Here at
Storyslingers we thought we'd share a few of our own Creative Spaces on the blog.
Shaftesbury-based writer Becky Bye shares Old Wardour Castle:
Many people
say that there is a time and a place for writing, and for me, no place is
better than Old Wardour Castle, near Tisbury in Wiltshire. A romantic ruin set
in the Wiltshire landscape, the castle is a serene and beautiful spot in which
my notebook has been filled on numerous occasions.
There is
something intriguing and mysterious about writing in a location where so much
history has taken place, and that I myself become part of history in those few
moments; scribbling profusely in my notepad under a tree, or sat at the bottom
of a spiral staircase. The mood of the castle shifts from day to day, which has
a significant impact on my writing; some days the castle reveals its secrets,
most of which I was never expecting to find, and which weave their way into my
stories. On other days, the castle looks less inviting than usual, blending
into the grey backdrop of a dreary English afternoon, and on such occasions the
grandeur of the castle simply adds a unique elegance to my thoughts and ideas.
No matter how bad a particular bout of writers block may be, there is no level
of inspiration which cannot be released after just a few moments at Wardour
Castle.
Dorchester-based author Gail Aldwin shares her study
desktop:
I like writing somewhere quiet
but I'm not sure what the best writing environment is, as I haven't
experimented with this. Normally I work in the family study, a small, untidy
room with a window which has a fabulous view over the water meadows to the
north of Dorchester.
I share the space with everyone
except my daughter who prefers doing homework in her bedroom. My husband and son play games on the desktop
and I write on a notebook. Sometimes we
sit alongside each other but that's only possible when the headphones are in
use. If I can't stand the distraction, I relocate to the kitchen table and work
there.
Writer-in-denial Stephen Pellow talks about inner
creative spaces:
Writing about something that
doesn’t exist is something people who write do all the time. Being asked to
write about something that probably should exist but doesn’t is proving to be
problematic, though.
I don’t have a writing space. No nooks, crannies or cubby holes. No ready room. No secret garden. No stark whites, or muted earth tones and certainly nothing airy and spacious overlooking sweeping vistas. I write in my head, and with all the useless trivia I have retained over the years there’s certainly no room for a desk in there. Sometimes that’s all I need, but it mostly comes down to having pen and paper and me, and that’s it. If I were to sit in a room at a desk and try and surround myself with inspiration – when I’m put against a clock, pressured even slightly to produce something – nothing happens. If I have to do it, I rarely want to.
So I always make sure I have ready access to a notepad and pen (or pencil) because I never know when, or where, I’m going to be pinched by creativeness!
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We will be posting more Creative Spaces over the coming weeks, so do check back for updates.
