Creative Spaces — Guest Post by Sayantani DasGupta

05/02 By 5 Comments

Creative Spaces

On Being a Woman Writer: An Open Letter to Virginia Woolf

Dear Virginia [comma, space, enter, I write]

Regarding the issue of being a woman writer, [pause, fingers poised over keyboard]

I am so screwed. [Appropriateness of using profanity with dead literary legend? Unknown.]

I am all asunder. [??]

It’s not easy, that’s all I’m saying.

Not only do I not have a room of my own (I’m typing this perched on the King size bed, legs tucked, computer leaning against my pelvic bone and the deep grooved C-section scar that seems made to help balance a laptop), but the room I do have is stuffed to the brim with:

1. books [nonnegotiable]
2. dressers [necessary]
3. a drying rack draped crookedly with a red and yellow kitchen tablecloth.
4. toys that are not mine
5. a husband that is
6. [most distracting] endless baskets of unfolded laundry

The heaps of tumultuous clothing whine and tantrum at me, but I force myself to ignore them [the parenting guides say you shouldn’t reward bad behavior]. To them, I am that very bad mother in the grocery line, at the park, on the street, who is able to look smoothly away even when a small, lost voice begs her to come make everything tidy again. But I know it’s a temporary respite; I can’t ignore them forever. Already my accursed third floor washing machine is swooshing and bucking in its closet down the hall, promising the birth of more chaos into this room which is where I write.

I have to write quickly, Virginia, before these pebbles I have been rolling around in my mouth all day, repeating and reciting and reforming, lose their nuance and their groove, and smooth over, becoming blank faced and heavy. By tomorrow these words will become inarticulate stones in my pockets, dragging me down into distraction, so that I will snap unnecessarily at my children, break my own rules about junk food snacking to keep them quiet, and most shockingly, turn on the television just because they ask, as I desperately scribble with pen, pencil, crayon — anything I can find — on the back of grocery receipts, cell phone bills, and yellow sticky pads which I’ve taken to keeping all around the house just for this purpose. I will write feverishly until my hand aches and still, like one of those dreams where your leaden feet cannot outrun the hungry wolves, the phrases slip through my fingers, sliding off the page into puddles on the floor, leaving me drowning and bereft.

Tonight, I’m losing the battle before I’ve begun. Soon my son will start to cough, cough, cough, the sound echoing with gaps through my fancy baby monitor that circulates through three separate stations even though I only have two children. Cough, static, static, cough. I will try and coax him to drink a little water from a sports bottle. Even in sleep he will protest at a sippy cup – “I’m a big boy.” But I know if I leave a real cup of water by his bed, it will spill and soak the bedclothes like the day I delivered him, when my water broke, as if in the movies — whoosh — all over everything, and then this mother-writer was born.

If I am unlucky, his coughs will awaken his sister, who is but a temporary visitor to her very beautiful, expensive Italian crib, and most nights takes up half of this King size, sleeping spread eagle horizontally between her parents as all children everywhere know how to do from birth. Her screams will inevitably interrupt what will feel like the very first sentence I have ever written. I will deftly try to keep typing with one hand, a trapeze artist, while lifting up my T-shirt with the other, shoving a nipple into her mouth. Then I will prop her head on a pillow next to my left breast — I’ve got the routine down — my left elbow carefully curves around the dark curls on her head, and if I sit just so I can reach the computer with both hands. Mercifully, she will fall asleep, as she does every night, undoubtedly wondering why sweet, warm milk so often comes accompanied by the rapid clickety clack of her mother typing 50 or 60 words per minute, filling up the equally hungry blank screen.

A cough, Virginia, a cry. From me and my darlings both. This labor of writing is equally painful and wonderful as those other pains that nearly split me in two before the surgeon’s scalpel did just so, cleaving tiny newborn from the open wound. Though locked in a battle of rivalry to match no other, they are all mine, all beloved, all of my body, these blessedly hearty children of flesh and blood — and their anemic, if equally demanding, literary siblings.

The laundry is done; here comes its final, vibrating shudder — like some mechanized orgasm. Which means, of course, that my time is almost up.

