Sue MacKay asks - Where Do Authors Write?

Reading - My Forbidden Face by Latifa
Listening to - Adele (again)

Where do authors write? People often say I must find loads of inspiration living in the Sounds. They seem to have this idea that I sit gazing at the view all day; listening to the birds and generally dreaming up wonderful storylines. No mention on how those words hit the computer screen.

Truth? Shut me in a cardboard box and I'd still manage to produce my stories. Because they're all in my head - yes, it's weird in my skull at times. Ask my DB. His favourite question - 'I see you're out here with me but will your brain be joining us?' This is on the days I'm immersed in a story and can't let it go.

Fortunately I do have an office all to myself, and it's the only room in the house that doesn't have the stunning view shown here. It's a zone that from the moment I enter I am a writer and I begin to focus on the current work. But it's also full of books so I can be easy side-tracked. And it's where Boss the dog used to hide when the weed-eater was going. And in mid winter it's a freezing room so I move to the dining room table where the fire is blazing.

But is it essential to have an office? I don't think so. Many authors write wonderful books from all sorts of places. A corner of the kitchen table, a cubby hole in the lounge with the TV blaring and the kids arguing, the bedroom, a share of the computer desk. JK Rowling wrote in a cafe. If that's not distracting I don't know what is.

Does this mean I can't write anywhere else? No. Thankfully I haven't had to use a cardboard box yet, but here in Marlborough I belong to a group of dedicated writers who regularly have the use of a cottage in the middle of the vineyards. We go for a weekend and write our butts off. Everyone finds they get a lot done because they've gone with the mindset that they're free of family commitments and they're there to work. We also get to talk writing with writers, and eat whatever we want, and of course have a wine together. And yes, we appreciate the setting but don't let it distract us.

As you can see I'm not the tidiest person when I'm working so being out in the office is a plus. And since I live an hour from town and work at home it would be really easy to become a slob. So I put on tidy clothes and go to work. Out the back door, through the garage and into my den - all of ten metres from the lounge. The plus side being the coffee isn't far away.

So where do you write? Or go for your crafts? Or to read?
Tell me and I'll put your name in a draw for a copy of The Dangers of Dating Your Boss.