I need some advice on where to go to write where it is comfortable and quiet. I have a noisy roommate with a destructive cat. I can't go to the library because the homeless people coming in and out to use the bathroom are even noisier. I used to go to the Law Library connected to a University near where I live but they figured out that I am not a student. I can not afford to rent an office to work in. This is very frustrating! Has anyone else run into this or have the same problem?
This problem plagues many of us. I have a five-year old, so home life is far from quiet. I don't often have the luxury of going somewhere else to find quiet. I can't leave him alone. Sometimes, the skill of zoning out external noises is every bit as important as honing the craft of writing. You have to find your focus. It is not always easy, but you have to make the best of your situation.
How about a quiet cafe? Quite park bench? Public libraries should be fine - at least where I lived, you could hire out private study rooms from the library. Why don't you ask if there's such a facility within your library? Also, the library's big - there must be a place you can sit that's not near the bathroom or the main door? There must be more than one floor? - go to one of the upper floors? Actually, you can pay to become a member of even university libraries, which would allow you access. Could you save up for an annual membership that allows you access, and then use that?
I just ordered some head phones that specialize in eliminating back round noise. I can play something quiet and help stay focused. Thank you Christine! Great advice
The problem with the public library is that I live in downtown Baltimore, that is why there is all the ruckus. The library does have multiple floors that I haven't explored yet so I will probably be able to find something. I really liked that Law Library and will inquire about getting a proper membership. Thanks for the advice!
I actually did consider that! What place is quieter than a grave yard right? Problem is it is getting colder now and need to work inside, some issue with writing in the park.
If you can wake up really early, and go to bed early, you might catch a few hours of undisturbed writing. But that might not be possible. Look forward to moving out Or try to write with your iPod on full blast. Earplugs might work too.
Use the energy surrounding you by killing it as you write. Or go over to Romance in the workshop, nothing happening there.
If outside is a problem then inside the house. As a child I used to write when everyone else was asleep. A catholic church is pretty damn quiet during certian hours. It seems more like you let people irritate you. You can write about the world around you until you zone out and forget about the people around you and hear and see nothing but the world you're creating in front of you. Also sitting in a car in a place with little people or traffic can be some what warm and quiet.
I used to live with some very, very noisy people. I found headphones work, ear plugs, and sometimes the drone of a fan angled a certain way can take the edge off the noise. As for places. Not sure where you live. I'm in Ontario Canada. We have lots of parks and some can be quiet and some especially during the tourist season can be just as noisy and by now it's rather cold to sit outside. I've learned to write in noise and quiet. If all else fails maybe try a coffee shop?
It might be an idea, since you live in a city, to investigate as many public buildings as you can. See if there is one that might let you sit in a waiting room or reception area. Or that might have quiet rooms available for certain projects. Maybe a local school or college would have such a place? Just do a bit of ferreting around, think outside the box, and see what you can come up with. I'd say there are different kinds of distractions. Loud, sudden and intermittent noises—like your people talking loudly as they use a public toilet. Loud, medium or soft but constant noises. And then there are personal interruptions. I know it's the personal interruptions that bother me the most. People coming by to yak at me, phone calls, the doorbell, etc. That's what makes me want to scream, and why I tend to get up insanely early in the morning to write. Noises like ice cream vans (a plague in our neighbourhood) can be drowned out by music. But it's hard to drown out the phone, the doorbell, or a husband who wants to chat!
You are correct, people do irritate me... or at least I let them. Writing about the world around me does help. I have a free writing journal that I use for that when I can not concentrate which lately is most of the time. Maybe the problem is not the environment, it is how I am dealing with it... thanks for the reply!
It is a combination of both noise and people bothering me. I believe the noise problem will be solved with the new headphones I just ordered but people are always a distraction when you like in a crowded city.
I don't know what your life is like, but if you work during the day, you might want to try my trick. I started going to bed VERY early at night during my working week—about 8pm—then getting up around 4am. This gave me several hours of writing time in the early morning, when it was quiet outdoors, no phones ringing, people yakking indoors, etc. It does require some discipline, in that you really must go to bed early, so you get a full night's sleep. But that's a trick that worked well for me. I also found that my brain was fresher and more creative early in the morning, before the mundane day stuff interfered. Sometimes you can create writing space by changing WHEN you write, as well as where.
Try a cafe during off hours. I went to one recently, before their busy hours, and it was very quiet. Depending on where you live, this might not be possible, but it is worth a shot in the name of refreshments and pastries.
I agree with @jannert. Get up stupid early! I used to do that, and it was the most productive time of my life. I'd get up at 4:30 in the morning, get to the office at 5:30 so I could use the computers there (this was in the 80s - I didn't have my own computer), and get my writing done. I had three good hours of peace and quiet before anybody else showed up. It works! Get up stupid early and write!
Well, you could always turn your hearing aid off. That's what I do. I turn mine off so I'm completely deaf and free of noise! And I don't have to travel anywhere! This only works if you have hearing impairment, though. If you don't, you have to think of something else, sorry. :/
Well, the writing comfort is depends upon you, you only know better which makes you more comfortable, for instance most folks like green surroundings for writing, and some peoples like noisy place for getting an interesting ideas, so its all depends upon you that what environment you like for writing your story.
I usually don' like writing in a public place, unless it's a quiet room in a library without many prying eyes over my shoulder. Here in my university, Trinity College Dublin, I found the perfect location in a small secluded area of the library. It's called the 'Older Printed Books' section and it's a small room, with a high ceiling, stacks and shelves of 18th and 19th century books surrounding me (some of the books are hand-written and are as big as dustbin lids). I sit at a desk my back facing the wall so nobody can see what I'm up to, and write away. The great thing about this location is its isolation. To get there, you have to walk down a long underground tunnel and then climb a narrow spiral staircase to the sixth floor. While at home I write in my room where I'm usually not disturbed.
I use an app with various sounds on (the one I usually use is called Ambience), and use a combination of white noise and cricket sounds to block out anything annoying. That way I can write in my shared flat or in a noisy Starbucks and still feel like I'm all alone - which isn't that great when I start reading out sentences to check they make sense Those apps are also invaluable for eating my lunch at my desk at work, at the moment there's a bloke who sits behind me who must have some sort of sinus problem because he makes the most ungodly sounds with his nose, I just switch on a white noise/birdsong combo and hey presto I can eat my sandwich without wanting to puke
