Do you have your own designated writing space? A place in the house where the creative juices flow? A corner at Starbucks where your characters speak to you? A seat on your back porch where scenes come to life?
I posted the question, “Do you have your own designated writing space?” on Facebook in the Fiction Writing Group. Some of the answers I got were:
--Actually, I have a particular folding table and chair which I store when not writing. For some reason the ritual of setting them up every time helps me get into the right mindset. I set it up on the deck if it’s nice, in the office if not.
--I have a favorite spot at the library.
--Yup. We call it my “geek cave”. Where my various Star Trek, general Sci-fi paraphernalia reside. It’s my sanctuary of sorts.
--Sorta, I do have a desk I'm supposed to use but it's got crap all over it. Right now I write on the couch.
Some sent me photos of their work space. Some pictures showed cozy corners of the house where the tops of their desks were neat and tidy. Then there were others that were cluttered with papers, files, photos and books…like mine, as depicted above.
Some workplaces have given birth to some remarkable fiction. J.K. Rowling was partial to writing in cafés and coffee houses in Edinburgh while single, on welfare, with her sleeping daughter at her side. Rowling said in an interview: “It’s no secret that the best place to write, in my opinion, is in a café. You don’t have to make your own coffee, you don’t have to feel like you’re in solitary confinement and if you have writer’s block, you can get up and walk to the next café while giving your batteries time to recharge and brain time to think. The best writing café is crowded enough to allow you to blend in, but not too crowded that you have to share a table with someone else.”
Now, of course, her fame makes it impossible for Rowling to work in a coffeehouse so she works in a writing room in her garden.
Jodi Picoult writes in the finished attic office of her Hanover, NH home. She said, “It’s clean and quiet and has everything at my fingertips—namely, the files full of research I’ve been doing, plus reference books and a quick Internet connection. But it’s also just a staircase away from my family if anyone needs me.”
In his book On Writing Stephen King states, “For any writer, but for the beginning writer in particular, it’s wise to eliminate every possible distraction.” He goes on to say that one of the most important parts of your writing space is the door. King claims that your room must have a door that you’re willing to shut and keep closed until you’ve reached your daily writing goal. It also tells people that you mean business. By closing the door, you’re saying to the world to stay out, that important stuff is going on behind it. He says the door not only serves to keep the world out, but it also serves to keep you in and focused, without having to look to see who may be passing by the entryway.
Here are a few examples of writers in their writing space.
Agatha Christie
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Damon Runyon
All the examples above are far tidier than my work space. But I'm comfortable there and I've produced two published novels (and one more to launch in July) within its confines. And all on the same beat up laptop. So as long as it works for you, keep on writing.
