The Myth of Perfect Writing Locations by Erica Wright

I’ve never seen our neighborhood owl, but I can hear him from time to time, often when I least expect him. It can be the middle of the day and suddenly he starts calling, announcing himself to the community. It’s such a peaceful sound to come from an apex predator, and I wonder what this raptor hunts so far from any forest.

The rats who live in the alley behind my home? They’re big enough to give him a run for his money. This bird has captured my imagination because he’s so out of place in this densely populated city. He’s impressive because he’s made the most of his situation. Somehow he survives amidst the busy sidewalks and traffic jams. Majesty among the pedestrian. I’m a city person, but I grew up in the country, and I know that sometimes nature is so beautiful that it grabs you by the throat. An explosion of stars above your head. The smell of honeysuckle growing along a hedgerow. Does he miss his woods, I wonder. 

Every writer I know—myself included—has fantasized about the perfect writing location. For me, that looks like a little cabin off some rocky shore in Maine. Never mind that I’ve never been to Maine. It looks nice in the photographs. For others, perhaps a warmer beach or a mountain retreat or a Parisian studio. In partnership with The Paris Review, the Standard Hotel in Manhattan offers a three-week residency, and doesn’t that sound dreamy?

Furthermore, we know that residencies can be bastions of productivity. There’s no denying that, but personally I’ve never been able to swing one with my teaching schedule. Parents and caregivers have even more obstacles (though some places such as the Marble House Project offer family-friendly programs). The trick, I think, is to accept being an owl in the city sometimes. To make the most out of what you’ve got.

My last apartment was too small for a real desk, so I bought a folding one with a matching stool that slid under my couch. I could only sit for about an hour before my back began to ache. But that was nothing compared to my first apartment where I stuck a desk over the radiator and burned my legs periodically when I forgot about my perilous situation. It was like something out of Dickens. And yet I managed to write poems there that would eventually appear in my first poetry collection. I’ve also written while waiting for planes, taking buses, and riding the subway. I’d never turn my nose up at a sturdy kitchen table. 

I have my own home office now, and it feels like a tiny miracle. My a.m. routine consists of walking the dog, making tea, and sitting down to write or grade papers in my own room. In winter it’s cold, and when my husband occasionally uses my desk, he wears a coat and plugs in a space heater. But I love my corner. I sprawl. There are books stacked willy-nilly, empty cups scatted about, three planners, and framed photos that should have been hung up a year ago. It’s an ideal space for me—as good as any Maine cabin—but I’ll admit, I’m no more productive here than I was the year I wrote from my bed because my cat had cancer and liked to be near me but also liked the electric blanket.

You might be thinking, who am I to disagree with Virginia Woolf who famously declared, “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction”? I’ll admit, there’s something to be said for a door with a lock on it. But one of the advantages of being a writer as opposed to a different kind of artist is that it doesn’t cost that much besides time. Like the owl making the most of his circumstances, we can work on our stories and poem wherever we happen to perch.

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Erica Wright’s latest novel is Famous in Cedarville, and her latest poetry collection is All the Bayou Stories End with Drowned. She is the poetry editor at Guernica Magazine as well as a former editorial board member for Alice James Books. Her nonfiction essay collection Snake is forthcoming later this year from Bloomsbury’s Object Lessons series. She grew up in Wartrace, TN and now lives in Washington, DC.

 Famous in Cedarville:

From one of the most original writers in crime fiction comes a diabolical mystery wrapped in Hollywood tinsel.

When reclusive, retired silver screen actress Barbara Lace dies in her bed, only the young widower of Cedarville suspects a crime. But Samson Delaware has always been something of an outsider, and his wife’s death hasn’t exactly improved his reputation. In fact, the local gossipmongers think he might be losing his mind. Their bless-your-heart manners can’t disguise their distrust, which makes his amateur attempts at an investigation even more difficult.

When Lace’s assistant is found decidedly murdered, the town starts to change its tune, though, and soon Samson finds himself in the thick of an improbable chase. Hollywood hotshots and small-town law enforcement make strange bedfellows—especially when secrets are getting women killed.

Buy links:Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781947993723
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Famous-Cedarville-Erica-Wright/dp/1947993720
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/famous-in-cedarville-erica-wright/1130150529

Social media links:
Twitter: @eawright
Instagram: @ericaawright
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ericawrightauthor/

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing