Tasha Wing recently alerted me to this fun post on Laura Resau's blog about her unique writing space -- a vintage travel trailer! I know that Cindy Lord and Sarah Miller both have darling little cottages in their back yard to which they retreat to write. And Susan Patron built a cabin in the desert (not unlike the setting for her fabulous Lucky books) where she puts pen to paper.
The lovely Newbery poster Susan Patron gave me -- with signatures from her and my two Silver Sisters,
Jenni Holm and Cindy Lord
And at Shangri-Lar, I have the Dick and Jane suite, complete with an ever-changing view of Boundary Bay.
I may occasionally take a nap here when stuck.
I'm curious about your writing/painting/creating space. What's it like? Or maybe you have a dream space - what's it like? If you're willing to share, I'll put your name in a drawing for a copy of The Fences Between Us, hot off the Scholastic presses.
I also have a darling little cottage out back, complete with red enamel stove and comfy chair and mismatched rugs, But I find I can't write there. I feel abandoned, exiled, locked away in solitary confinement. Instead I have taken over two places in the house: the library loft and the big green chair in the living room. I like to be in the heart of the house. Ahh, now I can work, when I'm not procrastinating.
ReplyDeleteMy writing space gives new meaning to the word "cozy". It's about five feet by six feet, in what used to be a "sitting area" in our bedroom. There is just room for my desk (with a shelf above) a bookshelf to my left, the window behind me (great garden views if I swivel my head), and a small filing cabinet to the right with seven stacked trays full of material that was once organized. A second tall bookshelf straddles the main wall of the bedroom, full of books on writing.
ReplyDeleteCramped, yes, but strangely enough it's quite easy to get immersed in my writing in this little alcove. It seems quite removed from the distracting world (except, of course, for the Internet.)
Kirby,
ReplyDeleteI like your writing spaces!
I have a small desk in the office/game/guest room. I would dearly love a space of my own! I started spending the first half of my day standing in the kitchen with my laptop on top of a game box. This strange setup (plenty of distractions) does have a great view of the garden. I get distracted watching birds and dragonflies, but I'm happy to be out of a chair for part of my day.
Michele, for many years, my "office" was a corner of the kitchen table. Then I graduated to the dining room table (when we moved to a house with a dining room), then I had a small nook in the guest/sewing room. what I have learned is that -- as lovely as my new spaces are -- it's not about the room, it's about the person sitting in the chair (or standing in with the laptop on top of a gamebox) that counts. Write away!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, small is good. Think of that architect who's made a mint off of the Small Spaces books! It's really about the work we do, not the work space we're in, right?!
ReplyDeleteThis is so funny, because I just wrote about Kara Resau's trailer on my blog, too! It's at
ReplyDeletehttp://nicolemarieschreiber.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/writing-space-envy/
and explains my ideal space as well as how I had to let go of my old office space so my two little boys could have a playroom (our house is small, and they share a bedroom). So, while I wait to someday get a little vintage trailer, too, I write where I can, like the couch, my bed, my little desk in my bedroom, Starbucks, etc.
Granted, it's about what we are doing, not where we are doing it but having spent a fair bit of time writing in challenging places like hospital rooms, airport lounges, bus stops and the like, I much prefer to work in my spare bedroom-turned-office! As for my dream space, it would be: 1) by the water, 2) with lots more bookshelves, 3) with a fireplace where I can toss the stuff that didn't turn out right! (BTW check out my own posts about this topic at http://nancychristie.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html)
ReplyDelete