Where I've Written: A List — Jodie Toresdahl

Currently, at a child sized table outside my daughter’s ballet class, next to my giggling son plugged into his tablet.

At the old Birdbath Bakery on Columbus the day after the city was hushed by a February blizzard.

In my bed on a Saturday afternoon with a locked door and the joyful sound of my husband playing with our children in the living room easing my mind.

On many runs around the lower loop of Central Park in all seasons, feet pounding words loose and lungs expanding enough to breathe those words back out on a page as soon as I get home.

At a small table in the back of Irving Farm where I know the lack of wi-fi will keep me focused on the page.

At a small table in the corner at Joe where I can observe life if I get stuck.

At a small table at Indie while the elderly couple next to me always shares a croissant, the newspaper, and easy smiles.

At my kitchen table in a leather bound journal with my favorite pen when the world outside is dark and my people are all sleeping, with a lit candle and a steaming cup of coffee at my side.

With a group of New Yorkers I didn’t know at a free creative writing class in the middle of Bryant Park on a humid July evening, while reminding myself that imposter syndrome is a bully and I have a no tolerance policy when it comes to bullies.

On the back porch of my century old cabin in the woods of Pennsylvania while I eavesdrop on the wind and the trees sharing secrets.

With my legs criss-cross applesauce on my couch after procrastination baking, hoping the smells from the oven will inspire something, anything on the page.

In the lobby of a hotel in Nashville while my husband attends a conference across the street.

On a piece of paper pulled from my bag in the middle of a walk through the city, on the back of my grocery list in the produce section, on the water proof notepad on the shower wall, and in a tiny notebook on my nightstand at 2 am when the sentence won’t let me fall back asleep until it secures a home on a page.

And every once in a while, at the desk I bought myself for writing, surrounded by books full of poetry and prose that make me want to write my own stories.

This was written in the “From Inspiration to Habit” writing workshop. During this first week we are taking note of what inspires us to write and where we write.