Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Posted by David Duhr in 
Yesterday was a sunny and gorgeous winter day in New York City, topping out at near 65 degrees. It was so warm that in the afternoon I visited my spring/summer/fall writing spot, a series of benches overlooking Riverside Park, the West Side Highway and the Hudson.
(The writing didn’t go well, but the experience was a pleasure.)
While walking back home I passed a dude lying along the rock ledge pictured at left. I didn’t snap a photo of him, because creepy. But he was horizontal, on his back, his head on the hard wall, holding aloft a notebook in his left hand and writing in it with his right. To his left, a 25-foot drop (pictured below). An aggressive human or gust of wind or a surprise tremor and he’s a goner.
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a more uncomfortable-looking position in which to write. A bunch of ridiculous “on the edge” cliches came to mind. I almost stopped to share one of them with him, but then I had a sudden fear of interrupting him in the middle of writing a sentence that begins “I am going to slice open the next stranger who.”
I don’t have anything particularly insightful to say about all of this. Mostly what it did is make me wonder if getting out of our comfort zone — physically and psychologically — as writers every now and again is a good idea. Just like with most advice: If it’s something all people are supposed to do occasionally, it probably goes double for writers.
So that’s your — and my — new challenge, should you (and I) choose to accept it: Sometime in the next week, do some writing outside of your comfort zone.
Define it how you will: location, genre, body posture/position, time of day/week, whatever. Anything that’s outside of your norm.
And then report back! Because what good is this experiment if we don’t share our results with one another?
Also, let us know what your comfort zone is: Where do you typically write? In what position? What time of day?
WriteByNight co-founder David Duhr is copy editor and fiction editor at the Texas Observer and has written for the Dallas Morning News, Electric Literature, Publishing Perspectives, and others.
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When I write by hand it’s usually on my stomach, in bed or on the couch. When I type, it’s usually just sitting up straight at my desk or coffee table. Both of those are boring. How should I shake it up? I don’t want to write upside down like your guy, but I like the idea of a different place and position. I don’t write in public a lot, almost never, so I could try that. I like it quiet when I write, so maybe a loud coffee shop or bar or something.
Hey Mark. Have you tried this yet? What were the results? If you haven’t, I might suggest a moving vehicle; bus, subway, etc. Not just to get out of your comfort zone, but also because such settings can actually work well for some writers. We had a friend in Boston who, when he wanted to write, would ride the subway back and forth for hours.
And hey, nothing wrong with being a little boring with your writing routine. Steady does it, man.
Thanks for coming by.
My comfort zone = on the couch with my cat and a cup of hot tea or iced tea, depending on mood/season. So like Mark I think my uncomfort zone is probably out in public, no cat, no couch. Something crowded, like the train depot. Which is the only place in my town that ever gets at all busy or crowds. I’ll let you knopw how it goes!
*know how it goes!
Hi Beth. Thanks for stopping by. And good luck! If you haven’t already tried this. And if you have, how did it go?
Some writers really get off on the energy at train depots, airports, etc. There’s a sizzle in the air when people are traveling; plus the mere idea of travel can engender creativity. So I have a feeling this will go well for you.
I popped out of my comfort zone when I retired. I still use a desk and my laptop only because it is easy and convenient but I have written while sitting in a Starbucks in a Safeway store, while in a tent when traveling, while sitting in a lawn chair near a camp fire, in motels, sitting on my bed to get away from the TV, etc. I guess I’m one of the lucky people who can work no matter where I am. Having gone through 4 years of University with 4 small children running around the house, I learned… Read more »
Hi Barbara. So what you’re saying is, you don’t really have any kind of *dis*comfort zone? That’s great; adaptability is a wonderful trait in a writer. What would you say is the most uncomfortable and/or bizarre place you’ve ever written?
Ooh, that is a fun question. Maybe that should be in a future post. I’m not sure I have an immediate answer for it; I’ll have to think about it.
