Most of us are creatures of habit. We have our writing spaces, like a desk, the couch, the kitchen table, a comfy chair, etc. and we like them as they are.
But sometimes, we need to shake things up in order to get our creativity flowing again. I recently read a great article about environmental factors that affect creativity, and it had me thinking about how some environments get me into the flow of writing a lot faster than others.
So, here’s a short list of ways you can spice up your writing environment and see if it helps you at all.
Try writing…
- At a local cafe/Starbucks (the ambient noise and bustling atmosphere…and the caffeine…really help me)
- The library
- In your yard
- At a different writing surface in your home (if you usually write at a desk, try the kitchen table)
- Standing up instead of sitting down
- With headphones in
- On paper if you usually type (or vice versa)
- On a notebook that is one size smaller or larger than you usually use
- In a different font (I heard Comic Sans is actually helpful for drafting for some reason)
- Change the color of your text
- Try a different word processor (Scrivener, Google Docs, Microsoft Word, OneNote, Evernote, etc.)
- At a book store
- On a loose piece of paper
- On your cell phone’s note taking app
- Dictating your work to Siri or whatever AI you have available
- During a different time of day than you usually write
- With the windows open
Any other ideas that you have? What does your writing environment look like? Let me know in the comments.
Leslie Arambula 