While I was attending RWA’s National Conference in San Francisco, the Outreach Chapter planned a wonderful nighttime tour of Alcatraz. The prison closed in 1963, but parts of it have been restored.
There is a walking tour and other interpretive programs. I regret that didn’t have more time to explore and learn. I’ll definitely go back and schedule a longer visit. I’m sure I wasn’t the only writer who look at the cells and thought, “What a wonderful place to write!” Those small cells certainly would provide an interruption-free place to write. 
Of course, without the interaction and distraction of our busy lives, we might run out of things to write.
Then again, maybe not. Sometimes it helps to change out regular routine and refresh our writing by changing our writing venue. There are many places where we can write using a laptop, AlphaSmart, or (gasp!) a pen and paper.
- A coffee shop
- A library
- Waiting rooms
- A car
- A favorite chair
A lot of writers like to escape to a nearby coffee shop. That works well as long as you don’t sign up for their Internet access. A library is usually quite and reference books are handy. However, most libraries now have some sort of Internet access. If you spend a lot of time in waiting for your doctor, dentist, mechanic, or your children, make sure you are equipped with a method for writing. You could use a voice recorder, but you’ll probably get many strange looks. I know a fellow writer who escapes to her car to write. She doesn’t go anywhere, just sits in the car and types away. Just moving away from your desk into your favorite chair can generate a renewed enthusiasm in your writing. 
The is the view from my beach house. My muse usually stays close by when I’m there. Maybe she stays there when I leave, and that’s why I can’t find her in the city. To see where other writers work, check out these writing places. Check this out if you’d like to see the writing place that inspired this post. I’m off to rent Escape From Alcatraz. Where is your ideal writing place? Write On, Lynn Jordan
August 23rd, 2008 at 12:01 am
[...] the Alcatraz tour, our group consisted of an Australian, a US citizen who lives in Brazil, a woman from Sweden who [...]