At present I do not have a separate room where I do my writing. I sit at our kitchen table and write on my laptop. I do have a couple of open rooms in the house that I could convert to a physical space for myself to write. These were my kids bedrooms. One still contains some of my daughters furniture and other belongings. At some point in the near future I envision setting up one of these bedrooms for myself.
For so many years when my kids were growing up I did not have a space for myself in the house. I often thought how nice it would be to have a room to use as an office or just for my own space. Maybe it is because I have gotten so used to not having a room of my own that I haven’t set one of our bedrooms up for myself yet.
The environment can be less than ideal in a shared space like the kitchen. My husband often works at home. He can be going in and out of the room and talking to me. There have been many times when I get pretty irritable about being interrupted when I am on my blog. Especially when I am writing and organizing my thoughts. If the radio is on with music or news this can be another irritation. On my own I work in the quiet.
Space for writing is not just physical. It is psychological as well. It is taking the time out of the day to sit down, ponder and allow the creative process to begin. I need to carve out the time every day for myself to be creative in this way. To make a writing space in my day and in my life.
This post is for the writing event on Kat’s blog Dandelion Fuzz. The event is open to all interested bloggers. Click on the link for more info.
You should get yourself your own space, Deborah. It seems as if it would give you peace, and you deserve it.
I write on my recliner chair in the living room of our Little Bitty. I have no alternative or extra space. I consider myself lucky because I am able to tune out all distractions. I have great training from my three-plus decades of working in noisy newsrooms, and, worse than that, having to write on laptops at outdoor concerts in the dark with the music blaring around me holding a flashlight in my teeth so I could see my notes. The recliner is peaceful even with the TV on and my dear wife and the dog doing their thing compared to any of that.
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Thanks Mark. Geez, you are a trooper. At least I don’t have to hold a flashlight in my teeth. Your current situation does sound like an improvement. I know I will have to get in, in the New Year, and clear out my daughter’s room I think. Because her room has the best light. It is funny how we think of our kids rooms.
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It will be tough for you to let go of it as your daughter’s room. But with good light, you will love it as your work room, right? And, Deborah, I think your daughter will be very happy about that for you. 🙂
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You are right I know. My daughter has told me I should do something with her room. I notice when she visits though she still refers to it as her room. But it is my intention to do this! 🙂 Happy Holidays Mark!
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I understand this completely. Having a personal work space would be very nice and would make such a difference. Like you, my work space is out in the open and it is certainly not something I care for. But for now, it will do. I hope that you are able to make one of the rooms into your own personal writing nook soon.
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Thank You. A goal for the New Year, yes? 🙂
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I hate being interrupted while writing, too, which is why I typically wear headphones.
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Good idea and that would give the person a hint that you are occupied hopefully. I will have to think about getting some headphones. 🙂
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I work best with music, but it does have the added benefit of not getting interrupted quite so much.
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I find that as far as background noise goes, it depends on my mood. A lot of the time I like to have music playing but what that music is- that depends on what I’m writing, my mood, the time of day…. One thing is definite- it has to be music that I’ve chosen. I cannot listen to the music my husband listens to. Sometimes I will listen to the same CD over and over. I’ve driven my kids crazy doing that.
And being out in the open like that, it drives me crazy when I’m interrupted. Especially when I’ve finally been inspired to write. Recently, my husband and son kept walking into the room and talking and I had to repeatedly say, “I really need to finish this. Please give me a minute and I will be done.”
It sounds like one of those bedrooms might be calling your name! That’s my dream- to have my space (that isn’t being used for storing stuff).
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I know just what you mean. A lot of our stuff has stretched itself out into the extra rooms. I did clear out one room for guests over Thanksgiving. But I really want to use the other bedroom that has lots of stuff piled in it. So that will be my project for the New Year I think. It feels a little strange though when I start converting the kids old rooms. There are memories in those rooms. Still can feel like it is their rooms.
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That makes sense. I’m not sure how I will feel when my kids move out and leave their rooms behind.
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