My Workspace Blog Hop

Forgive my disappearance the last couple of days. My internet’s been mostly useless, and then went off entirely. The service providers have apparently been on some sort of strike since the end of August, so I guess I’m lucky to have it back on at all, but it’s still slower than anything, and intermittently going off. Not impressed. Please have patience with me catching up with everyone, and comments, and blogs. In the meantime….

I was tagged by the very talented poet Pamela Beckford in the Work Space Blog Hop, which means I get to reveal my scribbling spot to the world, and then tag others to do the same.

My scribbling corner. It’s a bit of a mishmash furniture-wise, but I love it. When we left Zimbabwe last year, we packed what we could squeeze into the car – mainly the feathered horde, and apart from one thing, that was that. We walked out of the door of a massive house full of antiques and the bits and pieces that build up over years and years, with no looking back and no regrets, to start totally from scratch again here in South Africa. A friend brought that little old writing desk (to the left of the printers) down for me in the boot of his car though. It’s the only piece of furniture I didn’t want to part with, even though it’s not a valuable thing. I’ve always used it to store pens, notebooks, and general writerly bits, as well as all my painting stuff. I’d rather have burnt it than left it behind to be honest. It’s oddly become part of me – part of who I am and what I do.

I like elbow room when I work, although at the end of most days my desk is piled up with bits of research, editing, and presents from my lovely little assistants. Part of Jelly and Button’s day jobs include ripping up the newspapers under all their food playgrounds and bringing them over to insert in my hair, ear, or nut stash.

I find it easy to get to work the minute I park my rear in front of my desk, and I’m grateful to have a place all of my own to do all the bits that I do. I think that having a particular spot of your own to write is pretty much essential, and I have a lot of respect for authors who manage to get their work done when they don’t. You should have all the tools of your trade no matter what job you have, and that includes the writerly trade. Having all the files, cabinets, and notebooks that you need (and in my case about a hundred gel pens – love those editing jewels!), is also really helpful.

I don’t understand why it would be necessary to feel guilt spending money on the tools of your trade, even if you’re only starting out. I find my spot comforting, familiar, and conducive to inspiration. Some scribblers seem reluctant to insist on a space purely for them to do their work in, and reluctant to “waste” cash on anything that they need to put in it to make their workdays easier – and I reckon a lot of this stems from whoever shares their homes seeing what they do as some sort of vain, time wasting frippery, which is not nice, and best ignored if possible. Claim your space I reckon, even if it’s as small as Ursula K Leguin’s.

Image Credit: ScienceBlogs

And now I’m tagging some wonderful people, cream of the crop authors, every one.

Sally Cronin
Teagan Geneviene
Sherri Matthews
Olga Nunez Miret
Kevin Cooper
Mary Clark