In the Spirit of the Season

Christmas Workspace

I have always found it interesting to see the spaces writers work in. Often I find we prefer to nest in a study, or an office, or at least at a desk. Sometimes it is scattered in notes, references, books and manuscripts, or sometimes it is meticulously neat and surrounded by pin boards full of plot-spiders, time lines and character lists.

Seeing where people create their worlds gives a whole new level of reality to the fiction and, I must confess, I enjoy nosing.

Mervyn says Merry Christmas!

And so I thought should share. My writing space is my living room. It comes equppied with comfy sofa, surround-sound hi-fi and a skull-and-crossbones slanket, as well as the occasional cat or two. It may not be very professional, but it is relaxed and comfortable and I always find it a great place to work. Plus, there’s the added bonus I can inhabit it in my pyjamas without repercussion.

I think it’s important to have a space you designate for your writing. Whether you find it more effective to approach it like you would a job, equipped with a desk, a waste pepper basket, staplers and a wall calendar, or whether, like me, you like it to be somewhere you’re at home and you have ultimate control over the mood, it needs to be right. Having such a space is all part of Making It Happen – a vital element of productivity. No one will do your writing for you. Make time. Make space.

Phoebe likes the fire

I thought now would be a particularly nice time to share my creative space as it is currently decorated for the season. I have the tree, the tinsel, oh and, as my other half is into his sound and lighting equipment (the benefits of this to someone who enjoys music and mood lighting are endless) I also have my obligatory Christmas laser.

I have mentioned before how the real world, though admittedly not often a place I like to set my stories, is a an infinite treasure-trove of inspiration: you have only to think of the weather, the season, a news story or how you react to something to create the first grains of a narrative dune, or some fleecy padding to add to an existing narrative blanket.

Apologies for the cheesey metaphors, but it is the season for such things after all.

Even my cat Marley is Christmassy! Although he prefers I work on more constructive pursuits…like stroking him

And on that note, it is still not too late to enter Anneque G. Malchien‘s e-book Chistmas Raffle! It is free ot enter, simply comment on this post or tweet me @JexShinigami and ask for a ticket and I will assign you a unique ticket number. The raffle will be drawn Monday 23rd Dec and the winner shall recieve a virtual stack of e-books, including Tuned to a Dead Channel, sci-fi anthology featuring yours truly. Details of other titles included available in my original post.

Also, if you are in the mood for festive fiction check out my two Christmas short stories: Bleak Midwinter and Hong Kong 1990.

Merry Christmas, everyone. May St Nick bring you a bid dollop of current-studded inspiration to go with your plethora of creative puddings!

I’ll stop now.

It’s good for your writing space to contain everyday essentials…like a Christmas laser.