Last night I joined in writing for the Rabbit Hole for about 3 hours. Today I’ve been largely pottering around with the online team on Facebook and Twitter, providing munchy provisions for Melbourne, and coffee for myself. Sitting so close to the snacks table again today is dangerous, dangerous stuff.

Last night I managed to write over 2,900 words. Given that this was in three interrupted hours (catering wench is most important in this venue!), I’m really happy with my output. And I managed to write some scenes I’d been avoiding or struggling with for ages.

Last night I woke at 3am, and lay in bed thinking for a while. Almost 3000 words in three hours is really good for me. I wrote more in three hours than I have in the last week. So why does the Rabbit Hole work?

Possible answers:
– No procrastination tools. There’s no housework to be done,  no TV to watch and no to-do lists to make you feel guilty. The things that normally crop up to help writers avoid their writing are all stripped away.
– Public Censure. In a room full of people pounding away at the keys, you feel a bit shit for not doing the same when you know very well that you’ve got no excuse, and you signed up for this.
– Competitiveness. That girl just hit 3,000 words. What?! Yeah. Right. Need to get there too.
– What you owe to yourself. Knowing that you’ve got this opportunity, and that these opportunities are rare helps drive home the fact that you owe this to yourself.

These are my top theories. If you took part in the Rabbit Hole, or you have in the past, and you can think of other reasons, let me know. I’m interested in nutting out why I can write this amount here, but not at home alone. Am I just lacking discipline?