What does your writing space look like?

Recipe box for ideas! How clever! Maybe I'll snag your idea and try it out myself. :)

Did you find the recipe box worked? I keep a file on my computer and also a hard copy file that houses my fragments. Then there's notebooks filled with scraps of ideas. Why is inspiration such a fickle mistress?

I'm not much into pop either, heh...and dark stuff's pretty much all I write, so I guess it's not much of a surprise that I listen to rock, metal, gothic, and some eclectic songs. Well, the city's very...stifling for me. I find that walking in places where there's alot of people scatters whatever inspirations are there because I get so focused on the other people -- having to be wary in case one of them should decide to jump me, or to prepare in case one decided, spontaneously, to talk to me. I prefer to walk where it's wooded, so country roads are good.

Music is key for me too. I find it really influences my writing. I don't want to be listening to some pop princess when I'm writing some dark, soul-wrenching scene. Not that I ever listen to pop princesses, no, not me. Those c.d.s were gifts, yeah, that's it. I find walking is good for creativity as well. Do you have a specific place you like to walk for inspiration, or is up and down the block good enough?

I think music can really set the scene for what you're writing. It's amazing how a particular piece of music can really make your writing shift. It's the same if you have a bad day at work or a good day. Country roads are great. Those large expanses of wilderness and no cars or other things to get in the way. Luckily, I don't live in an overly urban area. Sometimes, I need to go walk in the city just to get the pulse of the place. I don't know why, but I'm very affected by where I am when I write. If I want to write about the city I need to go hang out there for a while before putting pen to paper. If I were an actor, I'd be a method actor, probably. Oh, the trials of writing, all that travel I "have" to do just to get it right. Man, what bad luck. ;)

Writing is such a personal thing. I knew a guy once who could only write outside. It was great in the Spring and Summer, but when the weather turned nippy, he got a major case of writer's block. I completely understand about it feeling staged. Sometimes, if you make it too much like work, it comes out dull and uninspired. Do you find the t.v. is a distraction at all?

What do you think it is about the kitchen/family room that really promotes your creativity? Do you have a favorite book that really fires you up to write?