Ideally, of course, everyone would enjoy Virginia Woolf's proverbial room of one's own, with a door to close to ensure uninterrupted writing time. However, for many of us a writing space is only a desk or table in the corner of a room. For some, even that much space is a luxury. In any case, a lack of space should never be an excuse for not writing, and nor should the quest for the perfect space take precedence over writing itself. As Natalie Goldberg says, "Choose your tools carefully, but not so carefully that you get uptight or spend more time at the stationary store than at your writing table."
That said, you do want to give your writing space some thought. Many writers find that having one location in which they work every day helps train their minds to get going, the equivalent of Pavlov's bell. The act of sitting down in that space is their cue to write. Some writers prefer for their desks to have personality, to reflect the creative work they hope to do. I've heard of writers using old doors, or ferreting out well-worn antique pieces, with a history that feeds their imagination. I currently use a desk I inherited with my apartment, a wide wooden desk that had belonged to an artist. While I love the plaster splatters and Exacto knife grooves, I have to admit that I sometimes think longingly of an office desk I bought for $99.00 at OfficeMax during graduate school. Though it may not have <i>looked</i> like the desk of a creative person, it was ergonomically designed and had a lot of room for my papers and books, as well as my printer. It may not have been the most romantic piece of furniture, but it was a good workspace, and I did good work there.
Likewise, some people like to surround themselves with things that inspire them: quotes, pieces of driftwood, and totems, while others, tolerating a minimum of distraction, prefer a blank wall. Again, try different things and see what works for you. Do you work best with a window nearby? Or would you do better -- theoretically or actually -- in a closet, where you can focus solely on the world of your own imagination?
You may even work best outside of the house. (This may be especially true if you have children.) Naomi Shihab Nye says that while writing one book, she picked out a cafe and let the staff know that she would be writing a book there. She was careful to go in during off-times, after the lunch rush and before dinnertime. She tipped well and was courteous, so that she was always welcome. This way she had a place that she only went to write without having to rent a studio or office. (The only downside, she said, was that she gained weight, because her incentive for going was a chocolate brownie.) This type of arrangement is ideal if you work well with background noise or if you simply have no space in your home. The first year I worked on my novel, I wrote on the subway ride home because I had a roommate and couldn't afford to go to a coffee shop every evening. Something about the anonymity of the subway and the set period of time must have inspired me. As I edited the novel a few years later, I noticed that some of the best writing in the book was done on that ride home. If you are determined to write, you'll make do with what is available to you. You may even find, as I did, that the parameters of your life provide a structure that aids your writing in surprising ways.
