The Benefits of Writing in Trains

Most of the writers featured in Emily St. John Mandel’s essay in the Millions write on trains out of necessity: They need to squeeze in writing time whenever they can, even if it means doing so during a commute. But there’s something else about trains, Mandel writes, that’s “oddly conducive to writing.”

For me it’s not so much about the hand writing—I write almost everything in longhand before I transcribe it to my computer anyway, whether I’m at my desk or on the F train—but the rhythm and the white noise, the momentum of travel, the feeling of being immersed in the life of the city.

Agreed. I occasionally write on trains out of necessity, but the rhythm of the rails does help me focus. It’s great. Until I miss my stop.

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