Writer (or reader) in residence

[Patti (baconater)]

A conversation in RJ'S Askew's most entertaining author thread has made me wonder, where do you most like to perform the most private of acts in public?

No. I mean reading or writing.

A pub, cafe, park? Somewhere else?

Describe it. Make us feel as though we're there with you.

[Simon (Highwayman)]

Where?.... The pub

Description.... Big place with drunk people in

Make You feel like you are there.... I've just poured beer over your shoes.

:-)

[Elle]

There is a place in Belfast called the Botanic gardens and right as you walk in via the University entrance, there is a bench that looks out onto the greenery and you can see the old Victorian greenhouse. It's under some ridiculously amazing trees also.

I like to read there, although the best of times I get caught just staring at it and I don't get much done ;)

[Jay-me (Janet)]

You want to know where I read?
Anywhere - I'm well known for being unsociable, I'll sit reading rather than watch TV.
If there is somewhere to sit I will be there with book open. (or Kindle switched on mostly nowadays)
The most heard comment about me is that I have my nose in a book -again ;)

Family get together - I'm the one in the corner - reading as usual.
On the train - I'm the one in the corner - reading as usual.
Visiting sister & them watching Emmerdale - I'm the one in the corner - reading as usual.

[Karen]

My fave place for reading is in the conservatory - it's on the north side of the house as it was intended as a fernery, but there is a hexagonal (?) section that gets some late morning sun filtered through the trees, into the evening. Sit on the cushioned sofa, feet up on the seat... preferably with a glass of chilled Chenin Blanc on the table.

[Tim]

I like writing in cafes. Mostly because the tables are better.

[Karen]

I'd be hopeless in a cafe, Tim - and a lot heavier (especially if they serve carrot cake) - as I'd 'people-watch' the whole time (and eavesdrop of course) - but it would be great for getting story ideas. Have you thought of being a writer in residence in your local caff?

[Elle]

Karen wrote: "My fave place for reading is in the conservatory - it's on the north side of the house as it was intended as a fernery, but there is a hexagonal (?) section that gets some late morning sun filtered..."

That is my favourite place in the house to read :) I love our conservatory. Especially during the winter or when it's raining!

[Lindsay]

There is a place in the Christchurch Botanical gardens, It is a bit of a walk as you have to wind in to it, there is no cut through, but the benefit being that not a lot of people know about it. there is a little clearing that is beside a pond that has a footbridge going across it, lots of water lillies growing and smells sweet and fragrant throughout the spring and summer, I used to love going in there and laying on the grass in the sun, surrounded on all sides by big tall trees, lots of birds singing, it was really peaceful. I did all my studying for my exams at school there.

[Gingerlily - The Full Wild]

That sounds idyllic Lindsay. We have a Botanic Garden in Dublin, but I've only been there a couple of times. I remember sitting reading in St. Stephen's Green in Dublin one evening, and I was so involved in the story I got locked in when they closed the park.

[Karen]

Gingerlily (or Cyberlily..) wrote: "That sounds idyllic Lindsay. We have a Botanic Garden in Dublin, but I've only been there a couple of times. I remember sitting reading in St. Stephen's Green in Dublin one evening, and I was so in..."

See, now that's the start of a story...
(trying to blot out images of you scrambling up over the iron gates. Am sure you were very dignified)

[Gingerlily - The Full Wild]

Ah, well there was another couple got locked in as well, but they were much taller than me and did manage to scramble over the gates. I wandered around like a lost soul for a while, trying to find somewhere that looked climable. I was even thinking that I might be stuck there all night!

[Lindsay]

It really was idyllic.

Not sure if it is still there, apparently the Gardens have had a large makeover in the wake of the earthquake.

[Philip (sarah)]

I read mostly in bed or in the sun lounge.This room has a high ceiling and huge windows on three sides beneath which are shelves. The other wall has a 15 feet stretch of 5' high bookshelves,there is a teal coloured corner sofa that wraps around the room (it is far too big really but it looked smaller in the shop). I joke that it makes the space look like a caravan.
The room looks out onto the garden and there are window boxes and hanging baskets at each of the windows. Looking out the windows I enjoy far reaching views of hills and dales with only one house in the distance.
It is very quiet and the only sounds are the trickle of the beck, the resident wood pigeon and wind chimes.

Then a mad puppy flys through the french doors,covered in mud,soaking wet, launches herself at me and the piece is shattered! Love it!

[Andrew]

I write in pubs. Just about any pub will do, but this year I've centred on three local establishments: The Red Lion, The Bridge and The Sun Inn, all in Barnes.

I find on a quiet evening, the background buzz of chatter in a pub, and assorted beery noises, is pitched about perfectly to blot out anything distracting, and I can put my head down and write. In a black notebook, with either a sharp pencil or a fine-point gel ink pen (0.5mm or less tip).

I've always had small handwriting, and it looks best with fine lines. It's also easier to read when it comes to typing up later. The colour of the notebook is less important, but a plain cover works better in case I put it in beer.

