Every writer who ever lived can learn something from Stephen King who preaches we need a place and a time to write. He  means with no interruptions, doors closed.

Yeh, right. When you’re rushing to get to work, when the laundry needs doing, diapers need changing, and some robo’s calling for your vote– not so easy.

I think I’ve always hungered to write stories. Have scribble and scratched since I learned cursive. Years ago, I wanted to quit just scribbling  and  WRITE.

It didn’t go well; interruptions, intrusions: phone calls, the brownies sitting on the counter, checks on the weather all  knocked at the door and I let them in.

I finally gave Stephen King a try. In the mornings, began turning off my phone and closing up in my little space (a landing at the top of the stairs). I resisted the urges to check email and the stock market. Laundry did not exist. The phone didn’t exist. I told friends I wasn’t available in the mornings, but some still called. I felt guilty when I didn’t answer, had to make myself resist.

I kept myself cooped up there, hands on the keyboard, rear in the chair and—voila—pages began to get written.

My friends have since learned I’m not available mornings until after eleven o’clock. And, to a person, they respect my privacy. One, an artist, is the sort who thrives on contact. We share an awful lot in common and can debate almost anything endlessly. He waits, and when the phone rings at 11:02 I know it’s him.

Get your hands on Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. He’s generous at conveying the behaviors that allow writing to get done. And one of his most important lessons is  that we need some place and time for our writing or our stories will never be told.

Thank you, Stephen King.