by Rowlandwithaw

Created on: November 18, 2011

The idea of creating an area which will motivate you to write might seem a little extreme. Yet, many of us have a favourite place to sit and read at home or in the garden. Some of us have regular ‘perches’ in our favourite restaurants or bars – the location where we feel . . .  well, just right – or in the case of this article, just write. The Observer (UK Sunday newspaper) for sometime ran a series on Writer’s Rooms and the variety was incredible. Some preferred a lounge style with the opulence of rich materials, others preferred the traditional leather and wood library look, whilst a few obviously felt comfortable with a simple, clean, austere environment redolent of an office or clinic.

One thing, however, was almost always present – a sense of order. So contrary to the stereotype often followed on the big screen, successful writers are rarely badly organised individuals surrounded by bohemian chaos. They have their own motivational area.

So what can you do to design your own ‘write place’? First of all, it needs a location – a place where you have everything you need, hopefully without intrusion from other elements of your life. Of course, not everyone can afford the luxury of a room solely dedicated to the business of writing. My own approach to creating a space in which to write and draw was prompted by a number of factors. I’m a tidy person but even I was getting very tired of my pens, pencils, sketchbooks and paper becoming the centrepiece of the dinner table and equally tired of not being able to leave my ‘work in progress’ ready for my return! A commission to produce a series of illustrations for a book of poetry gave me the final push. So clutching an IKEA catalogue in one hand and a tape measure in the other, we set to work. There were certain criteria.

1)    The space was limited

2)    I wanted my reference books and drawing materials to hand

3)    I wanted as large a work surface as possible

We bought three low book cases, a trestle type table which allowed the work surface to be at an angle, a desk lamp and a new cushion for my favourite stool/chair. The end result works well and cost about 100 Euros. You’ll probably have noticed that I didn’t mention a computer – all my illustrations are done with pen, pencil or brush and all my ideas, structures and first drafts are done by hand! Scanning and transcribing

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