Until, my dear, tomorrow night.
I remain,

A Woman Writer

Creative Spaces guest post by Sayantani DasGupta

Physician, writer, and mother of two, Sayantani DasGupta uses her bed for writing.

Bio: Sayantani DasGupta originally trained in pediatrics and public health, Sayantani DasGupta’s teaching and scholarship is in medical humanities and feminist science studies. She teaches at the Master’s Program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University and the Graduate Program in Health Advocacy at Sarah Lawrence College.  She is the co-author of The Demon Slayers and Other Stories: Bengali Folktales (Interlink, 1995), author of a memoir of her time at Johns Hopkins Medical School, Her Own Medicine: A Woman’s Journey from Student to Doctor (Ballantine, 1999), and co-editor of an award winning collection of women’s illness narratives, Stories of Illness and Healing: Women Write their Bodies (Kent State, 2007). Her creative nonfiction and fiction has been published and anthologized widely and she is represented by Erin Murphy of Erin Murphy Literary Agency.  Visit her website at: www.sayantanidasgupta.com and her blog at: http://storiesaregoodmedicine.blogspot.com

Sayantani also writes for Adios, Barbie (www.adiosbarbie.com) and From the Mixed Up Files of Middle Grade Authors (www.fromthemixedupfiles.com).

 

Creative Spaces guest post by Sayantani DasGuptaCreative Spaces guest post by Sayantani DasGuptaCreative Spaces guest post by Sayantani DasGupta

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Creative Spaces — Guest Post by Jimin Han

04/25 By 7 Comments

Creative Spaces

Glass Room

I remember the starkness of the walls in a new house, the sounds of night those first days in a new place. I remember being afraid of what I couldn’t see in the dark and worried about what I would see the next morning in the faces of the new people I would meet. I had my parents, my brothers, an aunt and uncle and cousins who lived with us from time to time and whom we lived with at other times, a grandfather, my father’s friends from Korea. They came and went in various configurations, my aunt and uncle and cousins being the most constant even after they moved permanently away because I would visit them during summers. My most vivid memories are of mornings when I’d wake to the smell of ramen cooking in the kitchen. This is from the early Jamestown period, when it was my brothers, my parents and I. We had a kitchen box, a square brown box marked clearly in large hangul: kitchen. It didn’t go with the moving truck. It was packed in the car with us alongside the other marked box that contained our bedding. The kitchen box had five bowls (one for each of us), one large stainless steel pot, chopsticks and spoons. It would take me a while, those first mornings when I initially opened my eyes to remember where I was, and then I’d find my way to the kitchen where my mother commandeered the stove, the sink, the cupboards, the windows. The kitchen table was set with bowls and chopsticks, ramen waiting for us. I remember she filled the kitchen with her optimism, her hopefulness. It was hard not to believe that we hadn’t always lived there.

I can count most of them, all the places I lived before I left my family for college. My uncle’s house in Seoul, my grandmother’s house in Seoul, a house in Daejun, another house in Seoul, an apartment in Brooklyn, a mental hospital in Providence, a house in Providence, a second floor apartment in Providence, an apartment in Dayton, a house in Jamestown (Myrtle Street), another house in Jamestown (East Virginia Boulevard), another house in Jamestown (Maple Street), another house in Jamestown (Camp Street), a last house in Jamestown (Whitehill Avenue). My parents were always moving. They continued to move after I left for college. Some of the moves necessitated by finances, some of the moves necessitated by a quest my father had that I didn’t understand.

Years older now, old enough to make my own home, I have my own house. My children have known this same house for most of their young lives. I’ve chosen steadiness where I can, rooted myself to a single house, a permanent address. But something lingers from my moving days. I write in a small temporary room that’s mostly empty. I call it anyone’s room. The walls are blank. There is a bed in case someone comes to visit. In a pinch I can clear out, let a guest feel at home. The desk is a polished teak ellipse. It’s large enough for my laptop and a few notebooks. It faces a blank, white wall away from the casement window that looks out into a yard where a crab apple tree loads up with blossoms in the spring and beyond that a neighbor’s pasture where a horse grazes.