My current writing notebook is a paper dummy acquired from the job before last - a blank mock-up for a small hardback novel. It's nearly finished now, and contains handwritten drafts of two Something Nice stories, various notes and excerpts from my YA novel in progress, and three short stories from the potential next book.

It's also full of scribbled notes from when I used to do a spot of French tutoring, and from business meetings when I forget to take a pad.

I've preferred writing in pubs for about ten years now, to the point where I have to occasionally remind people that it really is my best way of getting work done - people tend to think I'm either joking or that it's just an affectation.

I tried writing in cafes, but I just don't like coffee as much as I like beer, and beer helps dumb down the inner censor in those first drafts. I recently discovered the inner censor has its place, after I got the dose wrong and wrote some things about apricot jam that inspired the 'ear-licking thread' on this very forum. But for every final paragraph of drunken nonsense, there's usually at least 1,000 words of something usable from each session.

There's also that slightly self-conscious feeling you get when you write in cafes. Writing in a cafe is perceived as a writerly thing to do - I guard quite savagely against anything I think encourages pretension in my work. Write in a cafe and you might like to think people are impressed by your air of mystique. Write in a pub and you know they all think you're an utter w**ker.

I'd love to be a writer in residence in one of my favourite pubs, maybe getting the odd free ale to fuel my scribbling sessions, but I share one of the three with the rather more notable Mr Roger McGough. The other two play occasional host to Gyles Brandreth and Alistair McGowan. Outgunned.

So I make do with the occasional free pint sneaked out to me in the garden by my young barmaid friend, instead. And that is the best thing about writing in pubs.

[Vanessa (aka Dumbo)]

I usually read in bed because I don't like noisy distractions when I read.

I don't mind reading in the coastal path park in Folkestone when it's quiet. I sit by the amphitheatre which overlooks the sea. It seems like paradise on a sunny day with just the waves making a noise...ooh and sometimes the seagulls can be a bit annoying...but it really is magical...I've got everything...really beautiful gardens, sun and sea...heaven.

[Patti (baconater)]

Simon (Highwayman) wrote: "Where?.... The pub

Description.... Big place with drunk people in

Make You feel like you are there.... I've just poured beer over your shoes.

:-)"

You've forgotten the fragrance of wet dog. :)

Loving this thread. So glad I thought to open it. :)

[Gingerlily - The Full Wild]

So nobody cares that i am still stuck in the park with all the gates locked?

[Kath]

I have a reclining seat on the end of the sofa where I like to read. Total floating relaxation! However, when I let the chickens out for a fossick around in their fenced bit of the garden, I sometimes sit on a plastic garden chair out there so I can watch them (being naughty) between chapters.

[Gingerlily - The Full Wild]

I read lying on the sofa propped up on loads of cushions. Surrounded by all my books, DVDs and CDs, and all my other stuff. I live mostly in that room and it gets very messy. Its like a nest really. I write at my computer, which is in the same room, but I have a desk and a chair for that.

[Geoff (G. Robbins) (merda constat variat altitudo)]

Gingerlily (or Cyberlily..) wrote: "So nobody cares that i am still stuck in the park with all the gates locked?"

Well, you've got Internet connectivity, what are you moaning about?

[Patti (baconater)]

I just assumed she got out eventually.

Her mole-like attributes came on handy, I expect.

[Gingerlily - The Full Wild]

Geoff (G. Robbins) (The noisy passionfruit) wrote: "Gingerlily (or Cyberlily..) wrote: "So nobody cares that i am still stuck in the park with all the gates locked?"

Well, you've got Internet connectivity, what are you moaning about?"

Its a bit wet out there, and the drying facilities are not the best.

[Gingerlily - The Full Wild]

Patti (Free Bird) wrote: "I just assumed she got out eventually.

Her mole-like attributes came on handy, I expect."

I didn't know I had any of those...

In the end, I found a park maintenance person, who unlocked the gate for me. Bit of an anti-climax really...

[R.J.]

Salim's cafe, close to St.Albans station, is a writing hot spot for me, usually around 10.00-10.30 a.m.

If I can get started with something I'll continue with it on the train into London, usually the 11.03 Bedford-Brighton, usually in the front carriage, ideally the seat immediately behind the driver's compartment.

So most of my stuff is literally written at 90 mph. The motion of the train is definitely good for a poet, this one at least.

This creative methodology is also one reason I am stuck writing 14 liners -- one a day, every working day -- because there is just enough time to: 1) get stoked in Salim's; 2) nail the first draft by about West Hampstead; 3) write out the final draft before arriving in St.Pancras. I then read it over in my head and try to work out if it is worth recording. Not all are. What looks cute on paper will often fails the ultimate test. I usually know by London Bridge where I get off the writing train. Maybe every third write makes it. Some are far too, erm, erotic or disturbing for civil eyes.

I should put a collection together and call it BETWEEN THE SAINTS or some such as the stuff is all written between St.Albans to St.Pancras. Arf, arf. If it ever happens, it will have been conceived here, now, on goodreads.

Come to think of it all my writing is done in public, with people around, and usually with movement too. I'd never realised that!

