Setting Up a Space for Writing

Because you deserve it.

Hi! I’m Shaunta Grimes. I’m the author of How to Plot a Book in Three Hours.

Every week, I publish a newsletter called The Book-a-Year Project where I take a deep dive into a single writing topic every week. This post is a reprint from a past edition of the newsletter. Usually, this is for paid Substack subscribers, but once a month, I publish a post free for everyone. The link above will give you a free month of The Book-a-Year Project.

If you enjoy this post, it would mean everything to me if you’d consider restocking it.

Let’s get into it! This week, we’re looking at how to set up space for your writing.

The image above is Louisa May Alcott’s writing desk at Orchard House, where she wrote Little Women. This past spring, my daughter, my brother, and I went to Boston—and I couldn’t be there without visiting. There was just no way.

Little Women is my favorite book. I’ve read it dozens of times. And Alcott has always been a huge inspiration to me.

When I was escorted into this little room, I actually teared up. I could imaging Louisa sitting there, working away on her stories.

Right now I live in a big, rambling Victorian house. She’s my dream house, really. Literally, the kind of house I’ve always dreamed of. In my mind, I call her Hyperbole House. I had to move across the country to somewhere that actually has Victorian homes and a cost of living that let me afford to live in one–but here we are.

It actually feels like I manifested Hyperbole House, even though that’s not something I really believe in much.

My bedroom actually has a little narrow wall between two windows, just like this, and I promise someday I’m going to figure out how to install a desk like this there.

I’m also an empty nester–all of my kids are grown-up and have flown the coop.

Well, mostly. My youngest is in college and comes home on breaks. But most of the time, it’s my husband and I in this big old house. And his mother, who lives with us.

So, I have several writing spaces. My main work area in the living room. My bed. A little office space off the kitchen. Our spare room, which I’ve adopted as my dopamine room–all the things that give me a boost of dopamine are in there.

I rotate between them. Sometimes I’ll go months on end writing sitting up in my bed. No particular reason–it just feels right. Then I’ll decide I really need to be less isolated, so I’ll move to the living room. I have a table in front of my favorite chair, but I often just sit cross-legged with my iPad in my lap. Then I’ll decide that I need something more professional and I’ll move into the little kitchen-adjacent office for a while. I love writing in my dopamine room, but it’s not really a workable solution right now because I have coonhound and that’s his space at the moment.

Before I lived in this house, I lived in lots of places.

Small places, mostly. Never anything the size of Hyperbole House. Not remotely. For a couple of years, the five of us lived in a tiny two-bedroom apartment. Years before that, my two older kids and I lived in a series of miniscule spaces.

The one thing all those places had in common was that I had a space where I wrote.

A desk along a wall in the dining room. Often, my bed. I really don’t know what it is that makes me like to write in bed so much, but I do. Sometimes my sofa. Often, I wrote away from home–at a library or a restaurant. Or, in a camp chair at the park during my youngest daughter’s soccer practice.

What I’m saying is that you don’t have to have an ideal, perfect writing space. You just need to have a space. This week, I’m going to walk through some ideas for creating yours.

Choosing a Space

The first step is to spend some time thinking about you and how you work.

I’m both easily bored and I don’t like feeling like I have to do something. When I feel that way, I immediately start to resent the work. That means that I almost never want to have a dedicated desk. It’s too–stationary.

My writing space is portable. I can pick it up and move it wherever, even outside my house.

You might feel the same way. Portable all the way. Or maybe you really, really need a solid space that’s dedicated to your writing. Somewhere that lets your brain know it’s work time. Figure that out and you’re a good deal of the way there.

Next, take a look around. Even someone who does best with a portable space needs a home base. Even if it’s just a spot to store your gear when you’re not writing.

Where is your space? Here are a few questions to ask yourself.

• What is your method of writing? For instance, I write on an iPad–so very mobile. And I’m an analog girl, so I always have a notebook going. Maybe you write on a desktop or on your phone or on a laptop.

• What conditions do you need to do your best work? I’ve never done well with quiet. I need some chaos around me. What about you? How about light level? What kind of chair is best? Do you need a lot of space?

• What are your choices? It can be helpful to list the possibilities. One thing to remember is that this is your writing space. If you are comfortable writing somewhere, don’t worry about whether anyone else would agree with you. (Remember, I like to write sitting up in bed.)

