The Sweet Spot

I have no place to write.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I know it's more discipline than location, a matter of actually just sitting down and putting words to a page, but I am on the hunt for the perfect place. Or a perfect routine. Or something. I find I have a hard time focusing at home. I don't really have a desk, it's more a little kitchen table that I keep in my office and is cluttered with all kinds of distracting things like hairbands, notebooks and nail polish. If I sit in the kitchen, I get bored and am surrounded by food, which is even worse than the nail polish.

I have this fantasy that if I had the perfect desk, then everything would be all right - one with lots of nooks and crannies, and drawers and storage places. That way I could keep everything where I wanted it to be and hide anything that would keep from focusing. THIS IS A LIE. I had a desk like that once and it ended up more chaotic than my table.

My other fantasy, and this one I really like, is a little bookstore/cafe. Kind of like Chapters/Starbucks, except not quite so loud or expensive. I don't mind the music, but maybe an acoustic performer instead of the latest hit CD. I like the thought of sitting in a window watching the world go by, making up stories about the frazzled woman in her business suit and the nasty look on her face, or the group of kids hanging onto a rope being led through town by their teacher. Everyone in the cafe would know me and bring my order (a tea and 1 chocolate chip cookie) before I asked for it. They would get a free signed copy of every book I published. Now I just need to find this magical place.

In the meantime, I'll continue to make use of my little kitchen table with the clutter and nail polish, and try to imagine it's someplace else. I'd be interested to hear how other people operate, what routines they have. IN FACT, I've put this very question to two of my writer buddies who are getting published this year. I'll be posting a short Q&A with both of them here - maybe they'll know of an idyllic little place for me to work.