Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Writers' rooms: Does your reality match the fantasy?


Fixer-upper for a writer, originally uploaded by scrollwork.
I was never one for public blogging. It sounds too close to public flogging. Coffee shop composing? Shudder. I could never write with someone possibly looking over my shoulder. I tried bookstore blogging once—the books and mags were much more interesting than whatever I had going on inside my head. I fled my laptop without finishing a single post.

Still, the idea of a writer's enclave strikes me as romantic. I snapped the picture of the turret-shaped structure above with that in mind. For all I know it could be a guard house. Or a parking attendant's station. Who knows if it really would spark inspiration? I might be too self-reflective: "Look at me, sitting in this perfect little spot, doesn't it look like I'm a bona fide writer?" 



Apparently, the scene in which writers create their scenes holds much fascination for people. The Guardian, a U.K. publication, featured a few of them. What they said about their spaces was as revealing as the photos. I had a "me too!" moment over these ones. (You can click on the writers' names to see the full interview and pictures.)

Anyone who works at home needs a refuge from the rest of the household, as far from the house as possible, and definitely without a phone. Mine is in one corner of the garden, overlooking a vegetable patch and young orchard, and I feel great happiness in it. I am hassled only by the cat - a catflap would reduce the inconvenience.

It doesn't look very tidy, but from childhood I have loved provisionality in a room, something thrown together…

I have a fair assortment of pictures and cards, too. They help engender words.

I use Jstor and Google constantly, so that sitting here, surrounded by my knick-knacks and fetish objects, I am both at peace and fully connected to the world outside. I don't mind being on my own in this little world for hours on end.


After glimpsing their spots, I was shamed into putting a token amount of effort into my own spot.
I noticed most of these writers had books nearby. My desk faced a blank wall in the dining room. I don't like stockpiling books or CDs. I borrow them from the library and promptly usher them out. I never re-read nor re-watch anything, so owning them would be pointless. But we are not without a bookworm in the house. The hubby's secret packrat tendencies are evident in the piles of books that sit at his desk and clutter the couch. We have a presentable enough bookcase in the living room, which has the added photogenic feature of being adjacent to a window. Voila! Instant blog photo opp and YouTube opp. 

Drool away...and then tell me in the comments section what your creative space looks like, if and how you want to change it.





6 comments:

  1. A friend who lives near by has granted me use of his "party house" - a full glass 400 sq ft. area with a view of the 22km lake and a snow caped volcano. I actually get a ton of work done there.

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  2. I have a friend like that! No, wait, mine's imaginary. : (
    Lucky you, Jesse! You've got expat living figured out.

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  3. Love the photos of other writers working spaces. Makes them human.

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  4. Doesn't it though? And I thought everyone got that. But I got a comment on another site along the lines of, "Why would I care what someone else thinks...Those places are for me to work, not for someone else to gawk at. It's the product that I put out that is for others to see." Must be a guy thing?

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  5. I have always wanted a room of my own where I can simply get lost in my own world of words. Someday, someday.

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  6. Wendy, make it someday soon, and send me a picture of it!

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