A Writer’s Space
“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is going to write.” ~Virginia Woolf
Book-in-a-Week members were asked about their writing spaces. Specifically: How important is your writing space to you? What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space?
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? Very important! I have my computer in a small den I decorated with bright crayon colors for two reasons; one I write for kids and two, I heard it was stimulating. I have a view of the park and woods behind the house. It is lovely in the fall.
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? My walls are plastered with my artwork; pictures of the family and pets; and posters. My favorite thing is a natural grapevine wreath (a big one) with mini teddy bears, stars and moons encircling it. I have a TV and radio close by and my computer is sitting on this huge old desk that belonged to my father-in-law. I haven’t figured it out yet but I know the desk has a secret compartment somewhere.
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space? I could use a new floor in here. The carpet is old and has a purple stain where I dropped paint. I’d like hardwood in here eventually. Sometimes I just have to get away from the computer and this small room and I go into our big kitchen or dining room, which is neutral in décor. I enjoy a change of scenery. I sometimes sit outside on the deck with my laptop.
All in all, I’m very versatile, will write anywhere, will write anything, will even write for food.
~ Wendy Whittingham (Ontario, Canada)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? Vitally important. It’s not the actual, space, but mindset. I create the space in my mind. I’ll take a notebook and pen to a coffee shop; sip tea or coffee and write, sometimes a specific scene I’m working on, or just gleaning character notes. However the space is specifically arranged. Notebook in the middle, if I have food to the right, and all the table dressing: salt and pepper, sugar, doodads, placed on the opposite corner from me on the aisle, it deters the nosey.
Until I moved, I had an office and I’d write there sometimes, however, I did just as much writing on the couch and at the end of the kitchen counter, as I did in the office. The “office” is a space I enter in my mind. Things blur a bit around the edges and I enter whatever world I’m visiting. I’m one of the peculiar people who usually have a few things going at the same time.
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? I just moved YEAH! So I find I sit in the office and look out over trees, it’s intensely private and quiet here. Occasionally deer mosey through. Down in the village there is a charming little cafe called the Watermark. It’s got a table with a jigsaw puzzle on it, and the seats are close to the window, so you can watch the water go under the building. It’s a large stream. The cafe is cozy and charming.
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space? Well, what I’d like to add to my life, which would add to my time in the writing space would be a maid to tidy, vacuum, do the dishes and the laundry. I hate drudgery and repetition. Sometimes I’m washing clothes and it flits through my mind, didn’t I just wash this? I’d also bring back Dunkin Donuts Hazelnut brewed coffee, not the new ugly syrups they slop in the regular coffee.
~ Marie Sultana Robinson (New England, U.S.A.)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? Pretty important. I have a small room (used to be the guest room, but now they sleep in the family room!) filled with books. I would have a hard time writing without all my references and photos, maps, cheery sayings pinned up all around me. I do some writing elsewhere on the laptop (coffee shops, etc.), but always have to return to the burrow to finish up and check things.
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? The books!
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space? A much better desk. More bookcases (guess that means a bigger room). And a housecleaner to come dust!
~ Ann Parker (California, U.S.A.)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? Very. I need to have my own place where I can spread out my pages, research, books, etc. I hate feeling confined. And I really hate having to move stuff because it’s dinner time or because company is coming.
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? I have claimed a corner in the guest room next to two tall bookcases, so I have lots of room for my books, and a long table along one wall where I can spread out. For me, out of sight is out of mind, so I need to have everything at hand. There’s also the guest bed if I want to stretch out, and a TV/DVD. I haven’t really found a good “writing” use for that last one, but I like having it as a reward when I finish my pages.
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space? I wouldn’t have to share it with “guests” when they come (I guess that means I would add another room as the guest room)! Right now we’ve got a Katrina evacuee living with us, so my writing space has moved to the dining room. While I’m very happy he’s here while he rebuilds his house, I have come to appreciate the door I could shut (and even lock, if necessary) which I don’t have in the dining room. Since I’m here in the open, people feel I’m open to interruptions for problems such as, “What’s for dinner?” The other thing I wish for is a subtraction from my writing space. I also share it with my husband’s drum kit. These two activities are not particularly compatible.
~ Tracy Hurley (Alabama, U.S.A.)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? My writing space is my most important part of my home. I do so much better when I have an “office” to work from. I do roam around the house and outside and find places to write, but my “office” is important to me. I only had a desk in the corner of my bedroom for writing before Nov 12. Now I have an OFFICE with a sliding glass door overlooking a beautiful back yard. It has a work area with counter for crafts, etc., with storage. It is a large room, with room for a settee or something for sitting at. I love that, because I like to sit comfortably away from the computer when I do my planning. I have 2 lovely cherry desks.
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? My favorite thing about my writing space is my French doors opening onto the patio and my large backyard, with a view.
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space? If I could have anything I wished for my office, I would add floor to ceiling bookcases, and pretty baskets to store ‘writerly’ things in.
