Last spring, I blogged about writing in Hawaii, but that was a piece of cake compared to this past weekend, when I worked on my novel revision smack in the middle of a gathering of hundreds of amateur astronomers at the Table Mountain Star Party.

Imagine this scene: Hundreds of cars and RVs parked inches from each other. A line of tents pitched around the periphery of the “telescope field,” where everyone has set up their equipment. People, people everywhere – talking astronomy, laughing, making music, constantly walking the well-worn path between the parking area and the food stand. Add thunder, lightning, rain, hail, and wind to this scenario, and you don’t exactly have the ingredients for an idyllic writing retreat.

But I turned it into one anyway.

In the three days we were on Table Mountain, I managed to write for several hours every day and completely revised two chapters, including writing some new scenes from scratch. How did I do it? Here are a few tips for writing just about anywhere.

1. Make a commitment. Promise yourself you’re going to write, and then just do it. Don’t let anything stop you. No excuses.

2. Prepare before you go. I wasn’t sure that there would be anyplace to plug in my laptop, so I made sure it was fully charged before we left home. I also brought along a notebook and some pens for when the battery ran out. (As it turned out, the nice people at the food stand let me charge my laptop in one of their electrical outlets, but that was just good luck.) Be ready to write even in a worst case scenario.

3. Create a structure. For me, trying to write all day just isn’t realistic. Putting a concrete boundary on my writing time, like, “I’m going to write from the time I finish breakfast until noon” helps to give me a sense of accomplishment.

4. Reward yourself. Once you’ve completed the day’s goal, whether it be a page or word count or a specified amount of time, reward yourself with an enjoyable activity in your environment. For me, it was a 1-mile hike to Lion’s Rock.

5. Seek support. Tell people about your commitment to write and ask them to support you by making an effort to give you space. My husband supported me on our trip by bringing along his journal so we could write together.

What’s the most interesting or challenging place you’ve ever written in? How did you keep yourself on task?