Creative Spaces Guest Post by Jimin Han

After a life of moving, Jimin Han finally has a permanent “temporary” writing space.

When the writing isn’t going well, when I feel I’m failing, when the silence is paralyzing, I worry. I imagine crowding this room with things from my life for encouragement. A small painted rock the size of my hand, a quartz donkey figurine, a pale blue 19th century pill box, books that line the family room outside this room, paintings, photos of my children, my husband, my parents, my friends, my students, life that calls and calls to me. When the writing isn’t going well, I open the second door in my anyone’s room, the one behind my chair, and look at the dirt floor, look up at the broken slats of the wooden roof. Somewhere up there will be a room for me. Someday, a stair to it. The opposite of emptiness. A glass room. I have drawings of it. I have plans.

But for now and for years to come in reality, my small temporary blank room is all I have. All I might ever have. And I can’t say I’m unhappy with it. I know where I am. There is something that comes to this emptiness, something I am forced to make of it, make from it. I write and read and consider things in this place. I have always been here. My anyone’s room. Blank walls, blank canvas, silence or newness of sound, possibility. An unclaimed space. Something to work with.  Something that asks to be claimed, for the duration of the day, night, story, poem, essay.

Creative Spaces -- Guest Post by Jimin HanBio:

Jimin Han teaches at Sarah Lawrence College’s Writing Institute and lives outside New York City with her husband and children. Additional work of hers may be found in a variety of places, including NPR’s “Weekend America,” The Rumpus.net, Koreanamericanstory.org, eChook’s memoir app, Kartika Review and The Nuyorasian Anthology. She’s on twitter, @jiminhanwriter, and she blogs at Tumblr.

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Creative Spaces — Guest Post by Leigh Michaels

04/17 By 5 Comments

Creative Spaces

My working space has gone through a whole lot of changes in the 29 years since I was first published, so as I thought about what my office means to me, I’ve journeyed down memory lane.

In 1988, my office was located in the smallest bedroom of our American Foursquare house – a space that was hardly big enough for a twin bed and a dresser. Yes, I really did write more than a dozen books in this room. That’s an IBM PC with a 10-megabyte hard drive and a 14-inch green-screen monitor – and believe me, that was a big step up from my first computer! Off to the right is the state-of-the-art printer which tapped out each letter with a rotating ball, just like those old electric typewriters. I’d start a chapter printing and have to leave the room because of the echo.

Creative Spaces Guest Post by Leigh Michaels

Leigh’s First Office

The photos at ceiling level are the covers of my first few Harlequin Romances and Presents, and the two shelves at the right of the photo hold what I grandly called the Collected Works – one copy of each edition.

If I closed the door so I could concentrate, I soon ran out of oxygen. 😉

Not long after the photo was taken, we moved into a new house. This is my office today. It has two big windows – one looking out over the woods, one toward the front of the house so I can see visitors coming and decide whether to answer the door.

Creative Spaces Guest Post by Leigh Michaels

After 29 years of publishing, author Leigh Michaels needed a bigger office.

 

The Collected Works (one copy of each of the editions of my 83 romance novels and 20 non-fiction books) now occupy the shelves at left – that’s 62 feet of bookshelves, if you’re counting. The framed photos have moved to the hallway which leads to my office, where they’re limited to one cover from each language – though we had to stop doing even that when we ran out of wall. A few years ago my husband and I ripped up the carpet and laid the parquet floor (the sort of job which makes you eager go to back to writing). And as time has gone on, I’ve added the extra filing cabinets and counters so I can spread out with my various projects.

I now rely on dual 24-inch monitors and a laser printer.

I think some of those same reference books are still hanging around, though. And I still need my glass of ice water and cup of coffee – and quiet — before I can really settle in to work.

Creative Spaces Guest post by Leigh Michaels

Because I also teach (at Gotham Writers Workshop — www.writingclasses.com — where I offer online classes in romance writing) and I edit books for our small publishing firm (PBL Limited – www.pbllimited.com – which specializes in local history books and niche-market non-fiction), I use every inch of the practical desk space. Those piles on the counter are non-fiction book projects and source material, waiting to come together so they’re ready to publish.

