I love the Merchant-Ivory film A Room with a View, which begins in the Pension Bertolini in Florence, Italy, where the characters played by Helena Bonham Carter and Maggie Smith have gone to escape dreary old England. They find upon arriving that, alas, their hotel room has no view. You have to have a room with a view, they say. It’s the only way you can deeply experience Florence.
The View from My Balcony
I have thought about this movie in the last few days because I am writing from Tremezzo, Italy, where my husband and I and our friends have a room with a glorious, postcard-perfect view of Lake Como, surely one of God’s grandest creations. My trip is more rich and satisfying because of our view. It truly is.
I rose early this morning and sat on our balcony and watched the sun rise from behind the Alps, illuminating the lake and revealing patches of mist that hovered over the water like wispy low clouds. What a way to start the day. When a writer friend of mine heard I was coming to this area, she told me about the time she and her husband spent six months on a research-writing sabbatical in Bellagio, which is just across the lake from Tremezzo. When I visited that charming town yesterday, I wondered how anyone could settle down to write with all that sense stimulation.
A Street in Bellagio
My husband and I began writing the first draft of Breathe Life into Your Life Story on a two-week “writing vacation” in Park City, Utah. The time away from the distractions of home helped us focus on our project and gave us a good start. Later, to give the project a boost in a particularly frustrating time in my life, I rented a small cabin in the Big Bear mountains for $35 a day from a friend of a friend. I got so much accomplished off on my own, I felt it was money well spent.
We have an adorable little dog, a Shih-Tzu named Emma, who has developed the habit of sleeping on our bed. (I know, we’re the ones at fault.) She often has difficulty settling down and wanders around our bed checking out this and that place before she finally circles around a spot that will be hers for the night. Writers often have a similar struggle settling down to do their business, needing to test various places before finding somewhere that suits their needs.
Where do you write most effectively? What tricks do you employ to transition to your writing projects? Take a minute to share what works for you.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
This is tooooo lovely. I could sit there forever.
Just gorgeous. How can you get any writing
done with a view like that!
The fact is, I didn’t get any writing done, other than writing this blog post. I expect were I to spend six months in this area, as my friend did, I could get down to business after a week or so of lollygagging around.
–Dawn
July 11, 2009, Dawn, I just returned from the Orange County California Genealogy Society meeting where I saw others from your writing class. Nancy P. mentioned your blog from Italy so I went immediately to check it out. I usually keep a journal when I travel. When I process the activities/insights of the day, I’m better able to sleep. In Oregon I attended an all-day writing seminar (www.creativejourneys.net) where we wrote about specific topics. I’m expanding those 10-minute writing spurts now that I’m back home. When Marta S. invited me for Fourth of July dinner, I suggested we each write something to share. I wrote about my British friend Donald who died on his favorite American holiday, the 4th of July. Marta wrote about her father who also died on the 4th of July. If I hadn’t had that “deadline,” I wouldn’t have remembered Donald with the details that writing brings to the foreground.
Welcome back! Vacation time goes so quickly!
Thanks for writing and for telling us about Lake Como, is so beautifull and tranquil place to be. I was there one year ago and I prompted to see my old photos from the Bellagio Hotel. Looking forward to see you next month.
Cordially yours, Martha