The Great Escape

Where do you write? We're lucky in our work that really all you need is a pad and pen, or a laptop to work. When I painted, it wasn't so easy. Large canvases destined for vast white corporate walls take up an uncomfortable amount of space if your studio is at home - it was around the time I managed to paint half the cat ultramarine, gild her paws and deliver a canvas with an interesting 'textural' finish (aka cat hair) that I decided enough was enough with that career.

A Room of One's Own ... that's the dream. A writer friend's husband has just designed a library for her next to his studio - isn't that the most romantic thing you've ever heard? With British houses often pushed for space, and the need to be out of yelling distance to work in peace ('Muuuummmmyyyy ..!'), a lot of people are turning to the garden. Personally, I have started drooling over Amdega catalogues the way I used to over Vogue. Sheds are no longer the preserve of men - though there is a long literary tradition: Roald Dahl, Hemingway to name just two. One mother after my own heart has taken a sudden interest in the potting shed - there she keeps notebook, Roberts radio, and a bottle of wine. Whether it is a romantic library, a shed, or a corner of the basement or bedroom - stake out your territory and declare your purpose. Stephen King said in 'On Writing' that you 'write a novel ... catching it word by word.' You need somewhere safe to keep them while you are busy with the rest of your life. You need somewhere that is your own.