Library Time
Lately I've been spending my lunch break at Hayden Library at MIT because I've discovered that I am capable of writing as long as I'm not in my office. If I'm in my office the temptation of the Internet or of doing more work while munching and the risk of interruption is strong. But if I physically move across campus and plop myself down at one of those long wooden tables whose surface is smooth like sea glass then I can write. It's been a great discovery. I feared I was a bit too attached to writing at my desk at home and becoming incapable of adapting.
At the Midwest Literary Festival I heard Deb Olin Unfurth say one of the best writing lessons she has learned is to be flexible, to be able to write anywhere. She put her money where her mouth is by attempting to write inside Walter Peyton's Roundhouse (adjacent to the Walter Peyton museum!) where she was accosted about four times by various guys asking her what she was doing. Oy vey. But she persisted. Whereas many of us threw up our hands that weekend and said, "No, we can't write. The distractions of Aurora are too plentiful!" Or some such.
I don't know that I'll ever become so flexible that I can write inside a smoky bar/restaurant with people interrupting me. but I aim to become better at it. The library is, of course, made for writing. Quiet. Lots of books. The soft rustle of turning pages. So it's a baby step. But it's a baby step that's increased my daily output by about 33 percent. Not too shabby.