My study

Posted by Simon on 15th, June 2009 at 15:22:08

Another question has descended upon my inbox, as it were.

I've talked a little in my blog about when I write, now I'm asked about where.

The answer is just about anywhere. I suspect it's to do with my journalist's background, but I can write in almost any place without being distracted by what's going on around me.  One of my favourites is on the train.  I like watching the countryside trundling past, getting ideas from the scenery and the places I pass.  And one of the richest sources of characterisation is my fellow travellers.  A few minutes looking around can always give me an idea for some quirks to give to characters, the sort of tiny human traits that can make a person rise from the paper and feel properly alive.

For much the same reason I also like to sit in pubs, jotting down ideas. Thus I can categorically deny I'm only there for the beer!

But my most common workplace is my study.  It's in the loft of the house, has a lovely skylight which looks out over Exeter, and is great for prompting creativity.  The room itself is just a chair and a desk on which I put my laptop, a stereo system for a little background music, my stack of vinyl from my younger days (yes, I am that old fashioned), plies of cuttings and sheets of papers filled with ideas, and a soft chair, to sit and think.

It's such a pleasant space I have been known to fall asleep up there...

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