This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Lucinda's latest novel is The Light Behind the Window and you can read our review here.
My Writing Room by Lucinda Riley
I have a strange aversion to ‘offices’, mainly because it
makes me feel as though I’m actually working. And writing for me isn’t a job,
it’s a way of life.
The nearest to an inside office space I have is my drawing room at home in the winter, but the minute the sun shines I hop through a window and sit on the bench outside.
Because I record the first draft of the story into a dictaphone, which basically means talking to myself for four months, it makes me ‘portable’ and able to work anywhere. And being outside in the fresh air is my preferred location. So, my three ‘outside offices’ are the gardens at our house in Norfolk, the terrace of our house in Thailand and the balcony of our house in the South of France. The kids are used to seeing Mummy wandering around in a bikini with a microphone strapped to the top of it. I’m sure this method is unusual, but again, a bikini signals a ‘holiday’, rather than ‘work’ and this takes the pressure off psychologically and helps the words flow. However, being permanently ‘strapped up’, I must always remember to switch off and remove the tape recorder before I go for a swim or, er, other activities …!
The method I use works for me fantastically well, except for the fact that when I’ve been dictating into the tape for long periods of time it has been known for me to ask the children; ‘hello comma darling comma how are you question mark space new line’!
When the first draft is finished I begin editing with a red pen onto the typed-up manuscript, again outside.
At the moment you can find me from seven am on my balcony in France with a pint of tea , working on the edits of ‘The Still of the Night’.
Sounds gorgeous, Lucinda!