As early as Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own, people have been talking about the importance of having a place of your own to write. People often ask me, “What does your writing space look like?” I love to close myself up in my studio, tucked away in a quiet part of my house. From my writing desk is a beautiful view through my French doors behind our home of a Monet-like setting—calm lake water, shady trees, and colorful flowers. It’s an ideal setting for sure, but you know what? With my busy schedule I’m hardly home, so I have to create my own writing spaces wherever I go in hotel rooms and vacation rental properties.
When I’m on a book tour, visiting schools, libraries, and hospitals, I travel far and wide. Perhaps I’ll be staying just for the night, maybe even a few weeks. It’s a good thing I have bicoastal residences—one in Los Angeles and another in Florida—but even then I often find myself on the go.
In the end I’ve found that a writing space is important, but at the same time all you really need to have are the right tools and a place where you won’t easily be distracted. If it’s hard to find a whole room just for your writing, a corner of the room or just a desk will do the job just fine. Laptop, paper, pens, and paper on a desk top–that’s all I need! I turn off my cell phone and tell everyone, “I’m writing! Do not disturb!”
All right, you aspiring writers out there: What does your writing space look like?
Tina Turbin
Wow you really have the ideal lifestyle!!! I wish I could travel around and write. That would be the best! I always had a fantasy of sitting out in beautiful parks in big cities writing, but that’s not very practical LOL. Actually, my favorite writing spot isn’t at home–it’s at Starbucks up the street. I find that I do more work there because I’m not tempting to get up and clean the house, etc., and I don’t want to leave my laptop unattended!
Hello there Tina- we recently came across Danny the Dragon in a doctor’s office and were so charmed that we bought the gift set (the one with the book and CD) for our grandon Aiden and he just loved it. We have also just signed him up for the fan club. Thank you so much for your wonderful story and a great website too!
I just LOVED A Room’s of One’s Own. I’m so glad you mentioned it because after I read it it became very clear to me how important a writing space is and we should really consider ourselves lucky that we DO actually have the luxury of writing. I mean, if you look back at history, women were largely uneducated and it was considered improper for them to write, plus many civilizations have been at war. We just have to employ some time management skills and turn off our gosh darn iPhones for an hour to write. We are lucky to have this luxury so let’s use it!!!
I really like all these writing blogs so much! I love to read about how accomplished authors such as yourself really do it. The life of a writer can seem very mysterious and everyone seems to go about it a different way. One thing I do notice though is that published authors WRITE! They don’t just sit around and talk about it, they really write. So I guess I should start writing, huh?
Just wanted to say that I make sure to turn off my internet when I’m writing! I do a little research at the beginning or at the end, and the rest of the time it’s turned off. The internet can be such a distraction!!! I’ll think I’m doing research and it’s all very justified and the next thing I know I’m researching things I want to buy on Amazon or something like that!
Ha I just love reading the comments. @Rema I totally agree with you on the internet. There’s a free program called Self Control for Macs that can help you! Here’s the link: http://lifehacker.com/5192380/selfcontrol-blocks-internet-distractions-with-brute-force
I like to write in my kitchen in the mornings. There’s a nice little nook with a beautiful view of the backyard and with a cup of tea my space is complete. I think a hot beverage is a must for every writer’s space!
I think it’s so important to have a space of your own for anything you want to do. Like if you have a special hobby that’s not just writing you should set aside a place for it to help you get it done. Plus it’s nice having your own space to do something that means a lot to you.