This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Tracy is the author of three best-selling novels with HarperCollins including most recently No Turning Back.
I used to be the kind of author who could balance their laptop on their knees and write, write, write wherever they could find the space: living room, kitchen, even the car!
But when I moved house and started dedicating more hours to writing, I decided it was time I gave my knees a break and create the kind of writing room I always dreamed of. So my husband and I set about doing just that.
The first item I had to buy was a desk. I deliberated over it for ages but eventually came up with this walnut and black metal beauty. I like exploring inner darkness in my novels and this carries through into my décor tastes!
Next came a whole wall dedicated to a beautiful forest scene. (I have to thank my decorator Ian Pearson for this.)
I love sitting at my desk and looking at it, each time finding something new in there (a rabbit, a deer, even a person creeping across the foliage). It makes me feel like I’m writing outside and not closed in by four walls.
I then splashed out on what I feel is a necessity for every writer: a chaise longue! This also happens to be very popular with my dog, Archie. I tend to divide my time between my desk and chaise longue, doing a lot of admin and publicity stuff from my desk in the mornings, then in the afternoon, I put my feet up on the chaise longue and delve into writing.
I like to have some visual prompts while writing too. I found this gorgeous ‘hanging’ board from a local shop to keep me focused. One of the most valuable pieces of advice my first editor gave me was figure out the main question and focus of your novel, then stick to it, no tangents.
A lot of the items in my room have been gifted to me by family and friends. The cushion on the chaise longue is from my brother and sister-in-law and I have a book case too which has been in my husband’s family for generations.
As well as storing books, the bookcase is also home to my special kettle which dispenses one cup of hot water in less than a minute, essential for regular cups of tea! My work colleagues got me this after I left my office job to become a full-time writer this summer.
And above the bookcase, another leaving present, this time from the design agency I launched this interactive with. They added my little face at the end of an illustrative list of amazing authors, very clever indeed!
There are lots of other little bits and pieces in this beautiful office, but I’d be writing for hours about them and I have a novel to finish (on the chaise longue if the dog gets out of the way)!
No Turning Back is out now.
Thanks Tracy, we now have a serious case of writing room envy. That forest scene and desk is glorious.
You can find Tracy here:
Twitter: TracyBuchanan
Facebook: TracyBuchananAuthor
Website: www.tracybuchanan.co.uk