Archives for February 2013

Creative Spaces — Guest Post by Susan Buchanan

02/20 By 5 Comments

Creative Spaces

I find I can write pretty much anywhere, but these days, since I am writing full-time, I tend to do so at home.  I am meant to write in my home office, but I get caught up with emails in the morning and Twitter/FB /blog posts etc and before I know it half the morning has disappeared and I am still sitting on my sofa with my feet up on the coffee table, laptop resting on my cushdesk, writing the next installment.  But, I have very bad posture, as I spend so much time at the computer, so I HAVE to write in my office sometimes. When I’m in my office, I have a view.  When I’m on the sofa, I am facing the TV (which is off).  So it would make sense to be in the office, looking out at the rain/snow/very occasional sunshine.  In our old flat, I used to sit at the dining table in the bay window, as we were on the top floor and the window looked out onto woodland, which was very pretty and I could see a little family of foxes occasionally.  Now, since I live on a new estate, I am more likely to see diggers and articulated lorries!

I think the main thing my office means to me, is a) it’s mine – I had to chuck my other half out first, though! b) it’s my retreat – although I don’t always write there, I know I can.  I have the freedom of writing wherever I like at home, because my partner is at work during the day.  However, when I want to write in the evening, as I need complete quiet, barring a little classical music, I know that I have that special place within the house, on a different storey, where I can go to get peace and quiet.  I think I would struggle now, not having that space. I am so used to it and probably take it a little for granted.  I love the whiteboard where I can put up all my ideas, or scribble down things I know I need to correct, additional items I need to do specific edits for, continuity checks, appropriateness of names, etc.  And I love the map (I have three actually, but two of them wouldn’t fit in the office – they are in my library – where I go to read, relax on my massage chair and chill out)  The maps help me decide where the next adventures abroad will be in my books.  Combined with my having been fortunate enough to visit forty-five countries so far in my life, plus twenty of the US states, I have plenty of material to work with.

Creative Spaces Guest Post by Susan Buchanan

Susan Buchanan adjusts her writing habits during her pregnancy

I wrote Sign of the Times in our flat and The Dating Game in our new house.  What If, my next novel, due for release in November 2013, was mainly written from the home office.  I am 6 1/2 months pregnant, so really need to work on my posture (she writes, as she sits on the sofa again) What If is a mix of chicklit and manlit.  It has a male protagonist and tells the story of what would have happened to him if he’d made different decisions in his life.  Of course a great part of the novel will centre around his various relationships, but also on his extended family.  The main challenge I had with What If is that being pregnant, I was so much more tired, so I found it difficult to stick to my usual writing schedule – which is quite frankly, usually pretty intense. I can still reach the keyboard, but bending down to turn my computer on etc, is becoming more and more difficult, plus writing for any length of time is a no-no.  Maybe that’s why I have not been writing from the office so much recently either – the refrigerator with all my goodies in it is further away!  When I came up with the idea for What If, I wasn’t pregnant and didn’t have any children, although I have three nephews whom I adore.  However, since becoming pregnant, I probably am thinking a bit differently about the children in the book and about parenthood in general, so it will be interesting to see if readers note any difference in the style and content of my writing.   I wonder if there will be a grumpier note in my writing – I certainly feel grumpier with all the aches and pains!  My beloved telling me he feels like the little yellow duck in the Silentnight mattress advert, sharing a bed with the Silentnight hippo, doesn’t help this. Thank God I’m a pachyderm and can take it.  He has a problem with my taking up eighty percent of the space – personally I think he’s lucky to get twenty percent!

I am relatively but not 100% organised. I am not formulaic when I write and although I do chapter plans and character plans, so as not to forget any details, if I am writing a scene and another idea appears in my head, I run with it.

Personally I think a creative environment exists in your head. I had some ideas for the sequel to Sign of the Times today, as I walked to the supermarket in the freezing cold to buy milk.  I do, however, prefer to be alone to write.  When I am home alone, the TV is off, whilst often classical music plays in the background, as that soothes and focuses me, but doesn’t distract me. But everyone has to find what works for him or her.  I sometimes find I get great ideas when I am in the shower.  Unfortunately I don’t have a pen and paper in there – it’s about the only place in the house I don’t have.

Creative Spaces Guest Post by Susan Buchanan               Creative Spaces Guest Post by Susan Buchanan

Bio: Susan Buchanan grew up in Scotland, although she has also lived in France and Spain. She now lives with her partner, Tony, near Glasgow.  She is about to become a mum for the first time.