Though I’ve moved on from my original publisher – as well as switching from contemporary romance to historical, and from sweet stories to spicy ones – I’m grateful to Harlequin Books for a lengthy and rewarding career. That’s why the one-of-a-kind Harlequin marionette is still a prized feature in my office. He watches over me as I work.

I haven’t included a photo of my sitting room, where I leave my laptop set up – it’s another book-lined room, and I retreat there when I need to fall into a story and not be bothered by phone calls or email. I do better at knocking out words when it’s not so easy to page back to edit and fix and continually revise – and that’s made much less tempting when I’m working on a smaller screen. And sometimes I move to the bay window in my living room, where I can work a jigsaw puzzle while I write or plot or brainstorm, as well as watching white-tailed deer and wild turkeys wander across the acre of back yard that we refer to as The Garden of Weedin’.

Thanks go to my husband, photographer Michael W. Lemberger, for providing all the photos.

Bio: Leigh Michaels is the best-selling author of more than 100 books, including historical romance, contemporary romance, non-fiction (On Writing Romance), and local history. Her current Montlake Romance release is The Birthday Scandal, a historical set in the Regency period and featuring the intertwining romances of two sisters and a brother. She’s also just released a self-published sweet contemporary romance, Return to Amberley. Her website is www.leighmichaels.com and you can find her on Facebook and Twitter @leighmichaels.

The Birthday Scandal by Leigh MichaelsThe Mistress House by Leigh Michaels      The Wedding Affair by Leigh Michaels      Return to Amberly by Leigh Michaels

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Creative Spaces — Guest Post by Cheryl Olsen

04/08 By 3 Comments

Creative Spaces

My workspace is the first expansion in the three-decade DIY project known as our starter (and at this point, one hopes finisher) home. It was a modest bumping out of walls on what apparently, judging by the red concrete floor, had once been a porch. It was our daughter’s first bedroom. It took us four years to finish— laughable when I think about the “rush” permit I wrangled from the city with my bulging obstetrically imminent belly. The kid only used it through middle school; then the lure of her older brother’s former room and the greater privacy of its basement locale won out. But the love that produced it is evident everywhere, along with reminders of the people who own my heart and give me sustenance, who motivate me to be and do better.

The “Almost Famous” sign above the window is redolent of the earnest wish of the young gymnast/dancer who hung it there. Her “Dream Big” posters have long since peeled from the ceiling, but the fame thing makes me smile and I’ve left it up. Adjacent to that wall is the narrow leaded window my husband made, the end cap to the expansion: rectangles of beveled clear and mauve stained glass to catch the first sun as it comes over the eastern hill up the street and spatters rainbows across the opposite wall.

A buttery pine dresser is too large for the space, but it belonged to my mom and I’m not ready to part with it. It’s home to extra sheets and blankets, and the top is covered in plants, including a cutting from a philodendron my mother nurtured throughout my childhood until her death last year. It’s also home to the bees wax candle Sandra Cisneros gave me to anchor a shrine for my mom. The candle is the same buttery yellow as the chest of drawers, smells divine, and is a daily reminder not only of love and friendship, but of the power of words. I’ve re-read Sandra’s Have You Seen Marie? so many times I can practically recite it. It’s the perfect balm for life’s greatest losses.

Creative Spaces guest post by Cheryl Olsen

Cheryl Olsen’s treadmill desk takes center stage in her creative workspace.

A wall of floor-to-ceiling built-in bookshelves still hold our now-adult kids’ school yearbooks and too many photo albums, but little by little, I’m claiming the shelves for myself: Cheryl Strayed’s incomparable Wild, Fred Setterberg’s wonderful Lunch Bucket Paradise, William Souder’s amazing Rachel Carson biography On A Farther Shore, David Abrams’ funny and devastating Fobbit, Bonnie Jo Campbell’s vivid Once Upon a River, David Corbett’s immensely helpful The Art of Character, Matt Salesses’ killer flash fiction novel I’m Not Saying, I’m Just Saying, Liz Stephens’ debut memoir The Days Are Gods, plus the work of former classmates Jennie Fields, Jane Smiley, and Joy Harjo now occupy prime eye-level real estate.

