Gabi Coatsworth is everything you might imagine a British blogger to be: plucky in the face of calamity; charmingly irreverent, and; possessed of a Sahara-dry wit. She writes The Bipolar Project, a column that appears in Good Men Project about her efforts to keep sane while managing her two sons’ mental illness. You can learn more about her on her personal blog, bio page, and MouseMuse Productions, an organization providing arts and educational programming. Check out her Blogger Space below.
This is the desk where I’m supposed to write. The idea is that it’s calm, with no distractions, and it’s meant to be uncluttered. The only company I have is the person I see in the mirror, and she doesn’t talk much. As you can see, I haven’t quite got a grip on the clutter thing. I almost cleared my desk for this photo, but felt it might make my writer friends feel envious of my incredible organizational skills, and we wouldn’t want that.
To the left of the desk there’s the other place where I’m supposed to write – it’s one of those treadmills that’s meant to help you exercise while you’re working. It goes extremely slowly, and I bet it would work really well for someone who can touch type. I can’t. They never taught us back in my English school. I think the idea was that if we couldn’t type, we’d never work as secretaries, and would aim higher. (For younger readers: a secretary was a person who helped someone more important in an office by typing, filing, making appointments and the coffee. Quaint, huh?) So, I can’t walk and type at the same time. But I can talk on the phone and walk, so it’s not a total loss.
Where I really write is at the dining room table. It’s got room for me to make a mess, but the fact that it’s the dining room table means that I have to clear it occasionally. Plus, I’m in a lighter room, and I work best with plenty of light, I’ve no idea why.
It’s not too far from the kitchen, so I can get a cup of green tea when inspiration flags, or when I absolutely must have something to eat. (Excuse me while I fetch a packet of Trader Joe’s almonds.)
That’s better. All that remains is for me to tell you that no matter where I work, I have my little sign with me: It reads: Quiet please: novel in progress. It’s not worked yet, but I’m signing up with NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) to try and write a 50,000 word novel in November. It’s madness, of course, but all I can do is fail. And in order to even have a chance at failing, I’ll have to write everywhere.
Blogger Space is a series devoted to showcasing the spaces bloggers choose to write. Want to show off your digs? Send a photo of your space, a blurb about why you write where you do, and a link to your blog to [email protected].
And right now, of course, I’m writing on my kitchen counter top….
That’s so interesting because I can only write at my desk!
Would you please remove your computer from the kitchen counter. I’m trying to make your lunch (pheasant under glass) and keep this place tidy so that the cleaning lady will have nothing to do when she comes next week.
Your Husband
Look – if you want to make pheasant under glass *again* you’ll just have to make it on my desk…
(Sorry about this, Pauline…)
Interesting! I had never really thought about it. And I can’t believe how jealous I got about the extremely slow treadmill designed to help you exercise while you’re working. I try to email from the gym these days, sometimes with near-disastorous results.
I also have a story about how I wrote an entire book at hockey rinks all around New England. In fact, I’ll be writing at both a hockey rink and a football stadium today.
Thanks for this. And hey! Invite me over for pheasant under glass some time!
Lisa
I think you two should go out for lunch. P.
NaNoWriMo = 50,000 words in 30 days or 1,667 words per day (Okay, 1,666.66666… words per day). Good lord! Good luck!
NaNoWriMo: Write a novel in 1 month?
That’s torn it. I was planning to do the NaNoWriMo without telling anyone, so I could disgrace myself without losing face. Shows what happens when you start typing in the wrong place (like the kitchen counter…) Now I’ll have to post updates on my writing blog to keep me honest.
Woohoo! Love to hear of others tackling NaNo. You definitely need to learn to write anywhere and everywhere to make it work, but it’s one of my favorite buckle-down-and-write experiences. Feel free to find me on the site–I’ll be taking it on this year along with my two jobs, grad school and wedding planning (I’ve seen women 9 months pregnant churn out their 50,000 words, and try to get extra done early so they can take their delivery day “off.” I have no excuse for being busy)/ My NaNo name is Jessica_the_Overachiever.
Comaored wuith you, I should find NaNoWriMo a breeze…wedding plans?