Blog Chain: Where the Magic Happens

This week's blog chain is brought to us by Tere who asks:

What conditions do you need to get your best writing done? Closed door, crowded coffee house? Computer or notebook? Can you just sit down to write, or do you need to wait for the time to be right?

Obviously, in a perfect world, I would be able to write in a place like this:

But, because I am the mother of a preschooler who is home most of the day, I often find myself writing at the kitchen table on my laptop while the kiddo colors with crayons, gives me a princess makeover, or puts on a fashion show that I must halt my writing every three minutes to "ooh" and "ah" over. Is it ideal. Nope. But I'm learning (slowly) to make do.

I'm also lucky because I have a wonderful husband who allows me to escape to a coffee shop at night where I can write distraction free. And how do I do that in a public place, you ask? Let me introduce you to a writer's best friend.

For Christmas last year, my husband cashed in his work points and ordered me a pair of Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones. BEST. PRESENT. EVER. When I wear those babies the world falls away. I can't hear a thing. Or, if I feel like listening to music, the sound is so clear I feel as if I'm sitting front row at a concert. I've used them to write in a Denny's at midnight if that tells you anything about their distraction reducing capabilities.

Unfortunately, I can't use them at home because I need to be able to listen for the quiet--that's when the real trouble is going down (I know you other parents know exactly what I'm talking about.)

What about you? What conditions or tools do you need for harmonious writing? To see how the other writers responded, check out Kate's blog for her answer, and hop of to Katrina's blog tomorrow for her post.

Happy Wednesday!