Darn you, Carrie Bradshaw!

So today is Blog Me MAYbe's "May I tell you something about writing?" day, and you know what?

I blame Sex and the City.

Not Carrie's brownstone, but aren't they amazing?
Image courtesy of Robert Linder, rgbstock.com

For many years, mostly because of the show's ever-so-talented (yet fictional) Carrie Bradshaw, I had the romantic notion that being a writer would mean I'd sit in my cute brownstone apartment in New York City every day, typing away on my laptop while gazing out the window at the lovely and inspiring views.

The reality? Yeah, it's not so much like that.

Every morning, I stumble across a floor littered with toys, making my way to a tiny table wedged into the corner of my only slightly bigger office/guest room. There I type away at an oldish eMachine that takes forever to warm up, and if I turn my head to the left, I'm treated not to a lovely and inspiring view of the City but am instead privileged to gaze upon my neighbor's junk pile, and beyond that, the picturesque side of her house.

Carrie, I have a feeling we're not in the City anymore.

Writers can write anywhere, of course, but I've always craved my own writing space, a place that belongs only to me. And who knows? I may well get one someday, but in the meantime, I enjoy learning about where other writers work. What are their writing spaces like? Do they like to sit at desks cluttered with knickknacks and family pictures, or do they work best with clear desks and minimal distractions? Maybe they enjoy writing in libraries or cafés--or perhaps they prefer to write while sitting in bed, their notes spread out around them on the bedspread and a cup of tea waiting on a nearby table.

Last summer I read a book that described just these things: The Writer's Desk by Jill Krementz. In her book, Krementz, the wife of the late Kurt Vonnegut, showcases photographs of fifty-six authors in their writing spaces, among them Stephen King, John Irving, and Joyce Carol Oates. And I learned that while some of them do indeed write in spaces comparable to Carrie Bradshaw's, others, like Toni Morrison, who prefers to write while sitting on her living room sofa, don't have dedicated writing spaces at all. (I posted a brief review of this book here.)

If you're interested in seeing where writers do their work, check out this site. A Twitter friend directed me to it about a year ago, and I spent half the day marveling at the pictures. (Fair warning if you decide to click the link: you may not get anything else done!)


So tell me, what's your writing space like?

Stand

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I'd read The Writer's Desk by Jill Krementz, a book of photographs of authors in their writing environments. As I was going through the book, I was surprised to learn that several of the authors prefer (or preferred, in the case of the writers who have died since the book was published) to stand while writing, leaning against lecterns or high tables and usually utilizing a notebook and a pen or pencil. Although I do tend to pace the room and read out loud as I edit, except for jotting down notes or bits of dialogue I've never written while standing; I've always sat at a desk or table or maybe on the couch, my computer in front of me or a notebook in my lap.

I'm curious now. How do you write? Do you ever stand, or do you find that you're most comfortable sitting (or even lying) down?

More on The Writer's Desk

I've been reading and enjoying The Writer's Desk by Jill Krementz. Fifty-six authors--including Stephen King, John Irving, Joyce Carol Oates, and Toni Morrison--are featured within its pages, each pictured working in his or her writing space.

I find it incredibly interesting to see how other writers work. There are some who seem to work best in tiny, cluttered rooms, knickknacks and pictures and books scattered around them. Others seem to take a minimalist approach, preferring the order of clean desks and clear walls. Some use computers; others use typewriters or handwrite their manuscripts. The late John Updike used different writing instruments and surfaces for different tasks: an oak desk and a manual Olivetti for answering letters; a steel desk, where he wrote the beginnings of his projects by hand; and a white, Formica-topped desk where he typed up his projects. Some of the featured writers don't have dedicated writing spaces. Toni Morrison, for example, writes in a notebook while sitting on a sofa in the living room.

Even more interesting than the photos, though, are the writer's words that accompany them. Many of the authors give advice; some talk about how they started writing; others discuss their writing spaces and writing processes, some writing for hours each day, some holding themselves to only a few hundred words or a couple of pages. Still others talk about rituals they have, things they feel they must do before they're able to begin writing.

Through her photos, Krementz has provided a rare and intimate glimpse into the lives of people whose profession is often one of solitude. The Writer's Desk is an informative, entertaining, and beautifully constructed book.

Authors at work

In my journeys around the Internet today, I was excited to stumble upon reviews for The Writer's Desk, a book of photos of authors at work by Jill Krementz. This book was published nearly fifteen years ago, and although I'd placed it on my list of books I wanted to read, I'd somehow managed to overlook it. When I saw the reviews today, I felt compelled to check my library's Web site and was thrilled to find that the book is on the shelf of one of the local branches. Guess where I'll be going tomorrow?

Have you read this book? What did you think?