The chin-up bar that conditioned the upper bodies of both Olsen kids until sports gyms took over is still wedged in the doorframe, a clothespinned carrousel for workout attire the only thing that hangs from it now. Somehow it seems important to maintain this insistent link to a more athletic past.

“Walk-in” is far too expansive a term for the doorless closet that’s filled to bursting with seasonal decorations—yet more reminders of family ties and traditions. It’s also home to countless dance costumes, gymnastics teams warmups, and trophies. Plus several boxes of china from my husband’s Russian grandmother. We’re custodians until our son and his wife move to a space large enough to accommodate the Old World place settings our Polish daughter-in-law loved the instant she saw them.

But in this room brimming with memories—and perpetual writing prompts—not everything is about the past. One large concession to the present and a hopeful future takes center stage: my treadmill desk. It faces the window onto the Coast Redwood tree that was an awkward teen when we moved in and now towers over the house. I love that our rescue kitties, Tyson and Riley, expose their soft white bellies on the elevated work surface, seduced by sun. But mostly I marvel at this wondrous machine’s ability to expand time, how when the 3 p.m. depletion hits as it invariably does, I need only turn on my treadmill desk and walk. I usually employ this as a reading break, but I can also do email or social media. And twenty or thirty or sixty minutes later, I feel like writing again.

Cheryl Olsen’s creative spaces guest post Bio: Since earning an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop an indecent number of decades ago, Cheryl Olsen (http://wewantedtobewriters.com/our-authors/cheryl-olsen/) has written articles for publications including Cosmopolitan, Via, Runner Magazine, and others. She was an editor and writer at City Sports Magazine in San Francisco for many years, and a columnist for Women’s Sports and Fitness. Other clients include Time Inc. Health, Summit Medical Center, and Words Without Borders, among others. She also taught college English for several years. Most recently, she scaled a seemingly insurmountable learning curve to become web goddess (http://wewantedtobewriters.com/) and social media maven (http://twitter.com/#!/2bwriters) in support of We Wanted to Be Writers (http://wewantedtobewriters.com/the-book/) (husband Eric is lead author), a collection of interviews with 30 former classmates about the creative process and the ever-changing lit biz.

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Creative Spaces — Guest Post by Kathleen Pooler

03/20 By 7 Comments

Creative Spaces

“Clear out a corner of your mind and creativity will instantly fill it.” Dee Hock

We all have creative energies within but the challenge is learning how to tap into them. My writing space is just one of the areas that help me connect with my creativity.

An upstairs office, overlooking the woods that surround our home provides me with a window to the outside world, keeping me connected with nature and its changing seasons. The fact that it is upstairs helps me to block out interruptions as I close the door to the downstairs’ commotion and enter into solitude. I am surrounded by book shelves, files, posters of mandalas and writing exercises I have done, including a trifold cardboard storyboard with bright yellow stars that map out my memoir-in-progress. Pictures of family and friends along with my blog schedule and list of to-dos for the week adorn the window and walls.

Creative Spaces -- Guest Post by Kathleen Pooler

Kathleen Pooler is challenged by clutter in her creative workspace.

In this space, I am inspired by the solitude and dedication to my writing that each artifact represents- my computer, printer, notebooks of vignettes, a bookcase filled with writing resources. I keep my iPad handy in case I want to tune into Pandora radio as background music. A gold crucifix, an angel statue, a lighthouse knick knack, a teacup candle with inspiration emblazoned across the cup all serve to remind me of my purpose in writing- to share my hope and faith with others.

As you can see from my picture, there is some clutter. That was after I cleaned it up. So clutter is my biggest challenge. Even though we live in a digital world, I still feel the need to make hard copies of my work. This necessitates files, file cabinets and space-occupying clutter. Before I can really focus on my work at hand, I have to spend some time, clearing the space. The way I see it, my work space is an extension of me and my mind so if it is messy, I feel out of sorts. Sifting and sorting through the piles of papers and organizing them helps me to clear my mind and feel in better control. Another challenge is staying off the internet to minimize distractions and stay focused on the writing. I use Rescue Time, a time management accountability system that provides me with weekly reports via email on my productivity and how much time I spend writing vs. internet activities.

