• Blog

    Writers on Wednesday – finding a writing space (or how writers really write)

    6/3/2014

    People are often fascinated by writing space. Where does a writer work? How do they work? How is their sacred space laid out?

    I’m sure it would be nice to have such a space but above is a small slide-show of a few of the places I’ve written over the past few weeks. They vary from my dining room table (my regular haunt), to the local library to the beach.

    The truth is most writers are just trying to carve out a niche in their family home and da to day life to write. Finding the time to write is a huge issue and finding the space is another.

    I know lots of writers with young families who write on laptops in front of the TV pretending to be enamoured by Ben Ten or Pepper Pig or Superman. Some of them have a space but no one will leave them alone long enough for them to use it.

    I know people who write wildly o the train as they commute from the outer suburbs to the city. They find a space between the thrumming music of their fellow traveller’s headphones, the newspapers and the school students to scribble in their notebook or tap out a few words on their laptop.

    I know others who spend their lunchtimes in cafes, libraries and parks trying to keep the story moving forward daily with only forty minutes to spare.

    There are writers who share a desk with a teenager and others who have an armchair and a coffee table.

    Of course there are many writers with a desk and an office just for them. A constant and regular place to develop good habits (or tear their hair out) and most of them are extremely grateful to have it.

    I myself am usually perched on the end of the dining room table which is a total pain when we have visitors and we do that pretty regularly. I load everything in an archive box or my backpack and tuck it away. At the moment we’re doing some renovating so my space is dusty and noisy. It’s hard to write to the dulcet sounds of an angle grinder.

    You will often here people say “I have no time to write” and “I have no space to write” but just like exercise or watching Game of Thrones or following a football team, if it matters to you then you find a way. You sacrifice one thing for another. In the case of writing space often what gets sacrificed is good posture and ergonomics, in the case of time it’s one of these other pursuits.

    So for the next few weeks as the dust flies and the contents of my kitchen remain scattered around my home I guess I’ll have to be creative about my writing space.

    Writing Space

     

    Writing Space - Group

     

    Outside Writing Space Coastal

     

    Writing Space Library

    Laptop

     

    Comments

    Betty
    6/3/2014 11:48:37 pm

    I totally agree. “If it matters to you you will find a way”
    I am always impressed by how tenacious you are about writing and how much you get done.
    Reply
    Monique
    6/8/2014 05:59:47 pm

    I’m not sure how tenacious I am when I see what some people achieve but I do try.

    louise wise
    6/8/2014 05:50:55 pm

    I’ve write where I can keep an eye on things: the dinner, kids, delivery guy and on some kind of installation being carried out. But because of that I don’t think my writing is being taken seriously by my family. To them it’s ‘just a hobby’. Grrr

    I long for an office that I can call my own, so I’m waiting for my 20 year old son to move out and then I’ll claim his room!

    Oh, I’m so baaaad!
    Reply
    Monique
    6/8/2014 06:01:21 pm

    I’m sure I get a bit of the same treatment honestly Louise. In theory I have a desk in the office but I can’t write when my husband is in there and it’s not really a big enough space for two…in a perfect world we would add an extra room but in the meantime one must make do.

  • Blog

    Writers on Wednesday – Guest Post by Georgina Troy

    5/28/2014

    Georgina TroyMy Writing Space

    This is a picture of me writing in one of my favourite places, the Winston Churchill Memorial Park in St Brelades Bay where I live in Jersey. The park has several tiers with a magnificent waterfall, fountain, flower borders, and incredible views through the huge pine trees across St Brelades Bay.

    If you don’t wish to sit on one of the benches, there’s the lawn, overgrown patches of wild grasses, old tree stumps where trees have come down, leaving comfortable seats. Despite it being a favourite place for people to walk, or sunbathe, there’s always a quiet spot with an incredible view where I can sit and lose myself in my work in progress, or gaze out across the beach if I need inspiration. A pretty beach with cafes and restaurants is just below the park, and occasionally I’ll arrange to meet friends for coffee after a few hours writing, or go there to enjoy an ice cream, lunch, or simply for a quick dip in the sea – this usually means going no deeper than my knees, because the sea is usually far too cold for me to actually swim in it.

    I’m lucky that I live in such a beautiful island, it’s a never ending source of inspiration for my romances and there are so many gorgeous places to set scenes. Jersey might be small – only 9 x 5 miles in size – but there are many hidden coves, beautiful cliff paths for walks and endless reminders of the history that has played out here over the centuries – perfect inspiration for writing. I suppose my writing space is where ever I choose on a particular day.

    Amazon.com – A Jersey Affair & A Jersey Kiss:

    Amazon.co.uk – A Jersey Affair & A Jersey Kiss:

    Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/GeorginaTroyAuthor

    Twitter:  https://twitter.com/GeorginaTroy

    Website: http://www.georginatroy.co.uk/

    Blog: http://georginatroy.blogspot.com/

     

    A Jersey Affair - CoverBlurb – A Jersey Affair:

    When shoe designer Paige Bingham is jilted she decides to enjoy her honeymoon-for-one in Sorrento. What she doesn’t expect is to meet a mysterious entrepreneur, Sebastian Fielding, when she gets to Italy. He helps ease the sting of rejection as he introduces her to the beautiful sites he knows and loves.

    Unfortunately, not long after Paige returns to her small island home off the coast of France, she discovers that not only is this charismatic man’s company taking over the struggling store where her business is based, but that her concession is probably surplus to his requirements.

    How can Paige stop her fledgling shoe design business from going under? And what can she do to fight the gossip now that the paparazzi have published their untruths about ‘A Jersey Affair’?

     

     

     

    Georgina Troy with her booksAbout Georgina

    Georgina Troy lives in Jersey near the sea – well, most people do in an island only 9 miles x 5 miles in size. She’s always wanted to write and being an impossible romantic is always falling in love with heroes both real (hopefully), in fiction (definitely) and those of her own creation (absolutely).

    A Jersey Affair is the second in a series of stand-alone romances based in Jersey, which Georgina hopes you’ll read, enjoy and maybe tell your friends about. The first book, A Jersey Kiss is out now.

     

     

     

    Comment

    Georgina Troy
    5/28/2014 04:31:14 pm

    Thank you very much for featuring me on your fantastic blog, Monique!