“A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.”
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| I share my writing space with a Persian prince. |
I don't know about money, but this woman definitely has to have a room of her own if she's gonna write fiction. My new favorite writing spot is on a sheepskin rug, in front of an ancient gas heater, under a huge skylight in the living room of my amazing 100-year-old upstairs apartment.
Sometimes I pause and gaze out the window at the backside of the public library.
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| Taken at sunset this past weekend |
Do you have a room of your own? How about a special spot that inspires? Describe it for us. How's your writing or reading or blogging enhanced by being in this space?
And now for a special announcement:
We have another winner!
Chris
You can go to this post to pick your prize (you have your choice of any of the remaining ones). http://denisejaden.blogspot.ca/2013/03/march-madness-is-here-wipmadness.html
And then you can email Denise your choice at d(at)denisejaden(dot)com and we'll get it to you.
Thanks for stopping by. See you next week. ^_^
Tomorrow's check-in will be at Mary Ann Scott's
Living next door to the library was pretty much my dream when I was a kid!
ReplyDeleteSadly, I do not have a favorite writing spot in my current apartment, but I'm still gettin' things done :)
I hope that writing space appears soon. ^_^
DeleteThat is one of my favorite quotes. After years of hunkering down in the corner by the basement stairs, toys and flotsam strewn behind me, kids coming and going, I finally have a room of my own.
ReplyDeleteIt's a dormer room, so I have a little nook under the dormer window for my work table where I paint or frame photographs or whatever. Beside the other window is my rocking chair, still bearing the marks of two babies who spent many hours over my shoulder or in my arms as they swayed back and forth. Now I read or journal or just think in that chair.
My desk is a Sam's club floor model roll-top set up perfectly for my laptop. A lego ghost, Hermione's wand, a picture of me with Patti Gauch, and my little marble championship trophy from an equestrian league in Ireland adorn the top shelf. Little bits of inspiration as I write.
Of course, I return to a full time job just about the time I finally got my little slice of heaven, so I don't spend as much time there as I would like. But, oh how I love it!
But summer vacay is coming soon and you will be back in that lovely space, right?
DeleteNot as much as I would like...I work with students and faculty through the summer, too...
DeleteOooooh, one the one hand, I dream of a room of my own, but on the other, it would probably seem too quiet for me after years of writing in the midst of things. Our apartments have always been tiny, and we now have our very own house, but alas, it is tiny as well, so no room for me. But I have a very sunny window spot for my likewise tiny desk, and I manage to get things done as the small ones scamper about behind me. :-D
ReplyDeleteI AM ALMOST FINISHED WITH MY REVISION! Chapter 19 out of 20 today! I might even push straight through and finish. We'll see!
PS LOVE your view. :-D
Yay, Kip!
DeleteA small desk by a window works, right? Yay on the revision finishing! Right on schedule. ^_^
DeleteLove the sound of your writing space, Angelina! Several years ago I was able to have the whole set-up with my own desk and quiet spot, etc, but I didn't get any more work done then than I do now that I don't have that. I think, for me, the "room" I need to focus on is my writer-brain. It doesn't matter what kind of writing space I have if I can't get my head in the game.
ReplyDeleteI thought someone would comment about that. The space in the brain is as important, or maybe more, than the external.
DeleteYour writing space sounds IDEAL! I have a small office that doubles as a spare bedroom. It's cramped, but the one feature I love is that it has a closing door. Doesn't stop my needy, excitable cat, of course.
ReplyDeleteI'm off to present at a literacy fair today. Hope to get some work done on my draft later...
Have fun at the fair!
DeleteGah, I would love a room with a door. In my apartment, there are only two such rooms -- the bathroom and the tiny bedroom. I make do writing at the kitchen table. We have an office corner of the living room, but for some reason I can't get in the zone over there. From the kitchen table, i can see out the living room window, plus I catch natural light from the kitchen window behind me. It gives me all the room I need to spread out with my drafts and notes.
ReplyDeleteI believe there are many kitchen table writers amongst us. ^_^
DeleteI'm a kitchen table girl too. Just seems to be where I can dial in. There's no special room in our place either, but I can hardly complain. In Seattle, you can't throw a stone without hitting a coffee shop, so I treat myself to working in one of those lovelies once weekly.
