Now the sun is shining and spring is sprung here in the South of England, I spent yesterday afternoon trying to wrestle my garden into something close to being neat.
My focus? The plastic garden table [ no varnish, no warping, no sanding = big bonus] and chairs where I can sit out and enjoy the sunshine – and spread out the contents of my bookie box file.
One of my goals in 2010 is to enjoy the process and pack more JOY into my day.
The garden does that for me. Okay, yes, I can get distracted by the birdlife and the fact that there are 1000 and one jobs still to be done to get the garden into control, but my garden is my writer’s retreat space.
Every time I go there and smile I remind myself that this is why I escaped the Dilbert office cube.
Yes, writing is hard work. But it is a whole lot easier when the inspiration comes from my own quiet space in my own garden.
Kathryn Haueisen Cashen has a great article in Writers Digest on this topic of creating your own Mini Writer’s Retreat. It does not have to be elaborate or expensive. A coffeeshop. A hotel lobby. Any public space really.
Now I have to think about my mobile office kit.
Where is YOUR special space? Shed? Kitchen table? Beach house overlooking the ocean?