My ideal work environment doesn’t exist in real life yet. I’d love an office. A whole separate room in which I wouldn’t have to put things away at the end of the day. Something with soft colors and a comfortable chair. A nice piece of artwork. My shelf full of books I admire. Ah, yes. That is the fantasy.
The reality is I wrote my current novel on a folding TV table in my living room. Before that it was the kitchen table. When I am writing a rough draft I can't have interruptions because it’s so easy for me to quit at this stage. I must work in the dark, in my living room, at 5 am with my dreams fresh in mind and a cup of chai steaming beside me. The smell has a Pavlovian effect on my creativity. Chai time means writing time.
After the first draft I can relax a little and work during the day (if I’m not teaching). I move my little table close to one of the sliding glass windows and, if I’m a good girl, ignore the phone. The chai still applies here.
And then there are times when I need to work and there are simply too many distractions at home. Then I go to the library at my local university and spend the entire day sequestered on the fourth floor where I can have the focus I need to really bring my story to life in the later stage.
I suppose my perfect work environment has nothing to do with a pretty office, much as I’d love one. It is a state of mind when it comes right down to it (and however one must achieve it). A wonderful place where reality and imagination overlap and mix until one isn’t sure how to separate them again. It is here that my best work is done.
The reality is I wrote my current novel on a folding TV table in my living room. Before that it was the kitchen table. When I am writing a rough draft I can't have interruptions because it’s so easy for me to quit at this stage. I must work in the dark, in my living room, at 5 am with my dreams fresh in mind and a cup of chai steaming beside me. The smell has a Pavlovian effect on my creativity. Chai time means writing time.
After the first draft I can relax a little and work during the day (if I’m not teaching). I move my little table close to one of the sliding glass windows and, if I’m a good girl, ignore the phone. The chai still applies here.
And then there are times when I need to work and there are simply too many distractions at home. Then I go to the library at my local university and spend the entire day sequestered on the fourth floor where I can have the focus I need to really bring my story to life in the later stage.
I suppose my perfect work environment has nothing to do with a pretty office, much as I’d love one. It is a state of mind when it comes right down to it (and however one must achieve it). A wonderful place where reality and imagination overlap and mix until one isn’t sure how to separate them again. It is here that my best work is done.
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