Our Interest Groups Online 'Read, Write and Discuss' and ‘Write Compelling Non Fiction’ groups meet regularly on zoom. Some group members have shared their favourite spots to read and write.
Joe - My Home Office
My office is where I spend most of my time reading and writing. This environment brings out my creative side, surrounded by books and technology.
It's not the tidiest of environments but it's mine, and it allows me to think of memories which can turn into future adventures. It really is my haven of knowledge in exploring articles to read, search for interesting places to visit as well as providing me with a safe haven.
My office provides a place for my wife and dog to be comfortable and cosy, spending hours watching TV or comforting the dog who loves to chill out and be in our company.
Helen - The shed at the bottom of the Garden
The shed doesn’t look at its best does it? I’ll clear the path first then I’ll turn the heaters on inside - they’re really for keeping greenhouses warm but they work quite well considering. I’m supposed to be helping Bryan edit his latest book about coal mining but I have to say I’m not really up for it since I know there’ll be a lot of him repeating himself, so I’ll have to spill a lot of red ink, so to speak.
But before I start I’ll need to clear the table and tidy up a bit - I’ve been repotting a cheese plant which had a mind of its own, but it’s back in the living room now thank goodness. Those photos Bryan sent had better be numbered properly too, I shan’t be able to make head nor tail of it if he’s jumbled them up ... still he’s not a bad sort, our Bryan.
Vivien - Cosy Kitchen Corner
For years, the cosy corner of my kitchen has been where I have liked to think, read and write. My rocking chair is as close to the radiator as you can get. I am a softie when it comes to feeling the cold.
My Northern family say it must be my Southern roots. The kitchen used to be the warmest room in the house since the floor standing boiler emitted heat. This was an excellent place for drying clothes. When the very old boiler breathed its last, and was replaced by an efficient new one in an upstairs bedroom, my kitchen was bereft. It was already full of freestanding pieces of furniture that sloped with the tilt of my Edwardian property but now had a gaping hole where the boiler used to be. Now, if I am up earlier than my husband I snuggle into my blanket in the front lounge, clutching a hot water bottle, book or iPad in place and am as content as can be.
Sheila - My Desk
Where and how I write has changed over the past few years. In the past I felt that I had to write by hand in a notebook. I have a pile of around twenty notebooks containing various pieces of writing. I would take my notebook up to bed with me, or write during a train journey, on the beach or in a café. The possibilities were endless.
However, when lockdown began, everything changed and I began to write directly onto the screen. There is usually a pot of strong coffee at my elbow and if I am feeling kind to myself some chocolate or a biscuit or two.
When I am lying in bed, I think about the next topic and gather together some ideas for my next piece of writing. Then, when I sit down before the screen, I am ready and it just all flows out.
Jane - Silence
I tend to mull things over, so it all starts in my head, maybe on a walk and then the computer beckons. The study scene needs setting. Silence: no phones. Desk clear. Coffee to the left. Mouse to the right. Some deep breaths. Open up Word and I type and type.
No editing; all flow until what has brewed is out. I come up for air, press Save and then Print. I find the meaning is changed when on a ‘real’ page (call me old fashioned, but that’s the way it is). A breather, more coffee and with tricolour pen, ruler under each line. I mark it: red delete, blue query, green check. Back to the screen and corrections, Save and Print. Re-read, asking myself if I’ve fulfilled the brief, what would a reader think, what do I think? If we are in agreement, then I am unanimous; job done.
Back to Interest Groups Online
Ann - Fonts!
I know you'll find this very weird, but where I write is not important to me as much as which typeface I use; it has to be Arial. It's a sans serif so easy to see and read.
Apart from that I generally can write anywhere I can sit down. I don't need a table or a laptop. For Sandra's groups, I write on my phone whilst listening and occasionally watching tv. If I get stuck or need a think, I have a go at a sudoku or scrabble puzzle, then get back to it when the route becomes clear.
So, as long as I have a subject or an inkling of an idea, I start anywhere in the story. It may be the middle, end or beginning. But as I move along somehow it all starts to rearrange itself into some type of order. Then it's a matter of editing it to make sense.