My Writing Space – Fiona Gibson
Today Fiona Gibson also known as Ellen Berry shares her writing space.
Although I’m lucky to have my own room in our flat to work in, I’m not really precious about it. I love the idea of having ‘beautiful things’ around me, but when I’m full on with writing I could be anywhere really. I enjoy working in libraries, cafes and on trains, etc, as much as being at home. I work on a fairly aged laptop – if you peer closely at the keyboard you’ll see it’s been hammered so hard, almost all the letters have worn off. My family laughs at the way I bash the keys. It’s probably because my first job, on Jackie magazine back in the early 80s, involved writing all my features on a manual typewriter. You really had to hammer the hell out of it!
This room overlooks our street in a fairly quiet, residential area of Glasgow. It’s crammed with bookshelves and art materials. As well as writing, I love to draw and paint, and have recently been asked to do a bit of illustration work. So my desk is often cluttered with paints, inks, brushes and suchlike as well as the book in progress. I like music on low while I’m working – jazz, soul, disco, Latin or folk – it varies according to my mood.
When my children were younger and still at home, having a designated workspace felt crucial if I was ever going to get anything done. But all three – our twin sons and daughter – have all left home now and it’s just me and Jimmy, my husband, and our collie cross, Jack. The house should be immaculately tidy – but somehow, it’s not!
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