Screenwriting : Where do you like to write? by John Mezes

John, I love writing in my bedroom...that's where my Power Mac (with Final Draft 6 on it) is located. (And yes, I stick my headphones on when I'm writing!)

Hi John: It depends on what I am writing and which protagonist character I am hanging out with. I also start to dress and think and talk like my protagonist. So comedy mothers at the kitchen table, fairies in my dark emerald green office, racing champions in my bright white art room. It blew me away one day when I was walking my dog and I looked down at my clothes and realised I was dressed like a nun... of course I was writing a nun. Lol!

My home office is my "happy-writing" space. I turn on the candle warmer, listen to Coldplay for a bit to clear my head of any annoying earworm and then work in silence. These days I have a beautiful view of snow-covered pines.

Jim - nothing like one of the most comfortable rooms to write in! Well played sir!

Rebecca - Now that is commitment to character!!!! I also love the contrasts in room colors throughout your home, sounds lovely!

Andrea - Wow, sounds like a lovely, calm view to write with! Your environment you create sounds inviting and cozy, well done!

I like to write in my bedroom. I like it quiet. Mainly early in the morning. I try not to check emails, etc.

Makes sense, Maurice. Quiet and cozy = productivity! I hear you with the emails too.

Actually John... I am channeling character... i am not working from the outside in... but the inside out.

I have an office where I am surrounded by posters of characters I've loved since I was a kid, my creative influences.

I like to write in my tiny room lol

Rebecca - That is a terrific insight and a unique perspective, I love it!

Chad - It's a wonderful setup you've created for yourself that allows you to write in! Also, thank you for sharing the photo of your creative space!

Yu-Chen - Tiny room, big ideas...am I right?

well, I think u could say that again! lol

My personal best as far as writing stretches go was when I wrote about 50 pages of a first draft on a 14-hour plane flight to Japan. And from an aisle seat where people kept bumping my elbow. So I guess what's most conducive for me is ignoring lots of nearby strangers and eating crappy food.

Mad props to you Eric, writing under those conditions?! I know writers who can't belt out 50 pages with optimum conditions around them. Kudos!

traditionally, in my lounge, watching TV using my iPad. Once I get into the trenches of a story. My office, still on the ipad

I have a writer's desk set up in it's own space, a small nook with a window, away from street noise, and with it's own paint scheme. I like complete silence, and sometimes have some incense. I write a lot by hand every morning, and later in the day will switch to my laptop for second drafts, etc.

Craig - great space to write in! A little TV, some writing, a nice combination.

Shadow - that sounds like a creative space you've carved out for yourself. I also write by hand before transferring my work to computer. I'll be the incense heightens the mood for writing.

Before shutting myself inside to avoid COVID, I used to spend my time writing in the little cafe in a bookstore. The most writing I do while sipping tea and surrounded by books.

Hopefully soon I can get back to that :D

I have a desk & book shelve on a corner of the studio that also serves as my edit bay. I look west out of my window to the Cascade Mountains. I have a pretty good surround sound system for mood/genre music. Sometimes it's a little cluttered with lights & stands, back drops, cameras, tripods and other such stuff. It's my private 'man cave'.

I have an office, but my apartment is very small and my walls are paper thin. Sadly, I need almost complete silence to write certain projects. But my wife watches Netflix in the next room. So I'm most productive when she's not home. But she hates going out, especially with the pandemic, so I'm having to make due with writing with the noise in the background. My productivity had definitely slowed since I got married 2 years ago.

When the weather is nice, unlike today, I sometimes work at the table in my small courtyard. But most days I am at my desk, which is in a corner of my bedroom, by a glass door to the courtyard. It would be nice to have a separate workroom, but the flat is tiny and a bit odd, so bedroom it is.

For editing and rewrite planning, I typically print out the script and go to a café to make notes and mull things over. A change of scene seems to help with fresh ideas.

Doug - nothing like a "man cave" to motivate and influence our creative mind. Sounds like you've surrounded yourself with an atmosphere that's inviting to write in, terrific!

Terrence - working when we can, in optimum conditions, can be tricky, and at times, a sacrifice to our routine. However, you're making it happen, and that's significant. When life throws lemons at you, make some sweet-tasting lemonade! Keep creating, Terrence. You're adapting with the tide.

Christiane - your creative surroundings sound like great scenes for a film, LOL. I would love a courtyard, and your description of traveling to the cafe sounds comforting. Your routine is inviting and calm.

John Mezes Some of the fringe benefits of living in Greece :)

Hey, John Mezes . I love to write in my quiet casita. No TV is allowed. Onward and upward.

Hey MB! That sounds great, your own casita! A nice, attached quiet space to work, Muy Bueno!

My little office nook in our bedroom, our little front patio, or! Middle of the night, middle of the living room, fire going,

John Mezes cheers and thanks for a wonderful inquiry!

I do have a "door closes, creating begins" office space, a large plastic folding table covered with paint from my old studio, perpendicular to a wooden folding "campaign" table, also paint-drenched with watercolors, cables and wires and three laptops and two dozen highlighters lol

also I like to stroll about a quarter-mile south to the Hopkins U south quad, sit on a bench and write with pen and notebooks!

Great question, John Mezes! I'm always tucked away in my office where I am furthest away from distractions. I probably spend more time there than I do any other room in the house.

Angela - each and every one of those spaces sound inviting. I like the multiple options you have created.

Daniel - That first spot sounds rich with history and memories, I love it! Writing outside is always nice, serine and calm.

Jason - I know how you feel, man! I don't even have a clock in my den, and I try not to look at the time on my desktop until eventually I do, and say, "damn three hours already?"

I've worked in my home office for the last eight years, before WFH became a thing. I'm surrounded by photos, artwork and books that are meaningful to me and is the place where I am most productive. Like others here I work best when it's quiet. I look out onto our garden which is currently green, flowering and calming.

Somewhere with a window and sunlight. I'm not saying a scene hasn't played out in my head at 3am and I've stayed up an extra hour in the darkness typing it in the notes of my phone. My preference is just in an armchair looking out a window LOL ;-)

I write in a bedroom my mother, brother and I share. Surrounded with so much love.

I write in my room, sometimes using a computer for major revision, and a smartphone if it's just a minor revision or adding..

Ingrid - Sounds beautiful, and calm. Memories, and things that help remind us of them, can really excite the mind, fire up the cylinders.

Kay - I hear you, windows seem to be a theme with us creatives. We are all a slave to the creative beast inside us, no matter the time, LOL.

Alicia - The comforts of love, and that positive reassurance of it, can definitely help grow thoughts and ideas you want to write down.

Hans - Duel action, I like it. You never miss a chance to edit your work. Smart strategy!