“Imagine two different venues for writing – one that seems most suited to you, and one that you would find bizarre or too difficult. Write a paragraph describing two writers at work, one in each of the venues.”

1.
The vessel heaved upon the water again. Robert had by now, mostly tuned out the rolling waves in his periphery but has having a hard time ignoring the water which would, in small amounts seep over the sides and wash out the ink on the sheets of paper he had carefully organised around the raft. He was beginning to become distracted by the wailings and thrashing of bodies in the water around him. Their screams weren’t good for his concentration. Robert, however, was not to be defeated and saw these trials as challenges to be met with stoic dedication to the task at hand –  his masterpiece. And so he bit his lip, fortified his concentration and, much to the annoyances of the other children fighting for control of the floats at Merton swimming pool’s wave machine hour, continued his work.

2.
Leaning back from my console, I tuned my hearing onto the gentle patter of rain in the near distance. The steady white noise providing its soundtrack as a blank screen rests in front of me. It’s soft glow flickering imperceptibly fast yet somehow feeling like a gentle, soothing pulsation that beckons my hands onto the keyboard. Manipulating a set of buttons on the console in front of me, I simultaneously turn off the ships acoustic ambience player and sever myself from communications with the rest of the universe. As I begin to write, the window that rests just beyond the gentle rectangle of white light begins to open it’s shutter, revealing the planet earth. I look up at the pale blue sphere, smiling to myself as I pick out a single story from it’s surface, and I begin to write.