From all the comments on Monday’s post, it’s clear we all have a lot to say about stuff and the getting rid of it. If you’re interested in exploring some concrete steps for de-cluttering, I downloaded a free e-book from The Minimalists website with lots of good suggestions.
The point of getting rid of stuff is to create more space and that got me thinking about space in a writing life, which can mean lots of different things.
My first bag of stuff, headed out
You certainly need a space to physically write, but compared to other art forms, this is a low bar. No studio necessary, though it’s nice. Stephen King wrote in the laundry room. Before our daughter moved away to college and I took over her bedroom, I wrote in a chair in our bedroom. Or on the couch in our kitchen. At the coffee shop. If you are determined enough, you can write anywhere.
What seems more important as a writer is space in a more ephemeral sense. You need space in your head and space in your life. You need moments to day daydream. You need to be able to sit and stare out the window. Maybe long trips in the car alone with no podcasts or radio to distract you.
You need space to drift out of your own life. To imagine something different. Other possibilities. Or the space to freeze this one small moment and examine it very closely.
Writers (and maybe all artists) live two lives. There’s the one where we look like normal people, going about our day. Chatting with the barista. Buying our groceries. Walking to the library.
But if you’re lucky, there’s another life going on, in that other space. There you’re hearing conversations between people who don’t exist. You’re moving words around and around until your head spins. You’re peeling away the surface of the real world, your fingernails dirty and ragged with the effort, to see what’s underneath.
It’s a weird, hybrid life, but I’ll take it.
Thanks for reading and for all your comments! If you haven’t preordered your paperback copy of She/He/They/Me, coming out in June, do it now and get a discount! Barnes and Nobles is offering 25% all preorders with the code PREORDER25. Go check it out, here.
(Just a note on the outgoing bags - do you know there's a Re-use store at the Proving Ground that takes items and offers them for FREE to anyone who wants or needs them? Drive straight through to the fork in the road, you'll see it on the right.)
Yes, space! Space is what I need!
(Just a note on the outgoing bags - do you know there's a Re-use store at the Proving Ground that takes items and offers them for FREE to anyone who wants or needs them? Drive straight through to the fork in the road, you'll see it on the right.)
Oh, that's awesome to know! Thanks, Stephanie!