Find your best place and space to write
Successful writers will tend to be compelled to write. They will write something almost every day; and they will have good and bad writing days. Sometimes the words flow freely and at others they find themselves stuck and nothing good comes of their writing.
This compulsion means that they can probably write anywhere and at any time – at least to start with. Their story demands to get out; their crime thriller must be structured; their fantasy has to be explored; their non-fiction theme needs to be developed.
Famously J K Rowling started the Harry Potter books in an Edinburgh café. There she would have experienced noise, bustle and distraction. She had to get her story out. So she was dedicated to her writing and not distracted.
Yet, it also true that space, setting, location and climate are important for writing. Did J K Rowling’s prolific outpourings – Cormoran Strike crime thrillers as J K Galbraith and young children’s books as well as the Potter series – improve over time as the money she earned from her success afforded her these privileges? Probably.
Room with a view
Having just moved home, 200 yards down the road in Winchester, I find myself in a completely new environment. Whereas my previous terraced house was compact, with six small rooms, three downstairs and three up, now I have a house with four big rooms. The space seems to invite creativity in me.
That is not to say that everyone needs large spaces. However, it is important that your space suits you and helps you in the creative process. In the long term your writing space needs to be comfortable, consistent and compatible with your need to write. These factors can only improve your writing process.
Some authors like warm climates, others choose cool places; some like views, while others prefer to be shut in so as not to be distracted; some like isolation and quiet, while others go for hustle, bustle and perhaps the background noise of music or the radio. My preference is for a quiet ‘room with a view’ (of course, that is the title of a classic!). You will learn in future blogs how my new-found space is working for me.
Now the choice is yours. Find your best space and place to make this autumn your time for creation. And if you need any advice you can always call on me as your editor and mentor, to help you with the process of writing at the start, in the middle or towards the end.