"That's my spot." ~ Sheldon, The Big Bang Theory
A recurring theme and a vital topic is that of a writing space, a place a writer feels comfortable and unencumbered enough to put black on white and practice their craft. I lack this and so it has been a topic of much interest to me as of late. In reading Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones and Wood's The Pocket Muse I encountered very similar ideas about what a writing space should be. It should be a place that inspires you, that represents and augments who you are, that is orderly to a point but not pristine because immaculate conditions rarely produce art, and it should be yours. Claim it with a name plate if you have to, this desk, corner of the kitchen table, spot on the couch, nook in the hallway is yours and yours alone. I am considering making a space in the garage, but for now my 'writing space' consists of wherever the hell I can get a moment's peace and, of course, the library.
Thanks to a good friend, I now possess a copy of On Writing by Stephen King and while I have yet to start reading the meat of the book, I noticed that even there, on the back cover, King makes mention of the all important writing space. His assessment was that it should be a corner desk thereby sheltering one from the constant distractions of the world and allowing concentration and completion.
Something interesting about the concept of having a writing space that is yours and yours alone is the necessity of leaving it. Goldberg suggests finding a cafe to write in while Wood tells us that it's important to mix up the schedule a bit and try writing at a different place (park bench perhaps), a different time of the day (if you usually write at night, try getting up with the sun and see what happens), and also to write in a different style from time to time. I understand that the real function of all of this is to rouse us out of our comfort zones and gain new perspective, new ideas, and perhaps reach a new audience. But one must have a comfort zone in order to leave it, hence the importance of the writing space. Do you have a writing space? What is it like?
Amanda LaFantasie (Skoora) © 2012
Thank you for sharing this. This is also something I have been giving a great deal of thought recently, as I've been trying to discover where best I can write. Recently I've been writing my best in a coffee shop, or on my bed, but it's so difficult when - as you mentioned - there is no privacy. I definitely like the different take all of the authors have on what the proper writing space is, that's insightful in itself because it shows the variation and different needs of different writers. Thank's so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI think I write pretty well in the library. We just rearranged the bedroom again and for some reason I feel much more comfortable where the desk is now as opposed to where it was before.
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