ReplyDeleteLike I said--kitchen table. ^_^ I'm waiting to see what the final count on coffee shops is. . .
DeleteI have a writing loft but lately I've relocated to the living room and have my laptop on the table. I have headphones so I can block out the noise. Plus with the recent water damage, husband and son have 'taken' over the space close to my loft so it's almost impossible to write. My favorite place though has to be the quiet room at the nearby library. Love it. Also love to write at the Panera close to son's satellite school. I do that twice a week.
ReplyDeleteQuiet room at the library sounds lovely.
DeleteI have two young children and a small house so there's no quiet writing space inside. My ideal writing spot is in a park, preferably by a lake or stream (there's a picture of my first writing spot on my blog).
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm not sure but I may have won something? I think there's another Chris doing March Madness though. Judges?
Yes, Chris. You are the winner. ^_^ Love the idea of a park by a lake or stream. Have to try that someday.
DeleteWoo-hoo! I never win anything, ever. This is so awesome! Thank you :-D
DeleteI recently cleared off a big old desk that used to be my grandfather's, which was piled high with stuff. I made it into a beautiful space for sewing and writing, mostly because I was trying to model for my daughter the idea of a dedicated space that honors important creative work. I sew there, but I'm still writing mostly at the kitchen table and sometimes on the couch. I'm just more comfortable in those places, and they both feature giant windows with views of lots of green. I'm another one in the Seattle area - seems like quite a few of us - but I am not a coffee shop or library worker. Too many distractions for me.
ReplyDeleteHonoring creative work with a space is a beautiful concept, but yeah, whatever works, right?
DeleteI have a writing room with a door on it, and my desk faces into a wall so I don't get the urge to stare out the window or grab a book off a shelf.
ReplyDeleteBut, I'm also surrounded by inspiring clutter--at least stuff that inspires me: books, shells, bones, prisms, oriental carpets and other textiles, paintings, funky antiques . . . Yup, there's loads of stuff, including things related to each writing project.
Cool. I'm still working on making this entire apartment my own creative space. ^_^
DeleteThe only space that's really only mine is my bedroom. I tend to try to retreat to it when I write, although I don't need to be in a specific place to get writing done.
ReplyDeleteStomach bug is still slowing me down, but I managed to write 1283 words and read six chapters. Which means I'm still ahead for my goal. :-)
Yay for the words, boo on the flu! When it comes down to it, you write wherever you can get it done.
DeleteMy writing office is an extra bedroom in our house. I put my computer screen right in front of a window so that when I need to stare, I see the top of a birch tree and several pines. If I turn my head to the left, I see some bookcases, filing cabinets, and the other window (more pine branches, and a crystal that catches the light). To my right is the stereo (for background music) and a poster on the wall. Behind me: a bed, a box of my own books, another bookcase and more files.
ReplyDeleteI've always written best in a room with a door.
I did not mention the books, candy wrappers, and stray papers littering the floor, but they are here too. ;-)
DeleteA room with a door AND a view. ^_^
DeleteHi guys! I Do have a room of my own! My desk belonged to my grandmother, I have an old barrister bookcase and a small love seat. On a tall metal table, I have an old Remington typewriter and some odds and ends I love. From my window I can see the cat shed and the path to the barn. It's not so pretty right now with it being wintry out still.
ReplyDeleteHope everyone's writing is going well!
I envy the typewriter. ^_^
DeleteI'm a coffee shop writer! Well, that's my preference but my fav coffee shop is closed for reno's. :(
ReplyDeleteI'm making do with my dining room table, the nearby library and a different coffee shop.
I feed off the energy in public spaces and find it difficult to write at home since I homeschool my son and feel like my "mommy radar" is always turned on even though he really doesn't need me (he's almost 12). Trying to write more at night after everyone is in bed despite being sleepy.
I'm not getting much accomplished on my writing goals this week, it's March break but I'm reading up a storm (loving Storyteller by J. Picoult)
Love reading up storms. ^_^ I've tried a couple times to write in coffee shops, but all I do is watch people and eavesdrop on convos. I never get any writing done!
