Clicking Our Heels: Our Virginia Woolf Places to Write

Clicking Our Heels: Our Virginia Woolf Places to Write

Virginia Woolf famously said women writers need a room of their own. This month, we asked the members of The Stiletto Gang: Where do you write? Are you happy with it? How would you change it if you could? What do you think our answers demonstrate about each of us??????

Juliana Aragon Fatula: When I’m alone in my camper, I feel like I’m in a cabin in the wilderness and I can read or write without interruption. I should mention the camper has heat/ac, fridge, stove, microwave, generator, and a great big queen size bed; I sleep like a log at night. I feel like it’s my room of my own.

Kay Kendall: Where I write is satisfactory, but I would prefer to be in a standalone little building in our back garden. As it is, I make do in the third bedroom in my house, and it doubles as a guestroom, workout room, and attic. It is a mess, and I call it the writer's lair, to signify that it is dark and messy. Oh yes, such a mess.

Debra H. Goldstein: It depends on what I’m writing. Although I tend to mail things from the formal

office I have upstairs (a bedroom I converted to an office when we bought this house), I write in different rooms with show music playing in the background. The living room is where I write if I’m looking for peace and happiness because I like the way I pulled oranges and blues together in there.  My leather recliner in the den is perfect for male oriented pieces because the décor is Joel’s sports memorabilia. The place I do most of my writing though is in my father’s oversized chair, which now resides in our master bedroom. Because my father had long legs, like I do, the chair was designed to accommodate him. When my sister and I were young we played our imaginary games using this chair as a covered wagon, tent base, or as matching steeds (it has great arms).

J.M. Phillippe: I live alone so I suppose my entire apartment is a room of my own. I don't think I utilize it enough or have it set up the way it should be to promote regular writing. I wish I had space for a desk. (New York Housing is very small.) And more book shelves. 

Linda Rodriguez: I'll be setting up my office in our new house as soon as we get everything

unpacked. It will be much smaller than my old office, but I think it's going to be more efficient and nicer, plus it won't share space with my spinning/weaving studio, which will be located in another part of the house. It's light and has a nice storage closet, plus lots of electrical outlets. It also has a snazzy new ceiling light and ceiling fan. It opens right out to the front door, so I could meet with my developmental editing clients at my home if I wanted to. The big plus is the opportunity to design it from the ground up instead of dealing with what was already there.

Judy Penz Sheluk: I love my Philipsburg Blue office at home, and I love writing while watching Lake Superior at our camp in Northern Ontario, though not so much the space (kitchen table). If I could combine the two, that would be amazing. Mostly I love that my Golden Retriever, Gibbs, lies by my feet wherever I’m writing.

Sparkle Abbey:

Mary Lee Woods: I have recently redone my office, moving it from the basement of our house to the second floor. We've repurposed a guest bedroom with a new bamboo floor, painted the walls a soft gray, and added a few bookshelves. And a window perch for Sparkle, my cat. Not an expensive remodel but it created a great workspace for me. My one splurge was a stand-up desk and I love it! It easily adjusts so that I can sit or stand and I take full advantage of that ability to move between the two. I am happy with the office and thrilled with the desk!

Anita Carter - I write in my office and I love it. If I could change anything, I'd like two or three more bookshelves. Unfortunately, my office isn't THAT big. :)

Dru Ann Love: I write my musings in my living room and I wouldn’t change it as I have the space I need.

A.B. Plum: At the risk of redundancy, I love my cluttered, book-filled office with all kinds of memorabilia. My only lament is that it’s not big enough, but it is MINE. Being mine matters the most.

T.K. Thorne: I would put the ocean in my yard. Otherwise, I am happy with my porch.

Shari Randall:  I write at my dining room table, mainly because it has big windows and is the sunniest room in the house (my husband says I'm part cat - I follow the sun). But because of those big windows, it's also the most distracting room in the house - I can't help but keep tabs on the neighborhood. So when writing gets serious, I go to the library and camp out in a study carrel. No distractions, but I'd put in a big sunny window near it if I could.

Bethany Maines: I write frequently in my office, but I’m happier if I can write on the couch or bed.  I’m going to say that it’s because I think better lying down, but it could just be that I’m lazy.  Either way, I would love to have some sort of giant recliner with a suspension desk that would hold my laptop.  It would be awesome.