A Space of One’s Own: Where Writers Write
From my Newsletter, Late Autumn 2007
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Where do you write? Do you have a space you are comfortable with? Long before Virginia Woolf wrote A Room of One’s Own, writers needed some space. I’m sure most of us would love to have the studio on the back of the property as Virginia Woolf did. Or the studio I saw on C-Span again not long ago, where they gave us a tour of David McCullough’s studio in the back yard (on his house in Martha’s Vineyard-I can forgive him only because he bought the property long ago, before it became the playground of the rich it is now). I’ve been observing and making notes in my head on writers’ spaces for a long time.
In the dream space, the one where you have enough money and space to do what you want, bookshelves are always a key feature. Sometimes people want a window to look out, sometimes people don’t. David McCullough deliberately angled his desk so he couldn’t see out to the view, because he didn’t want to be distracted. He also didn’t have a telephone or even a computer in his writing room. He has another entirely separate building for the phones and faxes and all that stuff. Now we can’t all do that, but it may be possible to write on a computer or in a location that isn’t connected to email, so you don’t get tempted to check it before you write. We might not all be able to have floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, but you may be able to keep your dictionary and any reference books within easy reach.
Amy Tan switched rooms from one with a bay view to one in a small, dim space. Anne Lamott says that small spaces feel safer, and that’s why writers crave them. Her thoughts are echoed by Matisse (whom Amy Tan quotes) “We have acquired a notion of limitless space, but we also find solace in the limited space of a room in our home full of knick knacks that have accumulated in it through the years.” (This info and the quote are all taken from an article in the Chronicle from 2005. See the link below.)
Jill Krementz did a whole book on this subject (THE WRITER’S DESK, Random House, 1996–see the link below). It’s photographs of famous writers at their desks, and it’s comforting to see some writers in immaculate, almost stark offices and others with books and piles everywhere. Several writers write standing up, a few on stuffed chairs or couches, but most at a desk.
Recently, my aunt (who volunteers at the local library) snagged another book for me from their sale, this one with pictures of Victorian writers in their writing rooms. With the exception of the lack of typewriters or computers, they are remarkably similar.
So until your book hits the bestseller list and you can afford the room of your dreams, what can you do now? First, pay attention to what you need. Do you need a clean space, set off from your other work (and everyone else)? Or do you prefer to be in the midst? Maybe you work best in a coffee shop, and you need a good bag to carry your laptop and notes with you. Then, think about what you need to do to create and maintain your space. If you can’t have a separate office, maybe you need a ritual of clearing off your other work before starting writing for the day. Maybe you need to put fresh flowers on your desk. Maybe you need a bulletin board just for your writing. The point is, whatever your circumstance you can create a space that works for you today while dreaming of your perfect space for later.