This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
POSTED BY DEBS CARR
We asked Dorothy Koomson to tell us a bit about her writing space and she very kindly agreed to do so.
Crikey! I feel a complete fraud doing this piece because I don’t have – and never really have had – a writing room. Or even a specific place I write. Apart from my bed. I write a lot in bed.
I didn’t stop working full-time as a journalist/Deputy Editor until after my fourth book, Marshmallows For Breakfast, was published, so I had to squeeze in writing whenever and wherever I could. That meant getting on the train, elbowing people aside to commandeer a corner seat to write on my 20-minute journey into London or even sitting in during my lunch-break wherever I was freelancing writing in my notebook.
I’m lucky in that I don’t need a special place to write. Ideally I’d be able to sit down, but if not, writing long-hand – as I often do – means I can still write if I’m standing up. If I’m in my bedroom or the kitchen or the living room, I’ll very often have the television on because I’m a complete television addict. (I was going to say I was committed to research, but that wouldn’t be the entire story.)
Sometimes I need total silence so I’ll have the TV on mute, but I do like to have ‘background noise’ while I work – only the type I can control at the press of a button, though.
Working late at night, as I often do when I’m near the end of a book, means writing in bed is often a good idea – I can take a break, sleep for a couple of hours then get back to work. Although, my husband doesn’t love it so much – he needs total darkness to sleep and I’ll have a sidelight on and more often than not the telly.
After much deliberation, I’ve decided to give you this picture of my desktop computer that’s currently in my spare room. In my last flat it sat in my living room. It’s where all my books now end up because it’s connected to the printer and it’s often where I’ll sit for the final, 4am on-screen read-through before I send it to my editor. On my desk are the pink Post-it Notes that held the plot for Goodnight, Beautiful and in the background you can see the noticeboard with the yellow Post-it Notes that has the plot for The Woman He Loved Before. I got The Goodnight, Beautiful ones out to check something the other day. Whenever I get a new cover through, I put it on the desktop of my computers so that I can mull it over by seeing it every time I look at my computer. I haven’t got round to updating this one, yet.
This computer has been with me since before Goodnight, Beautiful and I hope it lasts for many more years to come.
The Woman He Loved Before by Dorothy Koomson is published in paperback by Sphere at £7.99
Thank you, Dorothy. We have five copies of The Woman He Loved Before to give away to lucky winners picked at random. So, to be in with a chance of winning one of these brilliant books, please leave a 'pick me' comment below. The winner will be chosen at random and announced next Thursday.