A writing fortress? You absolutely need one. OK, that argument done. A writing fortress is somewhere to get safely away and sit/stand/lie and write, free of distraction. To write safely suggests

·       a level of comfort,

·       no repercussions (from time or companionship that would otherwise be given to other parts of your life), and

·       an opportunity for a successful continuance of your work-in-progress (fondly: WIP).

If you are new to the world of novel writing, do you need help with the construction of your fortress? Who do you ask? Where can a fortress be found? Who will guard the gates once I move in (friends, family, others (public librarian, dog))?

“Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.” Zadie Smith

Any fortress for writers is designed with one purpose in mind. That purpose is to encase a writer in an environment in which writing holds center stage while providing sanctuary where your story can unfold. With mind cleared of all external distractions, word production is all there is to focus on. Often easier said than done, fogged by life’s hectic demands. Each of us has their own vision of an ideal fortress. If we sit and try to design such a place, we are doomed to fail. For, as we shall see, this fortress is not a single space for each of us, but a moving solution to the itch to pour out words before the most recent cool fizz of inspiration warms and goes flat.

It is important for writers to build a bespoke sanctuary with specifications that have been measured for the individual’s needs. Once you start thinking about it, see if you find, like I did, that the sanctuary depended, to a large extent, on mindset.

Find a place where friends, colleagues or family can guard admission. Decide, with their collaboration and agreement, on the rules to govern permission to enter. An even better design is to find a location, isolated from disruption, to which you can retreat. Don’t get all caught up in the idea of finding a perfect spot because it may not exist as a structure or slice of the environment. Mostly, in your head is the right place to be.

Powerful — and wise — advice as you start out is that, to progress your tale in the direction of future publication, you need to write a lot. What tends to happen is that, wherever you play with words, whatever the day or the writing equipment, or seating and flat surface arrangements, you will form a bubble around you. You will lose awareness of time and global ruckus. Remember:

“The most difficult and complicated part of the writing process is the beginning.” A. B. Yehoshua

As a commuter, I regularly traveled in the same carriage as a passenger who dutifully worked on a laptop as we rattled through morning and afternoon peak hours. He was typing a novel. I was hesitant to join in, given the cacophony of music, talking, crying children, slamming doors — arrghh, it was chaos. Heedless of it all, writing continued just a few seats away. I was envious of this wonderful skill. Encouraged to try it out, I took my laptop — jammed in with lunch in my bag — determined to have a go at commuter writing. Only once in several years did anyone ask me what I was doing. I found that secure bubble among hundreds of people and for years churned out undisturbed paragraphs. It was awesome. The bubble never burst.

Since beating the ‘I need a physical fortress before writing can commence myth’, I find I can write almost anywhere. Some writing places, aside from a train carriage hurtling through peak hour, have been a doctor’s waiting room, sitting in a bus, having a street coffee at a café, the local library, the passenger terminal at the airport, and others like this. I was making valuable use of time normally spent staring into space, daydreaming of becoming a best-selling author.

“Writing is a job, a talent, but it’s also the place to go in your head. It is the imaginary friend you drink your tea with in the afternoon.” Ann Patchett

There are other advantages of writing in public places. Characters and scenes, sounds and sights are glued in front of you; an invaluable source, ready for your extraction. Cheat off what is there, put some reality into your pages as though you were an urban, or otherwise, sketcher.

Just try to break that barrier to your writing, whatever it is, and make downtime productive time.

A writing fortress is available to everyone. They are individually furnished. They are ever evolving. Find yours and your writing will blossom. Discovering that a physically constructed and guarded fortress monument to writing fails at the merest trickle of words into your novel container is liberating.

Have fun writing deep inside your personal writing fortress — that indestructible bubble of serenity. Take it everywhere. Please thrill us with what happens in your daily writer life.

Enjoy the power you develop as you smash those words out.

Happy writing. Damon