This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Today we're looking at the writing space of Holly Hepburn, author of Cupidity!
I tend to write wherever I happen to be, mostly because I’ve never had a room to call my office before. And now that I do, it’s doubling up as a spare room, so I had to downsize my plans for a grand desk and buy a cheap Ikea substitute to fit the space available. I actually quite like it – there’s no room for clutter.
Behind me are two floor-to-ceiling book shelves filled with my favourite books. They’re haphazard and disorganised (hence no photo) and have no apparent system whatsoever but – and this is key – I know exactly where everything is. The books on the shelves to the right of the desk are books I have just read or am about to read. And there on my laptop screen is l’amour de ma vie, Ryan Gosling. I based the hero of Cupidity on him and have a life-size cut-out of him lying on the spare bed. I’m kidding…it’s by the bookshelves.
On the left is a window overlooking the garden, which I find useful for staring off into space while daydreaming about hot men plotting. The picture was taken during the Winter That Would Not Quit, where you can’t see how badly the grass needs cutting. My next door neighbour’s garden has this amazing bird feeding system which seems to be the equivalent of a McDonald’s drive through so there’s always plenty to watch. Last summer, I looked out to see a hawk tear the head off a pigeon, although I don’t think that was down to my neighbours. It certainly cured me of any Snow White tendencies I had.
My writing habits vary – I’m used to writing anywhere and can block out most distractions when I’m in the zone. Portia, my gorgeous grey tabby, is usually somewhere around planning world domination one kitty treat at a time. I aim for 1000 words as a minimum and if those come easily, I’ll keep going as long as I can. If they’re harder to pin down than a politician’s promises then I usually take a break and come back to it later. I’ve never had writer’s block and I can’t decide if that’s because I don’t really believe in it – if I get really stuck, I move onto another part of the story and knit everything together later.
If I could change one thing about my room, it would be the view – I’d like an infinity pool overlooking the sea. And maybe I could swap the cut-out of Ryan Gosling for a bare-chested look-a-like, who’d bring me freshly squeezed orange juice and Haribo on demand. But in the meantime, I’ll make do with next door’s bird feeder and the cardboard Ryan. At least he doesn’t say much.