writing in an airport

I've heard a lot of opinions about 'where to write.' Some people do their writing in a closed room, monk-like, hoping to minimize distraction. Some people seek out quiet public places, like cafes and libraries, where they can be amongst others but not distracted by them. And some people--though this group seems to be fairly small--say they can write anywhere, no matter the crowds, no matter the commotion.

Generally my preferences put me in amongst the second group. I like to be able to sink into what I'm doing without distractions, but I also like to be with other people doing the same thing. Having other people around me who seemed engaged in their work helps me feel engaged with my own. But it can be difficult to find a place that offers that feeling. Libraries don't let you eat or drink, which limits how long you can stay in them, and cafes get noisy. For the thousands of hours that I've spent writing, nearly all of those hours saw my attention divided between the writing itself and the distractions of the place.

With the project I've been working on recently--a horror novelette called COOL BLUE--distraction hasn't been an issue. I've found myself so drawn into the story that I become deaf and dumb to the outside world while I'm writing. Nowhere else has this proven more remarkable to me than in the SFO airport last Thursday. My flight was delayed by more than two hours, so I sat down amidst all the other pissed off passengers, pulled out my laptop, and dropped into the story. It almost felt like opening a portal to another world.

I finished the first draft of COOL BLUE just today, cranking through the coda at work--another place full of distraction, what with the phone ringing every few minutes, and clients constantly walking in the door. I suppose that means something too--me being so caught up in the story that I'll keep working on it even when my attention is diverted every 30 seconds. And now that the first draft is done, I've passed it on to some of preferred first readers. Here's hoping they find the story as engaging as I do.