My Writing Room By Teresa Driscoll

This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.

The story of my writing room(s) is one of contrast. Beauty and the Beast. The fact is I divide my time between two very different spaces – my kitchen (Beauty), which has a glorious view of the garden, especially pretty just now. And the Beast, which is the practical but not-so-pretty office space, currently tucked in the corner of the guest room.

OK – let’s start with the nice room. The kitchen is the heart of my home and I sit happily at the table here to plot and proof-read over coffee. It has this wonderful view onto the garden and I absolutely love it. I am a coffee addict and there is a proper Espresso machine with all the bells. It’s in this kitchen that I also road tested all the recipes for my debut novel Recipes for Melissa.

And now to the Beast. It is not the room I want it to be. In my head and in my dreams my key writing room is very different. For starters it has a view of the sea. There is a clutter-free desk. Calm, clean lines. The reality, as you see, is not quite there. I have been a journalist, TV presenter and jobbing writer all my working life so my office space is uber practical. The desk faces the wall as it should (‘ealth and safety – no glare from a window onto my screen) and I never quite get round to tidying it as I should which is odd, actually, as I am a neat freak in other areas of my life. I considered prettying it up for this feature but decided to be truthful. It is what it is.

The reason I flit between the two spaces is not just for the pretty window. Some years back I frightened the life out of myself with a dose of RSI. I have been a writer all my working life (newspaper journalist, TV presenter and then freelance writer) so it was a huge shock. How could I suddenly have numb fingers and arm ache? Where had this come from?

I soon realised that my previous working life as a journalist involved lots of natural breaks – to move into the TV studio. Or to pop out of the office to conduct an interview. But as a writer of fiction, I was suddenly working in a new way. At my desk writing long hours without breaks. I get so absorbed in my work that I just don’t notice the time. And this was what was hurting.

I love writing books so much, there is no way I am going to let anything stop me. So I did what I always do when confronted with a problem. I did my research. This led to me loading a software programme onto my computer which enforces breaks. I healed. And I promised myself that I don’t want to go there again, thank you very much.

So this is the reason for my split life. Now when my software says “take a break” I move to the kitchen so that I am not tempted to override said software (very, very naughty) and instead do some proofreading or the like over a delicious cup of coffee.

It has not only solved the arm ache but the constant flitting up and down the stairs burns off a few calories too. No bad thing for a writer, methinks.

Recipes for Melissa by Teresa Driscoll is out now.