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Any creative person will tell you they need periods of isolation to develop and grow their ideas. They need a creative writing space and don’t want a battle to get it.
I can’t quantify the thinking hours needed to write a novel. In my case they are many, and I imagine the same applies to others.
Artist, actor, writer, or inventor. All creative writing requires a special place. A place we can call our own where we can’t be disturbed. And the best way to overcome a battle for your creative writing space is to find a secluded place within the home or build one, as I did.
What is Creative Writing Space?
Creative thinking requires distancing oneself from others and the physical world for short or extended periods. A Creative writer can’t switch on and off as a factory worker clocks in and out. Time evaporates into empty space as we float in a vacuum and open up to let the muse in.
Be it a novel, short stories, creative nonfiction, a biography of a rock star, memoir, or just a personal essay. Where would you be without a writing workshop and the muse to unleash your imagination. Writers need space in order to create and express their thoughts.
Creative writing is an art and we have to find seclusion to create original work. Sometimes for short periods and sometimes longer. If you have ever taken a walk alone in the woods to clear your mind or solve a problem, you will know what I mean.
But a creative writing space is more than a walk. It is like a secret garden, a place where no one else goes, or is allowed. It is sacrosanct, laid out by you for you, exactly as you want it to be, where you can’t be disturbed. And only you can create it.
Are Creative Writing Space Battles like Star Wars?
Well, it certainly feels like it sometimes, or at least something similar.
Creatives are more sensitive to space invaders than most others are.
In fact, many humans cannot bear to be alone. They need to be constantly around others, they are often extroverts whose space you cannot invade. They imagine others are the same and so they don’t respect anyone’s privacy because they don’t need privacy themselves. It is anathema to them and indeed, they often abhor it.
Creatives on the other hand love to be alone more than most, and they can be seen as shy, reclusive and even anti-social. It is an important trait, because creatives have to be alone a lot to create anything meaningful.
Space Invaders
Invading the space of another is not the reverse of having your own space invaded. When you do it you are actually invading your own space as much as the other person’s.
Having an office in the lounge/diner/kitchen may seem like a good idea, but it is selfish and self-defeating. People know you need quiet and so they have to tip-toe around you to avoid a battle. I want a coffee, but I dare not put the kettle on because next to the vacuum cleaner it’s the noisiest appliance in the house. You get my drift.
If you work hard in that environment, you may be able to create something, write words on a page, and even produce a saleable book. But it will probably take twice as long as it should, will be lacking in substance and feeling, and may well upset other people in the process.
Here’s how I Succumbed and Developed my Creative Writing Space
If you have another room, get out of the lounge. If you don’t, then invest some money and build an extension. Or as I did, convert the sala at the back of the house, which I built last year.
“Outdoor patio extensions, called a sala In Thailand, are usually simple with low material cost. A patio extension roof welded onto an existing structure, with a concrete floor and speedy young workmen, the build time should be under a week.” You may like this post Patio Extension – Sala
I took the existing structure and turned it into a study/office/studio, whatever you like to call it. The sala, an extension at the back of the house, with a tiled roof, open on three sides, has been pushed further down the garden.
How We Built It
We used Superblocks, which are larger and much lighter than concrete blocks. They are produced from cement, sand, lime and an expansion agent, cured under high pressure and temperature stream in autoclaves for more than 14 hours.
Not only are they lightweight, but they are also easy to cut with a handsaw and provide much needed insulation from the tropical heat.
Instead of spending money on a drop ceiling, we insulated the cement tile roof with SCG Reflective Insulation and boarded it over with wood chipboard and clear gloss polyurethane. It keeps the blazing sun at bay and looks great.
What You Need
Be selfish. Plan exactly what you want, then adjust it to your budget. Overspend if you think it will help improve your work and make you happier. Don’t skimp unless there is no option.
A butcher can’t work with a knife and fork. So, get the tools you need.
Solitude is the best tool, and it is free.
Final Thoughts
The sala was a great addition, but converted to my study/office it is even better. Eleven square metres of total privacy, plus a smaller sala of eight square metres. Nineteen square metres in all.
We still have views West down the garden to the lamyai orchard and North across the valley of farms to the mountains and jungle bordering Myanmar and Thailand.
An added benefit is, I have made another person deliriously happy, and I expect to increase my productivity and the quality of my work at least twofold. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the quality of our lives improves too. If so, it will have been worth the three weeks it took to build and, in the process, incurring the wrath of the bank manager! That’s a little joke.
The total cost was approximately $3,000. A good investment in my opinion. And there are no more creative writing space battles to fight.
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Updated: May 2024