~ Evelyn Guy (Alabama, U.S.A.)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? Very! Although I have found the space does not have to be fixed. I need mental space from my family and from whatever I’m supposed to be doing besides writing. I need quiet– unless it’s “noise” of my choice. I need quiet to hear what the characters are saying. I have had a writing space in the closet. Another time I bought a pair of noise mufflers like they use on the shooting range. Those worked well — at least until my son confiscated them; he uses them when he plays the drums.
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? It’s pretty comfortable physically. I use a large kitchen table as a desk — never did like traditional desks — and I have a kitchen chair with a chair pad that puts me at a pretty decent height. I gave up on office chairs after my son (not the drummer) managed to destroy four of them. And I have a footstool.
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space? A clean space with only MY things on it! Having said all that — I’ve found the best places for writing were in the closet with an old computer that had no Internet connection and at the living room desk with an old laptop that had no Internet connection. Gee, is there an underlying theme here? Although I think I have been much more productive overall since, I have been able to go online and meet up with other writers through great groups.
~ Tara Manderino (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? I confess that mine is often in a state of chaos. I guess I must really like it that way. I don’t have a desk. Instead, I use the kitchen table I inherited in 1998 from my Dad. I grew up eating at this table and now it serves me in a much different way. To my right, I always have notes and printed pages of WIP.
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? I have to keep the left side of my computer free for our Marauding Cat, Bandit. He likes to be close to me when I write. Sometimes we even fight over the keyboard or he steals my pens. (I told my son he shouldn’t have named him Bandit. I’ve also told Bandit his great-grandma would’ve never permitted him taking up residence here.)
The other special thing about my writing space is the marvelous double windows before me. I refuse to have then curtained or even covered with mini-blinds because the second largest oak tree in the county where I live shelters us. Its beauty inspires me daily. Our back yard is fenced, giving us absolute privacy. I thank God, the angels and my mom for guiding me here. (I moved 1100 miles from my place of birth.)
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space? The only thing I would change would be my chair. BIC HOK TAM — The B in that would *really* love more padding. Oh well, maybe when I sell my first book?
~ Paula (Florida, U.S.A.)
!!!
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? I write all over the place, anywhere and at anytime! Lap top, AlphaSmart, iMac computer. HAND-WRITING in notebooks, all the time, everywhere I go, and of course, right now, at the computer, lots of clutter everywhere, fabulous spots in my house to write – more books and paper clutter, — huge printer with bookmaker in my large gallery, — I’ve put the printing paper in the hot-water cupboard, on the shelves in there to keep dry and ready to print — the whole house is my writing space…..
I have three desks, all with large window-doors, trees and park-like garden all around… and often I clutter up the dining room table for as long as I want to do layouts, cut-outs, photos, etc, etc… when people come to get printing done, I clear the table and work with them. I do copies of scrapbooks – one lady made three copies of her family memory album so all of the children can have one – the color I get off of my printer, and the photos all come up like the original without the 3-D bits and pieces, but they look so good — wonderful writing atmosphere here! CAN DO!
~ Carolyn Ann Aish (New Zealand)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? I love my writing space. It is the place where I surround myself with inspiration — the things that don’t always mesh with my ‘manly’ husband. Here, I have my books, candles, music and pictures. They take me to a place where I can create the worlds my characters live in. When I shut the door, it is an accepted signal I am not to be disturbed. I can laugh or cry as my characters travel through their lives — and escape my own.
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space? There isn’t anything I would add to my writing space here in Illinois. However, I would prefer it to be on the twenty-five acres of solitude that awaits me in the woods of my Missourri home. (Pic: The best things come in three’s. Here, three vanilla candles set the mood in the evening when I sit down to write.)
~ Kelly Henkins (Illinois, U.S.A.)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? I generally take whatever writing space I can get. Mostly I use our computer in our den, like for BIW or for when I have more than an hour to write at a stretch. (I say “our”, but basically the only things I have in the den are things I bring in with me, like my disks, notes, glasses, etc. But I’m not complaining. I just grab them off a table in another room when both the den and I are available.) I also write longhand in other places, and can spend hours in the library doing research. So I guess the actual space isn’t all that important to me.
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? My favorite thing about the den is the keyboard and availability of Internet at a finger’s touch.
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space? Either a quiet neighborhood, or about 200 acres in the mountains or along a beach. Either beach or mountains is fine. Oh, and as long as I’m dreaming: I’d add more sunshine, too.
~ Sandy Carlson (Michigan, U.S.A.)
~~~
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? “I like my writing space. It is in a corner of the house and I’ve actually decorated it. I have a desk for my computer and writing stuff. I have another desk directly behind it I actually write on. Since I do most of my writing with pen, all of my rough drafts are written with a pen or pencil.
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space?The only thing I don’t like about my space, well it’s two fold. I like I can look out the window, but it’s right next to the front door and it does tend to get cold in the winter. However, it beats the kitchen table and all of my stuff, desks, files materials and bookshelves are all in this little corner. I have a coffee shop I go to sometimes and it’s great. Jazz, coffee/tea and sometimes a croissant. They don’t even attempt to kick me out when they close. One time I stayed as they locked the place and closed down the cash register.”
