Do trains breed novels because they offer the conditions for a writing routine? Strict schedules, set blocks of uninterrupted time, and a special place to work are fixtures of writing advice. Some novelists have a hard time saying goodbye to such routines. “I knew where to stand on the platform to get my seat — the only one on the Cambridge Flyer without a seat in front. It was next to the loo,” recalls crime writer Jim Kelly. Having left his office job at the Financial Times, he now recreates the commuting experience with short bursts of work in pub gardens and, intriguingly, borrowed sheds. No word on whether he jabs himself in the neck with a newspaper or pays those nearby to scream into phones.

@ The Guardian