She graduated with an Honours degree in French and Hispanic Studies from the University of Glasgow (although Italian is actually her most fluent language) and put her languages to good use in various European and International sales roles over the years.  Before turning her hand to writing full-time in February 2012, she worked in IT, electronics and the test and measurement industries. Her jobs and her passion for travelling took her all over the world, so she has plenty of fodder for her novels, which although set partially in Scotland, always have a portion set overseas.

Susan has been writing since she was seven, but started seriously writing novels in 2002. She even took a year off work to finish Sign of the Times, her first novel, which was published in March 2012.  The Dating Game is her second novel, released in November 2012 and after a break for maternity leave, her third novel is due for release in November 2013.

Here Susan speaks about her reading habits: ‘When I read, I love to read books about foreign parts that I have visited – it immerses me more in the story. I wanted to do the same in my own novels. I love reading, always have – romantic fiction, crime, contemporary drama, pretty much everything.’  Find Susan on Facebook, Twitter, and her blog.

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Creative Spaces — Guest Post by Rosanna Silverlight

02/12 By 4 Comments

Creative Spaces

When I write, I enter my own mental space where nothing exists except the page and the will to write – or the struggle to break into the writing state of mind. I fight hard for that precious concentration; once I have it I’m reluctant to give it up when a distraction comes. In one sense, my writing space is wherever I am when that tug of war between mind and page begins. 

It probably evolved that way because I never had one dedicated place for writing until almost two years ago – but since moving in with my boyfriend, first to a flat and then, last April, to our first house, I’ve discovered what it really means to create a physical space where I let myself loose not just on the page, but on the surroundings themselves. 

I’ve had a lot of fun putting my office together. I feel relaxed and happy when I spend time here, and the people we’ve shown around our new house have all pointed out how it reflects my personality. I never know how to respond to this. It’s a toss-up between “Yay, mission accomplished!” and “Oh, but it’s so messy in here right now!”

My office occupies the smallest bedroom – small enough to be cosy but still big enough for everything I need to fit inside. I painted it two different shades of green – a warm, inspiring colour – and put up shelves to house my books. It’s one of the most cluttered rooms in the house and never stays immaculate for long. At the moment my desk is covered in stuff – my laptop, myriad Post-Its, a hole punch, Roget’s Thesaurus, several Lego mini-figures, a copy of Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, a framed photo of my sister, a pot full of pens, index cards … you get the idea!

I set up my desk so I could look out of the window while mulling over ideas. I love to watch the cat that sometimes appears in the window of the house opposite, and the changing weather patterns – we recently had snow in the UK, and this morning the room was full of glorious sunlight, which turned the green walls golden. It was amazing.

I write as often as I can, fitting it in around my part-time job and dabbling in web design. When I’m at home alone, writing is never very far from my mind – I’ve learned to listen when my muse calls, and to try and wake it up when it’s silent. 

Creative Spaces -- Guest Post by Rosanna Silverlight

Rosanna Silverlight immersing herself in her dream of writing

I always need a good drink before I begin – I never feel entirely happy sitting down without a cup of tea (a writer cliché, I know, but it’s true!) or coffee. And while I can sometimes just open up the laptop and start from a blank page, I often fall prey to the charms of the internet before productivity gets under way. A certain amount of determination can cure this, but so can total immersion in a project – which is what I’m going through right now with my novel-in-progress, an epic fantasy I’m calling Swordslave. 

It’s about people – the Swordslaves of the title – who are half human, half other. They’re powerful, but most of them don’t get to use that power – they’re enslaved and forced to take a drug, which suppresses the ‘taint’ of otherness in their blood. A young Swordslave gets caught up in a power struggle between two kings with different ideas on how to handle her kind, and she has to decide what freedom means to her and how far she’s willing to go to fight for it. 

Ultimately, Swordslave is about liberty, and the many guises oppression can take. I’ve finished the first draft and have begun revisions, but I’d also like to write more short stories in 2013, submit them to competitions, anthologies and literary journals, and maybe even e-publish an anthology.

I believe in looking for opportunities to write whenever and wherever I can – especially as I’m a long way off writing full time – but it’s a powerful thing to know that there is a place where I can immerse myself in my dream and allow it room to breathe. 

My number one tip for creating your own writing space? Train yourself so you can write anywhere. Then, when you get the opportunity to make a space your own, treat it as another tool to hone your craft.

Create an environment that sharpens you. And don’t stop writing.

 

Bio: Rosanna Silverlight spent her childhood daydreaming, reading stories about magic and ponies and later on, writing stories about magic and ponies. 

