I have an awesome wife. I absolutely have to put this out there. Without her I wouldn’t be able to write the books I write. You see, I also have four children. I am extremely involved in their lives and love every minute of raising them (even the pre-teen drama).
Yet, I am a writer who likes to write novels.
I also have a demanding job (English Teacher) and am in the middle of grading a mountain of research papers that have most of my time consumed during the week.
Thank God for the marathon writing weekend. For those of you doing NaNoWriMo, this is probably essential to your success.
This Saturday I will travel to the local university library in Norman, try to find a place to park during a college football game, and find a quiet corner of the library to finally finish the rough draft of my latest work in progress. This will give me a full two months to get it edited and revised before publication in February.
I must say that there is nothing like that quiet corner of the library for me. You may be able to write in front of the television or with the children playing at your feet, but I desperately need quiet and solitude. I have found that I can crank out about 1000 words a day after everyone goes to sleep at night, but I can crank out a good 5000-8000 in a day if given the chance.
Am I alone in this? How many of you need quietude and how many can write in a noisy environment? I have created a poll below to see how it shakes out among my readers. Please vote! Or you can comment if it is different for you.
Have a great weekend! I will.
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Writing Is Hard Work 
I couldn’t agree more Roger – I certainly find it easier to be mindful when it is quiet whether I am writing, walking, working or doing chores – it calms down the brain chatter. I am often amazed at the inspiration which springs from quiet solitude. Best wishes for your marathon writing weekends.
I like the solitude, but it’s not so much the quiet, it’s the peace. Its more about being disturbed for me. If the kids are watching a film or engrossed in playing I can focus on writing as I can tune it out, but as soon as one of them pipes up (or more likely an argument breaks out ;-)) then I lose my focus. For the odd lunchtime I get I’ve found headphones help. Also sends a subliminal signal that I don’t want to be disturbed (not that it’s listened to that often…).
It depends. With personal writing, I need quiet. At work, I don’t have that luxury, so I just have to tune out the office chatter.