Ideal Writing Towns

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Above my desk I have a small piece of art.  It's a rendition of the main street of Essex, NY.  The town is a very special one to my family. 

Essex is a tiny little town on Lake Champlain (that would be the lake between New York and Vermont).  One of it's major draws, I would guess, is that it is one of the landing sites for the few ferries that run across the lake.  It also has the distinction of being the home of Champ, Lake Champlain's version of The Loch Ness Monster. 

The Charlotte-Essex Ferry. 

My husband's Grandfather is pastor of the Methodist Church in Essex. He and Granda Hunn live in the neighboring town of Willsboro. My husband and I actually got married in Essex, at the church, officiated by Grandpa.  With that and other family gatherings, I've spent a lot of time in that region.  I could go on and on about how small and rural Essex and Willsboro are, but suffice it to say this:  If you are staying in either one of them, plan on a 45 minute to an hour drive to get to a McDonald's, Walmart, or Regal movie theater.  When I was planning the wedding reception, I had trouble finding catering options because the area was too far of a drive.  Getting the picture?  

Oh, but it is an attractive part of the country, with gorgeous lake views and small town charm.  I remember one day describing-I think it was Essex, specifically - as being the type of town where one would go to write the great American novel.

It really is a charming prospect.  Slipping away to a peaceful part of the country to work on your masterpiece has a certain element of romance to it.  Imagine cool mornings, sipping coffee by the lake, a notebook or laptop within reach to craft your story......

Aaaaaaannnnd, cut.  That's enough.

Let's be real.  Essex may be remote, but it still has the internet.  And cable.  And most likely, as a traveler you will have luggage.  And luggage can sometimes hold other distractions, like knitting or a stack of books you've been meaning to get to.  A change of location won't stop me from procrastinating.  It may change how I procrastinate, but I still would.

So maybe, the ideal writing town for me isn't some remote locale, but instead is the city in which I live.  Maybe there's value in realizing that we don't need to go somewhere exotic to write, that we can instead make it work in our ordinary lives, right where we are.  Where we live is a part of the unique set of experiences we each have as individuals. So why not embrace it, rather than feel like it's something that's holding us back?   Not that we can never go away on writing trips.  In fact, if you do, I can give you some reccommendations of places to visit in and around Essex, NY. ;)