spotify playlist on my TV, pulled off the couch cushion next to me, gathered lost cheerios from the crevices beneath, eaten a few before I stopped him, crawled across my lap, and grabbed my “Hello Hello” to hold up to his ears and mine.

Now, it’s not this chaotic every time I try to write, but the point of sharing this is to say, persevere. Keep trying.

A local writer’s club I am a part of discussed a writer’s diet the last time we met. Planning to write daily, even if it’s just five minutes every day for a week, will make a difference. Because one day you’ll need more than five minutes to get that thought out, and soon five minutes will become ten. In a few weeks you may even be writing fifteen minutes every day. Creating good habits, no matter how small, will make a difference.

Writing daily may feel like overly used advice, but it holds merit. It could turn your essays into the articles of a blog, your reflections into the entries of a devotional. . . It could be the connective spine that turns your writing into the pages of a book.

I am learning that the perfect writing setting is simply one where a writer is writing. So I hope you’ll join me in letting go of your surroundings and embracing creativity no matter how it happens.

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