This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Taking inspiration from The Guardian's 'Writers' Rooms', Sky Arts' 'The Write Place' and Book Chick City's excellent 'Where Stories Are Made'; My Writing Room is a fabulous fortnightly event, in which some of our favourite authors show us where the writerly magic happens, and tell us a little about their writing life.
My Writing Room by Kate Lord Brown
I’ve never had a ‘room of one’s own’ and have carved out space to write in corridors, basement games rooms, and now the living room of our staff flat on a compound in the Middle East. I think Stephen King’s advice is good – put your desk in the corner of the room and just get on with it. It’s one of the great things about writing, how mobile you can be. Wherever you park your notebook or your computer, that’s your home. King reckons art should be the support system for life, and not the other way around – and I agree with him. I like being in the middle of things, and even when the children are at school there’s usually been a cat on the desk or a dog at my feet when I’m working.
Working from home, there are always plenty of distractions and boondoggling is a real temptation, (amazing how attractive the thought of doing the laundry/cleaning the oven/making one more cup of coffee becomes when you are struggling). Most of the time I write at this small desk – but if the children are home and the computer is tied up with Moshi Monsters or Club Penguin, I work in bed on a laptop, or in a café. I think juggling writing and family life, your work becomes ‘bombproof’ and you learn to tune out distractions and noise. There isn’t the luxury of needing complete silence to work!
Maybe one day there will be a room, or shed of my own (I look longingly at adverts for summerhouses and garden offices …). I remember my grandfather’s shed – it was known as his ‘kutch’ and the only people allowed in there were me and my brother. It was an amazing place, full of antiques and his photography equipment, his escape from family life. My grandmother never went in there until the day he died. I love the idea of putting down roots, and having a dedicated workspace is growing more attractive. Perhaps for now I should just start looking at Bedouin tents …
Blogs: What Kate Did Next
Twitter @katelordbrown