[Vanessa (aka Dumbo)]

R.J. wrote: "Salim's cafe, close to St.Albans station, is a writing hot spot for me, usually around 10.00-10.30 a.m.

If I can get started with something I'll continue with it on the train into London, usually ..."

If you've got some erotic ones going spare I wouldn't mind giving them a read...probably wouldn't read them on a crowded train...then yet again maybe I would...I'm funny like that...

[Tim]

Karen wrote: "I'd be hopeless in a cafe, Tim - and a lot heavier (especially if they serve carrot cake) - as I'd 'people-watch' the whole time (and eavesdrop of course) - but it would be great for getting story ..."

Yes, the cake is a disadvantage, but hopefully the walk into town and back compensates to some extent.

There are no decent pubs within walking distance, them all being those awful "sports bars", and since I won't drink if I'm driving, there doesn't seem to be much point.

I have written on trains. Usually it's starts with me staring out the windo and just mulling over a scene. Then I'll grab my notebook and jot down ideas so I don't forget them later. I do get ideas in the car too, but they generally don't survive the journey since I have no way to preserve them.

[Will]

I'm with Andrew. There's a nice pub a few miles away from me, besides a even nicer river. On sunny days I can sit in the garden close to the running water...

On wet days I stay in my office, also close to the running water. Although normally down the windows in the latter case.

[Patti (baconater)]

Just bumping up random old threads in case anyone wants to add anything.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

I do most of my reading in the cat room - rocking chair, music and a cat, bliss. If we get any sun, then the sun lounger is also nice but I get disturbed more. I do read anywhere I get a chance though, even supermarket queues!

[Andrew]

I'm still writing in pubs, though almost entirely in The Bridge now, as 18 months ago I moved to live virtually next door.

They've occasionally got one of my books on display behind the bar now, as well, though there's a new management team since Christmas, and we're still getting to know each other...

[Tim]

Been a long time since my last "cake walk"!

[Lisa]

I try and read in bed, but inevitably fall asleep, so I am ashamed to admit if I have to get through a book quickly I run myself a lovely bubble bath and soak for a while. In the past I have been known to drop really boring books in the water if they send me to sleep. Then they take ages to dry out before I drop them in the charity bin or the rubbish (depends if the glue holds). Fortunately this doesn't happen very often, or with anything above three stars. :D

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Lisa wrote: "I try and read in bed, but inevitably fall asleep, so I am ashamed to admit if I have to get through a book quickly I run myself a lovely bubble bath and soak for a while. In the past I have been k..."

Forgot about reading in the bath, another one of my favourite places. I've never dropped a book in the bath, but bookmarks do, so I've always read my kindle in the bath.

[Anita]

Don't drop your kindle in the bath ! I like to read in a pub if we go out for lunch on holiday and the only good reason to go to the Doctors is that I get waiting time to read which is something I don't do much of during the day.

[Lisa]

Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I try and read in bed, but inevitably fall asleep, so I am ashamed to admit if I have to get through a book quickly I run myself a lovely bubble bath and soak for a while. In the past ..."

I wouldn't dare read my Kindle in the bath Desley. I'm far too clumsy I'm afraid.

[Lisa]

Anita wrote: "Don't drop your kindle in the bath ! I like to read in a pub if we go out for lunch on holiday and the only good reason to go to the Doctors is that I get waiting time to read which is something I ..."

I usually take mine to the dentist. :)

[Patti (baconater)]

Talk to Jud about taking your kindle into the bath.

[Jim]

I like to read in coffee shops but have been known to doze off. (Ah the soporific effect of caffeine, much underrated ;-)

Otherwise it's sitting in an arm chair next to a real fire

[Tim]

If there's a real fire in my house, I'm getting out quick and phoning the fire brigade!

[Jim]

Tim wrote: "If there's a real fire in my house, I'm getting out quick and phoning the fire brigade!"

Some of us have a fine array of multi-fuel heating systems ;-)

[Anita]

An open fire always sends me to sleep but before I doze off I love reading in a comfy chair with the crackle of a fire and Emma happily tired, asleep at my feet all finished off with a nice malt to sip slowly. My idea of heaven!

[Lisa]

Anita wrote: "An open fire always sends me to sleep but before I doze off I love reading in a comfy chair with the crackle of a fire and Emma happily tired, asleep at my feet all finished off with a nice malt to..."

That sounds lovely. I would only add a cat on my lap.

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Lisa wrote: "Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I try and read in bed, but inevitably fall asleep, so I am ashamed to admit if I have to get through a book quickly I run myself a lovely bubble bath and ..."

I've never dropped a book in the bath, kindle is 4 now and still going

[Desley (Cat fosterer)]

Lisa wrote: "Desley (Cat fosterer) wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I try and read in bed, but inevitably fall asleep, so I am ashamed to admit if I have to get through a book quickly I run myself a lovely bubble bath and ..."

I've never dropped a book in the bath, kindle is 4 now and still going

[Tim]

Must be 35 years since I last dozed in front of a "proper" fire . . .