When my daughter is playing intensely, she always closes the door to her bedroom. It’s a way of ensuring no one breaks the spell of her imagination. Studies of successful writers show that they, too, need to close the door to enter what psychologist Charlotte Doyle calls the ‘writing realm’.
even if all you do is step across the hall, entering your writing realm is the departure lounge for the journey to the world of the imagination
Grace Paley always rented a hotel room at a critical point in her work. Julie Myerson, Helen Dunmore and Barbara Trapido all ‘go to work’ in a separate building. Pat Barker and Cathy Kelly plod all the way up to the attic.
There is something symbolic about the transition to the place where you are alone with your work. Even if all you do is step across the hall, entering your writing realm is a rite of passage, a departure lounge for the journey to the world of the imagination.
Psychologist Livia Pohlman found that male writers were six times more likely than female writers to have created a sacrosanct ‘room of their own’ and uninterrupted working time. A Mslexia survey in 2002 also revealed that many women writers have problems establishing a writing realm. It seems we have particular difficulty staking out a territory. But we have to try. My solution is to get up early and secure some solitary space that way. I haven’t had a lock fitted – yet – but I have made one of those things hotels supply to hang on the doorknob to show when I’m prepared to be interrupted.
If you’re lucky enough to have a room of your own, spend some time dedicating it to your creativity. Remove anything not connected with your writing – piles of ironing, dismantled bicycles, old Monopoly games. Now do something to make it feel special: sort out its feng shui; buy yourself flowers; set up an aromatherapy burner. If all you have is the corner of a room, demarcate its boundaries carefully – a rug is useful for this – and make sure everyone knows that this is your space.
If setting up a physical space is impossible, consider creating a portable writing realm. Novelist Maggie Gee worked for years in the British Library. J K Rowling famously used her local café. Poet Andrew Motion uses long-distance train journeys.
Consider carefully what you need to make this work. Are you a notebook person, or will you need a laptop? Yes, I know they’re expensive, but if this is the only way you’ll get your writing done, isn’t it a nettle worth grasping? Pencil or keyboard, buy the best you can afford. Prove to yourself that you value your writing.
You’ll need a special bag for your writing things. Opening the bag can then become part of the ritual of entering your writing realm. If music helps you concentrate, use earphones to tune the world out. If silence is your thing, invest in some earplugs. The act of putting them in is another symbolic step over the threshold into your writing realm.
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