My Reading Problem: J B McCauley – How to Create a Great Work Area for Inspiration @MccauleyJay

How to Create a Great Work Area for Inspiration

For me, I don’t hold much sway with that Feng Shui stuff. For me writing must be done in your space. Your place. Don’t compromise. Don’t let anyone encroach on your empire. This is after all where you do your work after all. It is not an area for people to decorate with their bits and pieces of flotsam and jetsam. When it comes to how you work that is very personal thing. Because I am also a DJ and like dabbling with audio production my desk is vast and rambling however I set aside a little corner of that world purely for writing. So amongst the clutter and the cables, I have a little bit of peace.

Most importantly for me though it must be comfortable. I sometimes write up to six hours a day so my chair just has to be ergonomically designed. It has to hug my back and support my neck but not be so luxurious that I fall asleep. Secondly I need to be able to shut the door. There is nothing worse than being interrupted when you are mid-flow. Some people don’t understand this and think you are being rude. I go one step further sometimes and stick a do not disturb sign on the door.

Thirdly, despite being so in touch with my social media responsibilities, I turn them all off. The cell phone too. Don’t expect irreverent Facebook or Twitter comments whilst I am thumping the keys. It just doesn’t happen. If I am concentrating on other things then it shows in my writing.

Really this extends to nearly everything associated with the writing process. Don’t get distracted. I can procrastinate with the best of them. I think every writer is capable of that. I think I have attempted chores never previously started by man whilst in the midst of a deadline. All because I had something to challenge me other than a paragraph.

Lastly I write with a musical accompaniment but I try to match the music to the piece I am writing. Music can really affect the words that flutter onto the page. There is no point listening to some hapless pop tune whilst writing a piece that is dark and foreboding. It just doesn’t help. To accomplish this I try to plain out what I am writing that day and match the music accordingly.

Because music plays such an important part in my writing process I have to have the sound system to match. Consequently my music can be heard in the next town as clear as a bell. People know when I am writing because the music is cranking!

At the end of the day though everyone writes differently but I would say feeling comfortable in that writing space is essential. If you feel that you write at your best whilst on top of Mount Everest being stalked by a Yeti, I say climb that peak. Just remember to take some batteries for the lap top.