The Importance of a Creative Space

Inspiration can hit in the strangest places, in the woods walking the dog, sitting at a red light, or in the shower right as you are trying to remember if you have already washed your hair or not. But there are also places where it seems a struggle to access your creative muse. Places with too much noise, or not enough of it. By noise, I mean all kinds. Auditory, visual, even mental and emotional noise. I can sit down to write, but if I have access to my work email, or my to-do list, or a stack of clutter on my desk, all I will do is sit. The writing won't come. Of course, the same thing happens if there is not enough noise. If it is too quiet of a space or too sterile of an environment, the same block comes and I can't write.

L'Engle, Madeleine. The Crosswicks Journal. Harper & Row, 1972.

Many authors have spoken or written about their writing habits and the importance of creating a physical space that inspires you. One of my favorite examples comes from Madeleine L'Engle in the first of her Crosswicks Journals, A Circle of Quiet. There she writes about her private study, which she called 'the tower', a room over the garage of her old New England farmhouse. It was here where she wrote, and was rejected, and wrote some more, and finally became the successful author we all love and adore. On her desk she had a white porcelain laughing Buddha, she describes this little knick-knack as being an icon. Something that reminded her to not take things too seriously. Even when she was frustrated and doubting herself as a writer, this little laughing god reminded her that success was not the reason she wrote. The things in our creative spaces can do more than inspire, they can also serve to ground us, encourage us, and remind us why we create in the first place.

My home office where I work all day, is also where I tend to write. It can be difficult to turn off "work" mode and transition to "write" mode when both activities share the same space. I have my desk set up with an extra-wide monitor with two HDMI ports and a bluetooth keyboard and mouse. This lets me, by pushing just a couple of buttons, change my workstation from my work computer, to my personal one. But this in itself isn't enough of a change to get my creative juices flowing. So when the cats remind me it is dinner time, about five-o-clock, I wrap up my workday or try to. I put away my work notes and clear any to-do items that can wait until the next day. After dinner, if I'm able, I try to write for a couple of hours. I switch my workstation over to my personal computer and arrange my workspace. I light a candle, my favorite "smells like a library" sent, and pull out a few items that I like, as well as creative inspiration or mood boards for whichever project I might be working on. Now my space feels more like Create rather than Work.

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When setting up your creative space, remember you don't need an entire room, just a place to sit and be inspired. Surround yourself with things that help motivate, ground and renew you. Things that remind you of favorite memories or people, things that feed your soul. One of the things I keep handy are books on writing when I need to be reminded or encouraged that every writer feels like <insert range of emotions> sometimes. Also, on my desk is a little laughing Buddha, given to me by a friend, that reminds me to not take life so seriously, and of Madeline.