Yes, it is important to consider what you write.
And it’s important to consider for whom you write.
But have you thought about where you write?
Some of my posts are crafted at my cramped little nook at home, in a corner of the dining room.
Some of my posts are written in free moments in my office, at work.
Recently, I was asked by a coworker to edit a piece for a magazine. It needed a decidedly friendlier tone, because of the nature of the subject and the audience.
So I took it out to the atrium.
If you are cognizant of a particular mood or feeling you want to permeate your work, then choose a writing space that enables that sort of emotion.
- Light/Dark.
- Open/Closed.
- Airy/Tight.
- Private/Busy.
- Quiet/Noisy.
- Connected/Disconnected.
- Natural/Artificial.
There are many variables to play with, and you might not have the perfect spot that tickles all the factors you’d like to control. In some circumstances, I may take an older nugget or idea from Evernote, and just jot a few sentences there. It’s important to capture the thoughts while they are top of mind, but it’s also important to capture the influence that environment has on thought. Sitting at lunch, I can write half a blog post if I want in Evernote, and sync it up with my desktop (then with WordPress) later.
As a reverse exercise, describe the place where you do the bulk of your writing, composing and thinking. Do you see elements of that description bleeding over into your tone? Your content? Your subject selection?
Don’t be afraid to tweak your environment to get the results you want. Like real estate, good writing can be about location, location, location.
Good piece Ike!
Your nook at home looks eerily similar to my nook. I’m very aware of how my environment (and mood) affect my writing. I love the quiet non-distraction time before everyone wakes up. Even though I am most definitely not a morning person, it is my most productive writing time.
I also find that if I’m stuck and I get up and go for a walk, the motion gets thoughts flowing again.
for me the comfort of the chair, the room temp and the music is all that matters
I strangely recall seeing that nook at your home before. 🙂 Good to see it from angle #2.