I have written three-plus years of weekly blog posts, crafted my memoir-in-progress, now in its first revision review with my manuscript editor and launched my career as a writer in this space.

But sometimes, the writing space is not enough to stimulate creativity. Sometimes I need to walk away and let my work “marinate”; sometimes I need to leave my sacred space and take a walk in the woods, or play my piano or listen to music.

I’ve learned to listen to what my body tells me about when I need to burrow myself in my office or when I need to walk away. My creative space can be found in many different places. Some of my best ideas have been spawned during a walk in the woods or as I’m lying in bed trying to go to sleep. When the muse comes, I’ve learned to listen and keep a notebook handy to jot it all down.

Creative Spaces -- Guest Post by Kathleen Pooler Bio: 

Kathleen Pooler is a writer and a retired Family Nurse Practitioner who is working on a memoir about how the power of hope through her faith in God has helped her to transform, heal and transcend life’s obstacles and disappointments: divorce, single parenting, loving and letting go of an alcoholic son, cancer and heart failure to live a life of joy and contentment. She believes that hope matters and that we are all strengthened and enlightened when we share our stories.

She blogs weekly at her Memoir Writer’s Journey blog: http://krpooler.com and can be found on Twitter and on LinkedIn, Google+, Goodreads and Facebook.

 One of her stories “The Stone on the Shore” is published in the anthology: “The Woman I’ve Become: 37 Women Share Their Journeys From Toxic Relationships to Self-Empowerment” by Pat LaPointe, 2012.

 Another story: “Choices and Chances” is published in the mini-anthology: “My Gutsy Story” by Sonia Marsh, 2012.

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Creative Spaces — Guest Post by Theresa Braun

03/11 By 2 Comments

Creative Spaces

What do I need before I can write?  Ideally, I need not to be drained from my day job.  Often I really have to push myself to write, even if I don’t feel like it.  Sometimes a glass of wine will get me in the zone, but other times I just end up in a gloriously deep nap. 

My creativity is triggered by color, scent, and the overall vibe of my writing space.  This vibe has to do with making an imaginative connection with eras gone by.  I have a few time periods that I’m drawn to, which include Renaissance and Victorian England.  1920s America is fascinating to me as well.  I tend to like artists like Waterhouse, who capture this feel.  It is easy for me to be transported back in time or just to be inspired by the energy of my favorite second hand antique furniture and fabrics. 

I love to surround myself with velvet drapery and artwork with rich colors such as reds and golds.  My favorite place to sit is on my down feather stuffed mint green velvet couch.  I also enjoy having old prints of angels, Madonnas, and Greek mythology strategically hung on the walls with gilded frames and dramatic matting. 

Creative Spaces Guest Post by Theresa Braun

Theresa Braun finds inspiration from the vibe of her writing space.

Then, there are always the scented candles (preferably vanilla, sage, or sandalwood aromas), incense, and gentle lighting coming from dainty ornate lamps.  Of course it also helps to keep the clutter at bay, so I find myself having to keep on top of junk mail, dishes piling in the sink, and laundry that needs to be folded, as well as any minor disasters that have been created by the cats.  I find that it is impossible to ignore these things, as it disturbs the creative energy.   

An added bonus is when one of the cats decides to cuddle up while I’m typing away at my laptop.  It’s like he’s there for moral and creative support, and a bit of warmth.  The last touch is that there is always something on like the television or some uplifting music.  It’s probably a throw back to my days of studying in high school and college.  My brain is used to some background noise. 

I also need to get out into a different atmosphere every once in awhile.  That entails going to a local pub or to a coffee shop with my laptop.  The only downside is sometimes I get distracted by conversation.  It helps to go somewhere no one knows me. 

If I’m really lucky, I manage to write on vacation while in Europe.  Right now I’m working on a novel set in Renaissance England and I’ll be spending a couple of days in London over my spring break.  I would love to make it back during the summer so I could write on location, if you will.  When unable to travel, I’ll look at my Shakespeare bust and ask him to send me some writing mojo. 

