This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Today we bring you the writing room of Laura Kemp, whose debut novel Mums Like Us is out now!
My Writing Room by Laura Kemp
When I write, I’m still on duty ‘just in case’.
My husband works away all the time so I can’t afford to do my work in a place where I can cut myself off from the world. If the phone rings, it could be school telling me my son has gone down with the latest bug. And when there’s a knock at the door, it’s usually something I’m waiting in for, like the Tesco delivery or a parcel containing something I can’t remember ordering because I clicked after half-a-bottle of wine.
That’s why I write in the kitchen, within grabbing distance of the phone, the kettle and the crisp cupboard.
It’s entirely functional and I love it that way because it reminds me of the newsroom, where I spent 15 years as a journalist. Obviously there’s a slight difference in that I’m by myself so I’ll have Radio Five Live on as I work and I’m on and off Twitter for a bit of banter.
There is a kitchen table but I prefer to write in a leopard skin slanket-covered comfy chair, my back against one arm, my legs resting on the other so my computer sits on my lap. When it’s cold, I get under the slanket and hope the postie doesn’t catch me. The chair is right next to a huge window so if I’m stuck, I’ll peer out onto the street hoping for a bit of inspiration.
The best time to write for me is morning, as soon as I’ve dropped my son off at school, made a coffee, checked my emails, been on Twitter and Facebook, made a snack and… oh, I suppose I better get down to it. My writing style is short and sharp so I aim for around 1,500 words per chapter and I’ll try to do one a day when I’m up against it. But in that time I also write columns for my weekly Family Misfortunes slot in the South Wales Echo and pieces for the nationals, magazines and websites.
The afternoon I set aside for paperwork and all the housework stuff I need to get done before my son gets in from school to trash the place.
I sometimes dream about having my own writing shed in the garden; a retreat with radiators, wifi, a fridge, a hammock and a row of optics for an afternoon G&T.
Then again, if I had that kind of workspace, I’d never get anything done.