Water Keeps the Words Flowing

Fellow Brisbane writer and author of children's books, Sheryl Gwyther, posts lots of good advice and interesting topics for discussion on her blog. A few of us chimed in to reply on today’s topic – ‘Write Garbage and Edit Brilliantly’. http://sherylgwyther.wordpress.com/2012/01/20/write-garbage-edit-brilliantly


At the end of her comment, Kaz Delaney http://www.kazdelaney.com/ said that proximity to water gets her into the writing zone - “Sitting by it, walking by it, watching it, showering in it, swimming in it.”

I’m the same. My computer keyboard position allows me to look out through large glass doors to my tiny fishpond, garden and the park over the road.



Sure, I’m distracted when the magpies come down each morning for a dip to wash their feathers, but my output is seriously diminished if all I can see are walls and furniture. I have never written anything sensible when sitting at our kitchen table. Sometimes I can get the creative juices flowing curled up in back-breaking position in a comfy armchair, but I still like to be able to glance out of a window.

Though I do tap away at the computer to write, that’s not always the case. Often, the action of handwriting helps the words to flow, too. It’s so much easier to pour emotion into drawn letters and words in the same way that body language and gestures aid verbally telling a story.

Do you have places at home where you prefer to write, or cannot write? Do you get your best ideas in the shower? You can write in pencil on laminate in the rain or in a shower if you really want to, you know - maybe even underwater.

Peter Taylor
http://www.writing-for-children.com/