A big part of my creative writing process involves my hour-long commute. It’s long, totally dark for half the year, and very quiet. I neither live or work in a place where transit is an option, and so those hours hours are spent behind the wheel. Over the past couple of years I have not had to go in as often, and so it’s just down to a few days a week. Sometimes I listen to audio books, other times I spend the time in quiet. (Unless it’s one of those white-knuckle driving days).

In those quiet times, on the road in the dark, is when I’ve dreamed up some of the most important elements of my story. Even this morning, I was thinking about the piece I’m working through now. All of the questions about it running through my head – Is the action plausible? Interesting? Is the magic consistent? If it went this way instead of that, what would happen? Do I like it better that way? What would the woman say? Would there be any enemy creatures? and so on… I can’t say I came to any sort of conclusions today, but I think I’m a lot closer than I was. Sometimes that hour of quiet really can be more productive than an entire day at a coffee shop (my go-to writing place).