Creating Time and Space for Your Writing – Part One

Simon Rose is back with some new advice! Enjoy.

Whether you’re just starting out as a writer or are a seasoned professional with several published novels to your credit, it’s important to have the right space to effectively pursue your chosen craft. You need to be comfortable in the area in which you choose to work within your home. If you have a laptop, you may write in various locations in the house, in the backyard or even in coffee shops, but sooner or later you’ll wish to create your own space. Writing, especially of fiction, is a solitary business by nature and you need to remain focused, which is much easier to achieve if you have a distinct area in which to work.

In terms of furniture, you don’t have to go overboard and buy the most up to date office equipment. Just be sure to get a desk and chair that are comfortable, with enough room not just for a computer, but anything else you think you may need to have close at hand. Some office equipment is relatively small, but a printer can often take up as much room as a computer, so be sure to allow for that in your office area. It’s always a good idea to keep storage places in mind as well. Get a filing cabinet or something similar, because even in the Internet age, you’ll still accumulate paper, which can pile up very quickly. You also have to bear in mind that you may need other types of storage space, such as shelves and small cabinets for office supplies and the numerous other items that constitute the traditional home office. And have some scrap paper handy at all times, in an easily accessible drawer or folder. If you’re like me, you’re always scribbling something down as you work on one project or another. Adequate light is also a must, whether this constitutes natural light from a nearby window or lamps and ceiling lighting for the evenings. Computer screens can be hard on the eyes and the last thing you need is for your writing to be associated with headaches or other discomfort.

Anyone engaged in the craft of writing is at least proficient, and often an expert, in creating magic with words, sentences and paragraphs, but often the exact opposite can be said of their office space. Given the stereotypical nature of the creative mind, it might seem too much of a contrast for the writer’s workspace to be neat, tidy and well organized. Yet, if your home office isn’t a place in which you truly feel at home, your creativity will ultimately suffer.

Simon Rose is the author of The Alchemist’s Portrait, The Sorcerer’s Letterbox, The Clone Conspiracy, The Emerald Curse, The Heretic’s Tomb, The Doomsday Mask and The Time Camera, plus many non-fiction books for children. Visit his website at www.simon-rose.com or his blog at http://simon-rose.blogspot.com/
Join us next week for Part 2 from Simon!

Thanks for reading, and writing Simon,

Sarah Butland author of Sending You Sammy, Brain Tales – Volume One and Arm Farm