In between finding time to work on the next novel, I’ve been whipping up some blog posts to keep myself writing.  My latest mantra:  “I will write a blog post this week.”  I figure if I can’t manage to write in large chunks right now, a blog post is still keeping the creativity flowing.  I also hope that it amuses readers to boot. 

Creative Spaces Guest Post by Theresa BraunBio: Theresa Braun was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and has carried some of that hardiness with her to South Florida where she currently resides.  An English teacher and adjunct college professor for over thirteen years, she continues to share her enthusiasm for literary arts and writing with her students.  In her spare time, she enjoys delving into her own creative writing, painting, photography and even bouts of ghost hunting.  Perhaps growing up in a haunted house in Winona, Minnesota is to blame.  Traveling as often as possible is one of her passions.  In fact, her world meanderings are often backdrops for her work.  She has started to blog about her online dating experience and some of her everyday adventures.  Visit Theresa’s website at: http://www.theresabraun.com

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Creative Spaces — Guest Post by Christy Birmingham

03/04 By 16 Comments

Creative Spaces

Ah yes, creativity.

I have come a long way since I played with my dolls as a young girl as I taught them what I had learned that day at school.

Today, I am proud to call myself a freelance writer and an entrepreneur. While many of my days I sit on my black leather chair and fill word documents with sentences, I know I am a part of something so much greater. I am a part of a creative process.

At the end of an hour, I can see complete paragraphs on my screen. Add another half hour or two later in the day and I have a new poem to publish on my website. I write down information and ideas that have potential to teach and inspire readers. What a powerful, fantastic role I have as a writer! Best of all, I love what I do.

I start with a blank page most days. I fill the page with words that I string and tie up with a ribbon of punctuation. I proofread, edit, and publish. I do all of this, often, from the desk in my home office.

My writing space is a place where I work on technical articles as well as crafting poems. My desk is the hub of activity in my home (it is a home, not a house). I read emails there, write posts for Poetic Parfait, and conduct research for articles.

My writing area has many unique items. It is likely unique from other writers because of the thank-you cards and notes from clients that I display on my desk. The notes remind me of work I have done that people enjoyed. I read the notes to motivate me when I need a push to start my next assignment or reminder of how far I have come.

Creative Spaces -- Guest Post by Christy Birmingham

Christy Birmingham meeting deadlines and creating poetry in her space

You see, this space was not always a work area. I had office jobs and did well, but a dark period brought turbulence to my life. My work soon became about healing myself, rather than working in an office. After soul searching (that soul was hiding for some time), I made the decision to write as my career. I do not look back, but instead look to my desk and gaze out the side window in my home office.

When I turn my head to the right, I see out a large window into the backyard. I see trees, birds, and a neighborhood cat saunters by at least once a day. I often look outside as I write a poem, gaining inspiration from blue sky or the sound of the rain against the windowpane.

I always have a few articles on the go. I consistently have deadlines to meet and searches to conduct for the next client. I write posts for my site Poetic Parfait, where I share poetry and music. I write articles for several sites and private clients, as well. 

I often have a cup of tea nearby. My readers know I love chocolate! I often have a chocolate bar or bag of M&Ms nearby. As I reach for the M&Ms, I often get a surge of inspiration – so having chocolate on hand is crucial! 

The chocolates and tea are comfort for me as I constantly strive to strengthen my writing techniques and me. I am beginning work on a poetry book. I hope to share that soon. Publishing a book has been a dream for so long and I would love to make it come true. We can accomplish a lot when we are positive and have focus.

What is my advice for writers? Write, even when you do not feel like it. Set time aside every day to write at least a few hundred words. If only ten of those words are worth publishing for your article, poem, or short story, at least you can end the day with a sense of accomplishment. In addition, the more you write, the more refined your writing style becomes. I truly believe that and follow that strategy. 

Bio: Christy Birmingham is an avid freelance writer and blogger who lives in British Columbia, Canada. She writes extensively about social media and technology. Christy is also the proud owner of Poetic Parfait. The site is the playground for poetry, music, and smiles. New faces are always welcome! http://poeticparfait.com/

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

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.

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