Working Space

I write better when I’m not at home. Of course, “home” for me is a strange thing right now. I’ve spent seven weeks in Bondi Junction and tomorrow I move to Darlinghurst for a short time. Nothing feels terribly homely here.

But it’s not like I have a study in any of these places, so surrounded by the distraction of the TV (I’m currently rewatching seminal ’90s cartoon, Daria) and the kitchen (I love to cook, especially when I should be writing) and the rest of my abode (being unemployed still, it’s acceptable to have a long bath at 2pm for no good reason).

So I thought Fuck this and I went to one of those creative workspace things. Christ, I write hard there. Arrive at 9.30am and write until at least 4pm. Twenty minutes break for lunch. The odd five minutes here and there for a coffee (or, in my case a green tea).

Wonderful.

There’s nothing to distract me apart from other people.

‘Hi,’ says strange young man. ‘My name’s Dave. I’m a small business consult. What do you do?’

‘I’m a writer.’

Dave’s instantly annoyed I’m not running a small business. ‘A writer?’

‘Uh huh.’

‘I help small businesses grow and give them advice on how they can improve.’

‘Oh.’

‘Do you have a business card?’

‘No.’

Dave moves to another desk and doesn’t speak to me again. I’m cool with that. After all, I’m in the middle of writing this scene in which a guy’s Samsung S7 explodes and kills his girlfriend’s chihuahua. This is serious businsss. None of your wishy-washy business advice crap.

So yeah. I’ve found a nice place to work. My productivity has massively increased. This is good news for me. Bad news for my enemies. Mind you, I don’t think I have many enemies in the world of literature (yet). Everyone seems a little more passive than they did when I was going music. Shit, in those days everyone hated each other. Brutal times.

What environments do you write best in?

Any tips you want to share?

Let me know.