Once you’ve got your space, think about what you need to do your best work. Think about things like noise level, comfort, temperature, access to food or facilities, materials, and anything that helps you get into your creative flow.

Just brainstorm on that for a while. Here’s what I came up with for myself:

I like flexibility in my workspace. So, as I said, a portable space, rather than a stationary space.

I do not do well in very quiet spaces. It makes me feel like I’m coming out of my skin. I need some noise, in particular. But it can’t just be any noise. Of all the things, this is the one that I’m most particular about. I like to hear what’s going on, but I can’t stand for anyone to actually talk to me. It pulls me out of my creative flow and that drives me nuts. I can’t listen to music, but I like the TV on–but only tuned to something I know very well. Law and Order: SUV is a go-to. If it’s something new to me, I’ll stop to watch.

I’m not too picky with temperature. I don’t like to be cold, but I don’t mind dressing warm. Being too hot can make things hard, but I grew up in Las Vegas. I know how to cool things down. I need enough light of course, but I’m not overly picky about it. I like natural light the best. I don’t particularly like being in a closed up space. If I can face a window, that’s ideal, but it’s not an absolute requirement.

I am, however, picky about supplies. Especially paper. The one thing I’ll splurge on when I can is paper. A good notebook is everything. My favorite is the B6 Stalogy. I’ll tell you a secret though–Target sells composition books for 50 cents that are kind of fantastic. The paper is thin and coated, which means that it doesn’t bleed and it has a great crinkle (if you know, you know. There’s a sound good paper makes.) Just make sure the composition book is made in Vietnam.

I actually found out recently why cheap notebooks made in Vietnam have such good paper. It’s because children in Vietnam still use dip pens in school. So the paper made there is designed for fountain pens. Anywhere else, that kind of paper comes at a premium.

So—look for notebooks made in Vietnam if you want inexpensive, but high quality.

I can handwrite with anything, but I do like particular pens and pencils. For pens, a little bit of a thicker line. Blue ink, not black. Juicy ink. A slightly thick barrel that feels balanced in my hand. This is my favorite right now. It comes with black ink, but I bought blue refills.

As far as pencils go, once I started using Blackwings, there was no turning back. I love them. Again, it’s a splurge, but a $34 box will last me a year.

I’m so easily distracted–I do best when I have easy access to food, drinks, and a bathroom.

Conversely, I need some distractions, too. My phone usually works for this. If I’m working for more than a few minutes, I need to have something else going on. It’s hard to put this part into words, but I’ll try.

I have severe ADHD. I cannot monotask. When I try, my brain goes into some kind of revolt. So, I have to do something to occupy the rest of my brain so that the creative part can work in peace.

This is relatively hard to accommodate when I’m writing, of course, because I need both hands to type. It often involves writing for a few minutes, watching a TikTok video on my phone, writing for a few more minutes, crocheting a row, writing for a few more minutes–you get the idea.

Something like the Pomodoro method.

When I’m not writing in the house, my phone is distraction enough. Once I get into the flow, my brain is occupied enough–I stop needing distraction. So, that’s good.

That’s about it. Choose your space. Make sure you have what you need. Voila.

Setting up a Portable Work Space

As I said, I don’t like to write in the same space every day. Or at least, not everyday forever. I’ll work in one place for a while, then move to a different place. Or I’ll work outside of the house. All of that means that I have a portable work space.

I’ll tell you about mine. If you need one, hopefully it will inspire you.

It starts with a bag. I like a tote. This is the one I use. It’s fantastic. You might prefer a laptop bag or a briefcase. It doesn’t matter. Just pick something that will hold all your things and that makes you happy. If you like the bag, you’ll be more likely to use it.

I have a little bag with good pens, a pencil or two, and a sharpener. Also sticky notes and a highlighter. And my everyday notebook–I use one notebook for everything. This doesn’t actually live in my writing bag, since I use it all the time.

I keep my writer binder in my writing bag. It’s a binder that holds all the info about my current WIP. I have a class on Domestika that teaches how to make one. You can check that out here.

I have a charging cord and a portable battery in my bag.

If I’m going to write somewhere other than my current regular place, I can throw my iPad into my bag and go pretty easily. If I’m going somewhere that doesn’t have food, I usually bring a snack and something to drink, too. All those soccer practice writing sessions come to mind.

Take some time to really think it through. What kind of space promotes creativity for you? What do you need to do your best work? It’s more important to work with yourself than to think about an ‘ideal’ space that doesn’t really connect with your needs.

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