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and friends, you need to locate a suitable space where you can write without interruption. The ideal solution, of course, is to have an "office"-a separate room in your home or apartment reserved exclusively for writing. It took me almost 35 years to get to this point. And I relish it. But, for decades, I wrote wherever I could find a quiet spot. For instance, my first so-called office was in the basement. It consisted of an old workbench next to the coal furnace. Later, I set up my trusty Royal typewriter in the attic. Like Stephen King, you may find your niche beneath a stairway, or, perhaps, in a second bathroom which Erma Bombeck used to pen some of her best-syndicated columns.

The main thing you have to look for is a space that is relatively quiet and away from possible interruptions. This is why I don't advocate writing on the kitchen table or in the living room or any room frequented by other family members. You can't expect them to tiptoe quietly around you while you work.

If you can't find a quiet place at home, consider this idea: Get a job! By that I mean part-time solitary employment, such as a cashier in an all-night parking garage, a night watchman, or night bridge tender-all jobs I have worked at and used to my advantage. Not only do you put a few dollars in your pocket, but such jobs also offer you hours of quiet solitude and even supply you with free coffee and office space. How can you go wrong?

There are many "mindless jobs" out there that offer the writer a superb place to write. So, if you can't write at home, get out of the house and write. For years, I penned my newspaper articles on yellow legal pads in the front seat of my old Buick during my lunch break. Then I'd go back to the office and pound out the story in a matter of minutes, much to the amazement of my colleagues. A friend of mine liked to write in the library where she had access to as many books as she liked. Hemingway and others sketched a lot of their stories in cafes and saloons. So, lack of proper space should not be an excuse not to write.

FINDING THE TIME:
Experts say the ideal plan is to have a set routine where you write each and every day at the same time. Personally, I find this difficult, especially when writing at home. So, rather than being held accountable to a clock, I prefer to set a goal for myself based on the amount of words I can produce. For instance, if I can chisel out 500 words a day, I'm satisfied.
The way I look at it is that in three days I have the first

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