DeleteI have an office set up but I write just as much lying down in bed and standing at my dresser as I do sitting at my desk. It's nice to have my own space, though, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteI wrote about 5000 words today, 3500 of which was spent on the WIP. I'm going to try to knock out another 1500 (or however much it takes to knock off the two chapters I've left unfinished) before bed if I can. I'm taking madness to a whole new level for today.
Go Mad Writer, go! That's fantastic. I was trying to picture writing while standing at the dresser. ^_^
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DeleteI have an office, but I also write in other rooms as well as in a coffee shop for a couple of hours a week. I moved on with revisions today, untangling a chapter that had flashbacks within flashbacks. I'll be offline tomorrow and Friday, so I probably won't check in, but I do hope to keep the March Madness momentum.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your Internet break. Hope you got all untangled. ^_^
DeleteAfter years of working at the kitchen table and/or on the couch (just about called it a Chesterfield, but probably only the Canadians would know what I was talking about, lol!)...anyway, after years of that, surrounded by kids and clutter and noise, my kids have grown (only one or sometimes two at home now) so there's space for a home office. This past year I've been sharing it with my husband, but he's moving his office back to work next week, so it'll be MINE, ALL MINE! MWAHAHAHA! :D
ReplyDeleteHow fun! Are you flowing with ideas on how to make that space your own?
DeleteCongrats Chris.
ReplyDeleteLet's see. A room of my own. Today, I'm tot-free back at the apartment. It's unusually quiet and rather than be distracted by their presence, I'm now distracted by their absence. :( I've been doing other writerly tasks today that include working on the feedback for some story contest entries as a panel judge.
An author asked me the other day if I was interested in becoming an editor. I think I might consider it. I'm learning many things about the craft and how to improve my own writing when I see how others do it, too. You start to pick up on things that you didn't notice before. I might as well put the skills I've learned to the test.
Still, #wipmadness rolls on. When my eyes need a break from all the reading (I have six entries to get through), I mess around with my mirrors and mindmap/doodle ideas. The entries need to get back by the 25th. I've got two submissions for anthologies due by the 30th (still on the fence about a third that's due on the 31st) and I'm prepping for Camp NaNoWriMo.
Time in my own space--quiet, as it is--is a semi-recharge before heading back to the trenches of child-rearing, but I hope to be updated on all my tasks, writing and otherwise, by the weekend. Just in time for what should be a breather, but isn't.
Ah, such is life.
Hope everyone's hump day has progressed to the better part of the week.
Cheers,
Tonette
Distracted by their absence is quite telling. ^_^ Congrats on getting so much done, Tonette. ^_^
DeleteCongrats Chris on the win.
ReplyDeleteI mostly write in my room. I'm still working on figuring out how to write with a laptop on my lap. I've tried writing at the library or bookstore or coffee shop/cafe, but usually find myself distracted by books, other people, or the fact my battery is low.
I figure by my third book or screenplay, I'll have this writing thing figured out.
I have a long history of writing from bed. My challenge is convincing the lapcat that he and laptop in the lap is just too much. >¨< Best wishes in getting it all figured out.
DeleteLate again, sigh, but at least I'm less late than last week. I revised my epilogue chapter, the one piece I didn't get to my critique partner but which needed fixing because the huge part that was taken out. And then I relaxed and was about to pick up a book, but got distracted in the best way ... by another writing project!
ReplyDeleteI do have a room in our current place, but I'm so used to being adaptable that my writing space is what I create using my laptop, a comfortable chair, and headphones to ignore. The break room at work on my lunch break, my bed if I'm sleepy, the couch when it's unoccupied, the coffee shop when I can. Even the car sometimes, though usually DH and I chat about our day and other stuff, so that only happens on occasion.
Also: eeeee kitty! :D
Writing in the car is my all-time favorite. Though I lost my driver. :-(
DeleteSo happy that you are so adaptable.
I am so happy that you have such an amazing room of your own to write from. You know, I don`t and am thinking I should seek that out. This month has been one of writer and reader and blogger identity crisis for me. Huh, that is probably over dramatic. But rather than carving out time and figuring out where and how to be as a writer I am battling with lack of confidence etc etc...that has even left me not taking part in march madness as much as I had planned. Sigh. BUT--the upside is seeing this post of yours and deciding to take the leap and say all of that out loud.
ReplyDeleteI like the view from your window. Cozy!
ReplyDelete