~ Michelle Dragalin (Colorado, U.S.A.)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? My writing space is important, but not too much so, since I do most of my writing in different areas of the house with either a notebook or my Alphasmart.
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? My favorite thing about my writing space is the big window next to me, with the crab apple tree outside. The tree is visited by many different kinds of birds, from jays to cardinals, to doves to sparrows and everything in between. The squirrels like to visit, too, and I often see a stray cat or rabbit wander through.
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space? If I could truly have anything, it would be a personal masseuse, who would work all the kinks and knots out of my neck and shoulders. I’d also like to add an extra 100 or so square feet, so I could properly store and display all of my writing reference books.
~ Dawn M. Hunt (Connecticut, U.S.A.)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? Writing space? It’s anywhere I happen to be when I’m writing. (I find the idea of having to have a special space for it somewhat mind-boggling. I’d never get anything done. But then, I draft long-hand, and revise on print-out…)
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? I don’t even have just one desk. I have my desk here at work, the one with my computer on it at home, and the one with my husband’s computer on it which I use nearly as much, because it’s more recently upgraded and is where the broadband modem is plugged in…
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space? If I could add anything, it would be a more comfortable chair at both at-home desks.
~ Alys Sterling (London, England)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? I neglect my writing space on purpose. I try to personalize it or organize it on the sly, in my head, or add touches here and there, hoping some other part of my brain won’t notice I am making this space more comfortable, better for writing, more inspiring.
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? I have taken out the grey metal folding table on which my computer sat and replaced it with the table my husband made for me out of pieces of his old waterbed. A captain’s table, I think of it, and I like the way it makes me feel like a captain, not afraid to set my own course. A cabinet to the side of me is nice as well, a forties-style wooden cabinet on which I have some books and supplies. The floor underneath me is wood, now, flaming red and pink brown, sturdy, natural underfoot, firm but breathing, living.
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space?Other than these pieces, my writing space is overcome by piles and clutter, papers, things to file, pictures, old cartons, kids’ game CDs, drawings, notes, and coupons. It doesn’t seem to matter, and hides my true writing space, the space I am building. The one thing I want now, for it, is a cedar chest which contains a metal rack for files, so much better than a metal filing cabinet. I may sneak it in when no one is looking.
~ Caroline Ledeboer (Iowa, U.S.A.)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? I’ve felt very luxurious for the past year and a half… for the first time in my life I have an official study/office at home! I used to work in the corner of my bedroom, or the corner of the family room (NOT a good idea!) or at my corporate office desk, late evenings and weekends when I could escape… or at my local library.
But now I have pretty close to my dream office! I have a triangular desk in a corner, between two windows, one overlooking the river, and one my driveway and a field and woods beyond. But most of the time I focus on the computer screen in front of me and the bulletin boards on the walls over the desk, where I have key telephone numbers listed, family pictures, special letters from fans, and some pictures that mean special things to me, especially about my writing.
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? On my desk I have a red ceramic vase with “lucky bamboo” thriving in it, lots of sharpened pencils, and pens, and a two line telephone with speaker (one line for writing, one for my antiques business — either for family!) and a mug full of tootsie roll pops, which are key inspirations at moments when I need a sugar fix. My little room also has a fax and copy machine, file cabinets, a large wardrobe-turned-supply-cabinet, bookcases, a dictionary stand, and even a small refrigerator. One of my favorite items: A large metal library book cart. It holds most of the key books I’m using as references for my two latest books. Other favorite things; a small oil
portrait of Poe my husband found at an auction for me, a couple of writing awards, a picture of my grandmother, who inspired me, and a tall Dr. Seuss hat given to me by some students at a school where I spoke a year ago.
It’s going to be a cold winter — so I also have a wonderfully soft hand made lap blanket I put over my shoulders when breezes blow outside… the house was built in 1774!
I spend most of my non-sleeping time here when I’m at home, and I’m thrilled to do so. It is truly a “room of my own,” that essential Virginia Wolfe wrote about, but which we all know is so hard to find! I waited over 50 years for mine, but I’m thrilled to have it.
~ Lea Wait (Maine, U.S.A.)
~~~
How important is your writing space to you? Very important, especially when someone infringes on it. “What’s that book doing there?! That’s not mine? Hey, where are my scissors, tape, pen, post-its” That type of thing. I use to share an office down stairs with my husband. When I broke my back he bought me a laptop I could move around with me. I now have a desk in the dining room behind the couch (we are TV table people so I often spread out on the dining room table as well).
What is your favorite thing about your current writing space? At the moment, I can see our rust maple through the living room window. The color reflects a warm glow into the room. In a couple weeks it will be my desk. A friend of mine gave me some extra 7ft bookshelves she had so I’ll be able to move a lot of the books that are in the way on my desk, dining room table, and husband’s shelves. I have other projects to finish beforehand.
If you could have anything you wish, what would you add to your writing space? All my acceptance letters from major publishers framed 🙂 hanging above my Giller, Man Booker and other literary awards.
~ M. E. Wood (Ontario, Canada)