tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196270920705499712.post1099252702151610220..comments2023-04-30T15:55:35.969+01:00Comments on Susan Elliot Wright: A room of one's own - where do you write?Susan Elliot Wrighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07330077083045451606noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196270920705499712.post-46587839897223055962012-01-21T11:01:16.324+00:002012-01-21T11:01:16.324+00:00It sounds like a really good way to work, Michelle...It sounds like a really good way to work, Michelle. I think getting up early is great for creativity - I don't do it often, but when I do, I always have good results and swear I'll do it more often. I really should try writing with a pencil again, too. As for social media sites, well, they definitely run off with your time!Susan Elliot Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07330077083045451606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196270920705499712.post-15500346796017804752012-01-21T10:49:19.074+00:002012-01-21T10:49:19.074+00:00Being a full time carer pretty much ties me to the...Being a full time carer pretty much ties me to the house. I have a lap top that I only seem to use for the social media sites when I'm in the sitting room with my daughter watching TV and a desk top and printer in my dining room/office. I also use them for editing. To me, there is nothing like sitting down (anywhere) with a sharpened pencil and A4 lined notebook and scribbling away. I do tend to get up around 5 a.m. because I revel in the silence and the few hours of uninterrupted writing it gives me. When I have something of substance I take great pleasure in typing it onto my computer where I can then play around with it and knock it into some kind of shape.<br /><br />I have also had to discipline myself on the social media sites because they rob me of my time. I now try and turn them off when I'm writing.Michelle Dalyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05346673946123350689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196270920705499712.post-3406972409273392882012-01-17T13:52:11.966+00:002012-01-17T13:52:11.966+00:00Wow! That's really impressive (writing a short...Wow! That's really impressive (writing a short story in that time AND having the kids ready early every day). Sometimes those little snatches of time work better, don't they? And Twitter - wonderful though it is - is the downfall of many of us.Susan Elliot Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07330077083045451606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196270920705499712.post-29779177682586698672012-01-17T13:30:10.194+00:002012-01-17T13:30:10.194+00:00I've got a full time job and two children unde...I've got a full time job and two children under 10 so time is a real problem - and like everyone I find the internet so distracting. If I can get a link to Twitter I'm gone. What I've found useful though is tapping into my natural habit to be ready too early for everything. I usually find that I have half an hour every morning between getting the children ready for school and setting off - so I let them play while I get out my notebook and scribble. There isn't enough time to put the computer on so that distraction isn't there - and there is a set time limit which gives it urgency. I've written whole short stories in that half hour and then used the following day's slot to proof and re-write!Sarah Miller Waltershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05805232899121144274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196270920705499712.post-31298786217310462112012-01-15T22:58:08.716+00:002012-01-15T22:58:08.716+00:00What an interesting comment! I love the idea of th...What an interesting comment! I love the idea of the laptop mimicking the warmth of the cat! I think you're right about there being good days and bad days - I suppose there are some days when nothing can help us to find the right words. I do occasionally write in bed, but must try it more often - especially when it's as cold as it is right now!Susan Elliot Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07330077083045451606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196270920705499712.post-14389647946659881472012-01-15T19:21:17.933+00:002012-01-15T19:21:17.933+00:00When I first began writing, I had a clean desk in ...When I first began writing, I had a clean desk in a corner where, a cat curled on my lap, I'd write for hours, the inspiration rarely leaving me. But ever since I grew older (grew up, really) and moved from that house, desks have always swallowed the Muse rather than inspired it. These days, I am tempted to put a little writing nook together by a window and a favorite bookshelf (desk and chair and nothing else). I have a preschooler and a full-time job, so writing always takes place after my son is in bed, yet oddly enough, what seems to work best for me now is my bed, where I sit with my back against the wall and my laptop on my lap. On weekends when my son is occupied by other things, I work in a chair in a room with nothing near me, and sometimes simply on the floor. Somehow, the presence of my laptop seems to help; perhaps its warmth and weight mimics the cat from so many years ago. Like any writer, I have good and bad days, but this seems to be the natural way I write.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196270920705499712.post-35582468745072128572012-01-15T17:07:18.125+00:002012-01-15T17:07:18.125+00:00Ah yes, the eavesdropping - always good! I only ha...Ah yes, the eavesdropping - always good! I only have the OH at home, and he's fairly undemanding so I can't really blame him. But it's the other distractions, isn't it? I too have been known to indulge in some uncharacteristic bathroom cleaning (or plant dusting, kettle descaling etc) But no-one expects you clean the loo in Starbucks!Susan Elliot Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07330077083045451606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196270920705499712.post-8289445845102287632012-01-15T17:02:09.284+00:002012-01-15T17:02:09.284+00:00The best laid plans...It's such a shame to not...The best laid plans...It's such a shame to not be able to use the room properly, isn't it? The cold is an issue for me too. I sit very near the radiator, which means left side warm, right side freezing. I can often be found wearing a dressing gown over my clothes, two pairs of socks, a hat and fingerless gloves. Foxy, huh?Susan Elliot Wrighthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07330077083045451606noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196270920705499712.post-42628707871405534922012-01-15T16:33:20.321+00:002012-01-15T16:33:20.321+00:00I love working in cafes. It's far too embarras...I love working in cafes. It's far too embarrassing to be caught on twitter when you should be writing, which helps; plus there's always the possibility of some entertaining eavesdropping that might find its way into your piece.<br /><br />At home - I live alone, so there's no demands to cook tea or take anyone to football. But it's amazing how urgent cleaning the bathroom can be when there is writing that won't write itself. However - I am lucky - I have a lovely room with doors that open into the garden, to write in when the weather is balmy, and in the winter I cuddle up by my fire. So I seem to have the best of all worlds!JOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03127111575563904349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5196270920705499712.post-48608857915792950152012-01-15T16:15:09.524+00:002012-01-15T16:15:09.524+00:00I attempted to turn my spare room into a writing r...I attempted to turn my spare room into a writing room. I bought a lovely desk, and put a cork board for notes and planning and whatnot up on the wall beside it. Then I tried actually writing in it. The result was backache (from sitting upright for too long) and cold hands (the room faces north and has two outside walls). I decamped to the sofa in our cosy, south-facing living room and have written there ever since!Emma Passhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18209194238119830841noreply@blogger.com