So I contacted a group of author pals and put the following questions to them:
- Where do you write? And what does your writing space give you – i.e. why do you write there?
- Where do you do your most creative thinking – and when? (e.g. particular time of day, conscious space e.g. dreams)
- Do you use/need anything particular in order to help you write? (e.g. music, chocolate, coffee, silence etc) In what way does this “support” help you?
I’m sure you’ll enjoy the respective responses, in the first part of the Writing Room Revelations series, as much as I did.
MEG ROSOFF
Award wining author of How I live Now, Just in Case, What I Was, The Bride’s Farewell
On Writing:Ostensibly I write in my tiny office next to the bedroom. But due to backache from leaning over a hot laptop all day, I started working semi-reclining in bed.
This is warmer in winter and makes falling asleep after a hard think so convenient.
When I can't stand the distractions of London and the internet any longer, I retire to Suffolk-sur-mer, where I write (semi-reclining) on the sofa gazing out to sea like a proper old fashioned Writer and forgo proper meals (yay) in favour of cold beans out of cans and toast.
On Thinking:
Walking dogs on Hampstead Heath, riding horses, driving, dozing, on a bus....whenever my brain isn't occupied by bills, chat, or Radio 4.
On Support:
I like silence punctuated by the soft snoring of lurchers. Music is impossible, though I do like the sound of Radio 4 wittering away in another room.
You can find out more about Meg Rosoff on her website, or, on her blog
NICOLA MORGAN (aka The Crabbit Old Bat)
Award winning author of Wasted, Fleshmarket, Deathwatch, The Highwayman books, and many others
On Writing:
Ideally, in my beautiful, weirdly-shaped study, looking onto my garden, unable to see no other sign of human habitation, able to hear nothing but birdsong. Considering that I live in central Edinburgh, seven minutes' walk from John Lewis, that's pretty amazing! It gives me peace, space and comfort. And it's only a few metres from the kitchen, with access to caffeine.
On Thinking:
Walking. Without human company. Or ironing. Ditto.
On Support:
Coffee. Lots. Loud music for fiction, silence for non-fiction or editing. The "music for fiction" thing is about accessing the emotional side and shutting out the noise of reality. I'm very fussy about what the music is (though I can't exactly explain why some works and some doesn't) and will listen to the same album over and over. And over. Bands that work well for me include REM, Muse, Manic Street Preachers, Keane, Kaiser Chiefs, Amy MacDonald, and Belle and Sebastian.
Nicola Morgan's "weirdly-shaped" studyYou can find out more about Nicola Morgan on her website , or on her blog
BREAKING NEWS!!!
Today’s a big day for Nicola Morgan, it’s publication day for her new book, Write To Be Published, in which she offers “crabbitly honest advice to good writers determined to succeed.”
Read the special, publication day and particularly crabbitty interview here
You can read my interview with Nicola Morgan here
KEREN DAVID
Award winning author of When I Was Joe, Almost True and the soon to be released Lia’s Guide to Winning the Lottery.
On writing:This is a really difficult question for me. I'd like a dedicated writing space, which is mine and mine alone, somewhere I can store books, put up pictures on the wall, generally use as a creative space.
I don't have that.
There's a room at home which is a multi-purpose writing/storage/spare room space, and that's the best place to work when I'm home. I don't like it much because it feels messy and not really mine. It's better however than the dining table, which is a place of constant distraction, or the kitchen table (covered with laundry). Sometimes I work in a cafe, sometimes I go to my friend Anna's house. Those places work well for me because I can't access the internet.
The minimum I need to be able to write is quiet and no internet. Rewriting and editing however I can do anywhere at all - on dining table, television on, family rampaging.
On thinking:
When I'm doing something very dull - at the gym, on a walk, supermarket shopping, in the car. Sometimes at night in bed, which is annoying because then I have to get up and find a notebook.
On Support:
Silence is best. Music and conversations mean that other people's words intrude on mine. But a very noisy place can be OK - as long as I can't distinguish individual words. I like to drink either water or tea and maybe have some grapes or blueberries to give me a little reward for getting on and doing it.
You can find out more about Keren David and her books on Keren’s blog
You can read my interview with Keren David here
EBONY MCKENNA
Australian author of the whackily hilarious Ondine series (which also involves a ferret…)
On writing:
This is my home office and I love it. It's straight off the hall near the front door. I am a very lucky author indeed to have so much space. I was going to tidy up first, but I'd rather be known for my funny books instead a tidy house.
Ebony McKenna's self-declared "mess"It's the perfect writing space for me. I can look out onto my garden, or look over to see my books on the shelves to remind me how good life is. I also have 'permission to write crap' on that purple and blue note directly beneath the monitor. This is to remind me that the first draft can be woeful but it's OK, nobody will see it.
On Thinking:
First thing in the morning is best for me. As soon as The Dude (TM) is at school, I get to work. If I write first, I can get anything else done later. If I do the accounts first and cleaning and run errands, I'm too frazzled later to be creative. The writing happens first or it doesn't happen at all - in which case I feel like I've wasted the whole day.
On Support:
A nice, 'proper' coffee gets me fired up first thing. (I bought a very cheap but reliable espresso machine and I'm very happy!) Then it's on to Earl Grey tea, nice and strong. Chocolate will make an appearance at some point. I don't play music or listen to the radio. I love the peace and quiet of being in my own head. This doesn't work for everyone, but it's worked for me and I'm sticking to it.
You can read more about Ebony McKenna on her website
And you can follow her on Facebook and on Twitter
Join me again next week for more Writing Room Revelations.
8 comments:
Enticing glimpses! Thanks for setting the interviews up, Nicky.
Its amazing how different all these responses are. Nicola made me smile with her 'seven mins walk from John Lewis."
Fascinating stuff. I'm glad I'm not the only one who needs complete silence. I was beginning to think I was the only person without a novel soundtrack!
Thanks so much Nicky, it's fun to see the other responses.
Phew, I'm not alone in wanting silence.
Oddly enough, when I was in My Serious Phase I used lots of music. Now I'm being professionally silly, I need the serenity.
Forty or fifty years ago, "Writer's Digest" published a series of amateur photos showing where writers worked. I went into my den, camera in hand, and took a picture of the big drafting table where I did my own writing.
Years later, a newspaper photographer came to my house to get a photo for an article about me, and the one that was published showed me behind that same drafting table in that same room -- though, by then, I had turned it so I was surrounded by walls of my books and was able to look across my den and out the sliding glass door over my deck and into the woods beyond. I framed that black-and-white photo, which now hangs on the wall in my current house.
I enjoyed part one of your "Writing Room Revelations" and look forward to the next one. When I write, I prefer quiet -- or, if I need to drown out sounds, soft instrumental music without words.
Enjoyed this very much. I love reading about writer's offices and getting to see pics of the places is a bonus!
Thanks Nicky! An interesting window into how others in children's books work. Do you know this site? How writing rooms connect to working routines or the lack of them. It all proves we are not alone in all being different! http://dailyroutines.typepad.com/
It's proving to be such fun reading all the responses from the authors and like many others, I'm glad I'm not the only one who has to work in total silence!
Bridget thanks for that link!
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