Tuesday, June 15, 2021

A Place to Write

 

There is a romantic notion that a writer must have a special place to write. I recall a question a friend asked when we talked about process. This friend is not a writer.

She: “Do you have a retreat?”

Me: “Retreat to what?”

She: “A place where you leave everything behind in order to write.”

Me: “You mean— other than a desk at home?”

She: “I mean away from it all. A writer’s retreat.”

          Me: “And who’s going to take care of my kids, fold the laundry, and clean the cats’ litterbox?”


Yes, my friend who knows my family and me actually imagined real writing requires a cabin in the woods, or at the very least, a shed in the backyard with a padlock & key only the writer possess.


All you need to write is an ability to delve inward, focus, and a pencil or computer. A regular corner where focusing usually takes place is helpful, but not a must.

Mine is a wee corner of my bedroom~


8 comments:

Tina Cho said...

I agree! I now use the desk corner in my bedroom or even the kitchen table. Although I do miss my tiny enclosed "office" in our Korean apt. :P

Vijaya said...

Whether it's a special chair or a corner, it is lovely to have. I started out writing on the kitchen counter but love my home office with a door. I also write just as much on the porch or in my bed.

janlcoates said...

Now that we have an empty nest, I have an entire room for sewing, illustrating and writing - I pretty much live in that room, emerging for food and TV occasionally:) Nice to see your cozy corner. And once a year, I retreat to the sea with three writer friends - it's blissful and, after 10 years, necessary:) Happy summer! I'm double-vaccinated now, and hoping to see my Ontario kids very soon.

Mirka Breen said...

Doubly vaccinated here, too, and seeing one of mine (also double-vaxxed)as I type. DS isn't here often, so it's special. It does mean revising my WIP is taking a back seat for the next three days.

Janie Junebug said...

I've always worked while sitting in a recliner.

Love,
Janie

Evelyn said...

So glad you get to have your DS with you for a few days. I bet focusing on him and taking a break from full-time revising will bring you back refreshed and able to do an even better job on those revisions. :)

Barbara Etlin said...

I *had* three special places--in different cities from my home--where I got a lot of serious writing done.
1. A patio outside my hotel room in San Diego.
2. Upstart Crow, cafe bookstore, San Diego's Seaport Village, window table.
3.Starbuck's in a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario.
The latter two have disappeared.

Oh, also a Starbuck's in our local mall. Haven't been there since March 2020. :-(

And there are other coffee shops that have also disappeared. I love writing in coffee shops and I can't wait until they're back in business again.

MirkaK said...

Everyone's different when it comes to writing. Some people like writing in a cafe, surrounded by other coffee-drinkers. I've always needed a quiet place to myself. I used to go on self-imposed writing retreats when working on a book or dissertation. I needed to NOT be interrupted and to be free of household responsibilities. I found that, under those conditions, when I was gone sometimes only for a couple of days, I was able to accomplish what would have taken me a week or more at home because I could concentrate and stay focused. So, as an adult, I've always made sure to be a woman with a room of her own! I'm fortunate and so grateful to have my own studio now, one section for writing and another area for fiber art.