Changing your writing space – if you’re lucky enough to have one.

When I started out, I wrote on the kitchen table. The amount of time spent clearing a space, and then tidying everything away, ate into my writing time. Not to mention wiping off the marmalade that transferred itself to every available piece of paper. I graduated from the kitchen to a shared office with my husband, which wasn’t ideal as he was a lot untidier than me. Eventually, after moving house (and husbands) I finally had an office of my own, and I began to think about what makes the ideal writing space.
Some people can write to music; I can’t. I have to have silence. I live in a big semi, and to begin with I was downstairs on the side that abutted next door. They have three children, who have now reached screaming age. The party wall is extremely thin, and the fireplaces use the same chimney which seems to act as a sound box. I am fortunate enough to have a studio as well, which is also downstairs and on the other side of the house and a lot smaller, so I decided to up sticks and relocate. It’s been a revelation.
I feel more secure in a small space. It’s an evolutionary thing, I think; it’s less likely that a sabretooth will creep up on me from behind. I also had no idea that extraneous sound affected me quite that much, I thought I could write anywhere. The view from the window is back gardens rather than the street, so it’s really tranquil and I no longer have the traffic piling up outside during the rush hour. I can concentrate. It’s quite a high window so I have to stand up to watch the birds, but that’s good because otherwise I’d be twitching all day.

Silence, internet connection, heating, shelving. And lots of cups of tea. What’s yours?