Where do you do your best thinking?

Where do you do your best thinking?

I live in a house with five other people, so sometimes it can be hard to get the quiet space I need to write. I don’t have an office (yet … but I will when Bear or Monkey finally make the move), so I make do with a desk in what house designers might call a family room. It faces the kitchen, but is separated by a half-wall.

With one teenager at school, and the other three (technically Bear is no longer a teen, being 20)  in and out for their part-time jobs, getting quiet time is even more challenged. Just when I get in the zone, someone says, ‘Hey, it’s two-minute noodle time’ or ‘Let’s see how much noise I can make while making cheese grills’.

So, I have these chunky headphones, and I put them on and play my writing mix: an eclectic mix of songs from Angus & Julia Stone, Of Monsters and Men, and more. Of course, that’s a signal to call out from the kitchen (‘Have we got any more bread?’, ‘Do we have any other flavoured noodles?’), or decide to have a heart-to-heart after days of sullen silence.

Sometimes the writing flows anyway. I’m in the zone. Other times, I take a thinking break. Hang out the washing (I was doing that when I came up with the kiss scene in The Point of Love), go for a walk (see photos below), or escape to the bedroom (or coffee shop if Blue Eyes is snoring away) with a notebook.

Hopefully, my little office will become a reality sooner rather than later (I love you, Bear and Monkey) and then I can hang a ‘Do not disturb’ sign and shut the door.

Last weekend, Blue Eyes and I both needed a bit of thinking space, so we took ourselves off to some local wetlands. I came back inspired and ready to write the next chapter of the novel. And that’s exactly what I did!