My discomfort zone is anyplace where someone can potentially see what I’m writing. If I’m on a bus or plane or whatever, the person behind me can see over my shoulder. If I’m in a coffee shop, on my cmputer, anyone behind me can see what I’m writing. If I’m at home, my boyfriend can peek at my notebook when I’m looking away. None of these things ever happen, mind you. But the fact that they conceivably CAN happen is enough to make me uncomfortable. Therefore my comfort zone is home alone. Or in a DESERTED public place. Or the… Read more »
There was a guy, I think Joshua Cohen, who wrote in some kind of live stream on the internet. You wouldn’t see him writing, but his document could appear on your screen and you could see the keystrokes as he was making them. Is that your worst nightmare? Picturing thousands of people reading every word as it comes? Seeing every typo or awful cliche before you have a chance to delete them? (*Not that I think you’re especially prone to awful cliches; no more than the rest of us.) Maybe compared to that idea, nothing you mention above — crowded… Read more »
Here’s the thing on Cohen: https://litreactor.com/news/pckwck-live-stream-writing-with-joshua-cohen
“The setup is basic. You see the document Cohen is working on, and on the left side, you see his face while he types, smokes, and occasionally reads the comments on the right side of the page. As he makes changes to the document, you see it happen live.”
Is there a comfort zone for writing? I don’t want a comfort zone. The day I get comfortable writing is the day my writing turns to shite. Put me on a ledge. Hang me upside down in a cave. Cram me onto a crowded bus.
So- I guess for this experiment I should do the opposite, which is write when comfortable. I spose it’s worth a shot just to see. I’ll write in bed or something and report back! JSS
Hi Jon, thanks for stopping by. So where is it that you typically write? I’m assuming not a ledge or upside down in a cave. Crowded bus? Loud auditorium? Construction site? Train tracks? Hey, whatever works. But if you give us some specifics I might be able to offer a suggestion, if you want one.
Unless you’ve already written in bed. In which case, how did it go?
I remember that wall! I used it around 1987 to get back into my comfort zone. I had been sitting Zen with a koan about falling off a cliff, and it just wasn’t real to me. I went and climbed the wall. If I had fallen, I probably would have just been bruised. But I didn’t feel that way! I felt like death was below me! The koan became real, and I took one more step towards Awakening. Now, I’m perpetually outside my comfort zone. I live a life with no safety net. Maybe I should try comfort. Heck, maybe… Read more »
Hi Sid. Thanks for stopping by. I don’t know what this ledge looked like in 1987, but if it’s anything like it is today, death could definitely have been below you. And anyway, anything can be a cliff if you think it’s a cliff, amirite?
You sound a bit like Jon, above, who doesn’t want to be comfortable when writing. Ain’t nothing wrong with that, so long as it works. But if discomfort becomes your comfort zone, should you try to step outside of that every now and then?
Only one way to find out. So start boiling the water!
Will do. And I’ll let you know what happens. The world’s first case of chamomile poisoning, probably. :-) As for the wall, it runs for 25 blocks or more, and the height varies. I climbed a spot just 12 feet high. I like the feeling of risk. But I’m a very careful adventurer. Hmm, I write like that, too. Worth exploring. It just occurred to me – new writing exercises are a way to break out of the comfort zone, too. As is a change of time of day, or a marathon writing session. More hmmm. These are good thoughts… Read more »
I have been taking on politics on Facebook. There are plenty of opinions, and I love asking for facts and specifics. that is pay, not work. As far as work, i need to sit butt in chair and get to work/ i still have much to learn and much to write before i sign up for your coaching service.
Politics and Facebook is definitely outside of my comfort zone. Partly because family makes up a large portion of my FB friends, and, well, you know … things get sticky. But if ever there’s a time for it.
We would love to help out in any way. Coaching itself is a learning process *and* a generative process. One doesn’t need to know a thing about writing or have written a single word in order to benefit from coaching, or enjoy it.
But butt in chair is a great step, no matter where you are in your journey!
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