She still adores reading and still writes – though not so much about ponies these days. She graduated from Lancaster University in 2007 with a joint honours degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, and set about learning the hard way that being a daydreamer is fine, as long as you don’t expect too much. If you do, you’d best pay attention and do something about making those dreams come true. No one else will do it for you!

After a year spent in Spain and Portugal teaching English, she moved back to the UK and settled with her wonderful, imaginative boyfriend in Somerset, a beautiful part of the UK well known for its cider and Glastonbury Tor. 

Rosanna currently divides her time between working a part-time job and writing at home. She writes short stories – some of which you can read on her website [www.rosannasilverlight.com] – and is working on her first novel, Swordslave. 

 

Filed Under: Creative Spaces - 14 authors contributed a guest post, Creativity, Guest Blog, writing Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Creative Spaces — Guest Post by Barbara Froman

02/06 By 7 Comments

Creative Spaces

Necessities

Assorted family photos and a poster-sized framed print of Georgia O’Keeffe’s Music, Pink and Blue #2, painted in 1918.

Classical music from all periods. Today’s selection: Prokofiev’s 3nd Piano Concerto, 1st movement.

I’ve learned to rely on the smiles of those I love for encouragement, and the sights and sounds of other artists as inspiration.  I’ve grown used to the comfort of my soft brown chair, its throw pillows at the small of my back, its hand-tatted antimacassars—elegant lessons on the value of diligence and patience—behind my neck and under my forearms. And I’ve become spoiled by how rapidly and simply lightweight technology saves and edits and puts a wealth of sources at my disposal.  I’m always amazed by how helpless I feel when the electricity goes down—which it does far too often—and all that remains is the glare of night on glass, and the sound of my own breath, At those times, I think wistfully back to my early childhood, when the only encouragement I needed was an idea and the only inspiration, a chunk of free time, As long as I had pencils and paper, and a private space in which to work, I was set.

Because we lived in a small two-bedroom apartment in New York, that space was the bathroom. I didn’t care that its furnishings were cold, its decor spartan, its scent antiseptic; it had what I wanted most: privacy. And so, I would take the tools of my trade inside, and lock the door behind me.

The first time I did this, my mother, who deemed any trip to the bathroom longer than three minutes a sign of trouble, started knocking on the door and yelling, “Are you all right? What are you doing?”

Of course, I told her.  But I might not have, had I known she would share my choice of workspace so proudly:  “And this is my daughter, who writes in the bathroom. Read the nice people a poem, honey.”

Eventually we moved into a bigger apartment where I had a room to myself, without porcelain fixtures. I furnished it with a desk—although I quickly discovered that I preferred the comfort of my bed for creative work, a floor-to-ceiling bookcase (which my brother and I built and painted), a record player, and prints I picked up at the Metropolitan and Guggenheim museum stores.  And I wrote.

Creative Spaces guest post by Barbara Froman

Barbara Froman inspired by music

These days, I feel very lucky to have a room of my own, where I can put tchotchkes, photographs, prints, and animation cels on every surface and wall. I wrote class lectures and screenplays here, and started my blog, Beyond Willow Bend.

This is where I finished my novel, Shadows and Ghosts, and composed a set of pieces for piano duet entitled, Six Variations in Search of a Theme.  And now, I’m digging into an historical novel about two pianists. I have a feeling it’s going to be a difficult book to write, much more so than my last, because of the research involved. But, as long as I can sit in my soft chair, look into the eyes of those I love, see O’Keeffe’s swirl of feminine possibilities, and feel my pulse and spirit quicken to Prokofiev, or Brahms, or Ravel, or Bach, I know the words will be there.

Creative Spaces Guest Post by Barbara FromanBio: Barbara Froman received early training in music at the Juilliard School’s preparatory division before going on to earn degrees in Music Composition at Ithaca College and Northwestern University. She was the Director of Mundelein College’s Creative Writing Program, taught Literature and Creative Writing at National-Louis University, and acted as a consultant to National’s graduate program in Written Communication. She is the author of published essays and poetry, is the recipient of the Serving House Books/Fairleigh Dickinson University First Book Award in Prose, for Shadows and Ghosts, has placed in screenwriting competitions, and was nominated for a Fringe First at the Edinburgh Fringe. She continues to compose music as well as work on a number of new writing projects. Visit her website at: http://www.barbarafroman.com 

Filed Under: Creative Spaces - 14 authors contributed a guest post, Creativity, Guest Blog, writing Tagged With: , , , , , , ,