I reckon writers’ workspaces tell you a lot about the writer who inhabits the space. Tidy room? Perhaps a plotter works here. Does a messy one belong to a writer who has trouble with deadlines? Writing at a desk or sofa – thriller or romance writer? Multiple cold coffee cups, books of research, mood boards or whiteboards, everything is a clue to the writer’s personality. The place we go to write might unwittingly be the ultimate “show, don’t tell”. With this idea in mind, I looked about my own writing space and asked myself, what am I revealing about me in this little room? Apart from the fact that we’re both too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer…
Maximalist, not minimalist.
My room and I are maximalists. I like to be busy. I’m always working on multiple projects, not just writing my books. I’m also a graphic designer and an artist and illustrator. Then there’s the four kids, three cats and a very demanding garden. (A less demanding husband, thankfully.) And my writing is all twists and turns, red herrings, misdirects, locations, characters – a lot going on. My work space is the same. A lot is going on. #Cluttercore the Gen Zs would call it. (Well, I think that’s what it’s called… I’m sure my kids – with a roll of their eyes – will be quick to let me know if I’ve gotten that wrong.) The smallest room in the house, it has to do a lot of heavy lifting. It holds all my tools for all my activities – computers (desktop and laptop), art supplies, craft supplies, canvases, frames, books, notebooks, pens, art on the walls, plants on every surface, the little doodads the kids make at school, curios, multiple pairs of reading glasses, more plants and more notebooks. And that’s all before the furniture is mentioned. An armchair as well as a desk – writing happens in either – two cabinets for art supplies, and a cat bed for the cat who likes to keep me company during the day. (And a second cat bed for the cat who likes to sleep here at night.) Busy and crammed full might be the best description for me, and my room.
A little older and a little weathered.
That’s another feature my room and I share. Its contents and I are both a little older and wiser, and have a few interesting scratches and dents to show for our journeys. My second novel, The Party, is on release now and my debut The Snowstorm, came out earlier in 2023. Both in my 50th year. Getting published over 50 is said to be tough (though I do wonder about that) but I am happy, whatever the odds, to have been around the block a bit before my books came out. I think I’m a better writer for it. Who really knows anything in their 20s? I certainly didn’t! You have to live to understand the world around you. Get a few knocks and get back up again. And, in my little study I surround myself with furniture and art that has had a few lives before they came to me. Between thrift stores and online marketplaces to small auctions, everything in my room has taken the long way here. My desk once sat in a hotel lobby. A cabinet was in an old haberdashery store. The lamp is a ‘70s refugee. And nothing cost more than 50 bucks. Their history and imperfections are what make them special to me.
One item in particular is pretty special. The battered vintage typewriter. It belonged to my grandfather. A man who loved to write. And in between working, painting (he was a very talented artist) and gardening, he used this typewriter to produce his poetry and short stories. He was clearly a man who liked to do a lot, so it is not just the writing we have in common. The history of the objects around me, personal or found, please my magpie sensibility, and I think reflect me and my writing well.
I love this room in all its cluttered curiosity. And I think my theory on what it might say about me is correct. There’s a lot going on with me, but hopefully it’s interesting chaos!
