So I’m going away for three nights on retreat, with a bunch of notes and the laptop, expecting to come back with some first draft stories and some editing done on others.
Why? Why should I need to get away? Shouldn’t my workspace be set up well enough that I can write at my desk, in my home-office?
Well, it is – I have an excellent encouraging set-up with two desks, one for handwriting one with a computer, great lighting, an armchair for reading, packed bookshelves for inspiration. But there is something else that being elsewhere brings – a new space, different sounds, different views, different distractions. No internet, no laundry or dishes, no house repairs to be done or garden to be weeded (and boy does the garden need weeding) – nothing hovering: just concentrated writing time.
