How to create an inspiring writing den

All writers know how difficult it is to face a blank page. That first sentence is the hardest to form even though [or maybe because] you know it will probably get deleted once you’re underway. I have the same kind of problem with beautiful notebooks. I want to save them for that ‘special idea’ that I know will never appear because special ideas only ever materialise when I’m writing and not when I’m gazing lovingly at beautiful new notebooks.

I’m guessing it’s different for artists which is why the phrase ‘a blank canvas’ means something exciting, full of promise, an as-yet-undrawn idea. But I’m a writer not an artist and I have a blank canvas that’s scaring my creativity to pieces. Mr A is in one of his DIY moods. Normally this would make me groan in desperation, sawdust trodden in everywhere, bare floorboards where there should really be carpet, heaps of brick dust beneath drilled holes.

Mr A at work

His current DIY project is Daughter’s bedroom. She used to have a divided-off section with a hand basin. It was meant to be a dressing room. It was used as a dumping corner. She left home years ago and Mr A has finally removed the partition and basin and he’s fitted a brand new window overlooking the garden. As soon as I saw it I knew what I wanted to do with it. It’s going to be my  writing den. Perfect!

The carpet has been disposed of, there are no curtains at the windows and the walls are almost ready for painting. My job is to choose the colour scheme. Aaagh! It used to be lavender but that will be painted over with my new, inspirational colour... when I choose it! 

• Do I go for a pale colour on the walls or something rich and warm? 
• Do I select a plain carpet with a rug, a patterned carpet or one of those mottled ones? 
• Do I go for plain curtains or ones with a hint of pattern? 
• And should the colour scheme be beige and green or yellow and cream or... 

I can't decide and Mr A is waiting to buy the paint. *sigh*

Have you got a writing den with that perfect colour scheme for creative inspiration?

My words through an artist’s eyes

I’m trying something new with my writing. I’m working with an illustrator. I suspect a couple of sharp-eyed followers will already have noticed a contradiction. Two posts ago I wrote of my dislike for change and now I’m about to embrace it. But when it comes to writing, I’m always keen to explore different styles and if I ever stop trying to improve my work then it’ll be time to hang up the keyboard.

Sue Hague

I have my writing group to thank for this idea, yet again. [They’re lovely, are my writing group!] We all belong to a children’s book group which meets once a month to read and discuss children’s books... and to have lunch, of course! One of the members is an artist. Her name is Sue Hague and whenever we have a meeting at her house we are in awe of her artwork, especially the finely detailed flower paintings. She is passionate about observing and recording all those tiny details in the world around us, the details that most people don’t notice... the same details that I, as a writer, try to record with words, whereas Sue uses a mixture of acrylic, watercolour and soft pencil.

Last week Sue ran an art workshop for us writers. We’ve never done anything like this as a group before. It was an amazing experience if a little messy... 

Our first task was to rub oil paint onto an acetate sheet and scratch a picture onto paper which had been placed over the top of the paint. My result was a little smudgy but the activity had been satisfying and absorbing in a compulsive sort of a way.

Alex Gutteridge (left), me in the middle and Debbie White who I suspect had prior art training! 

Pippa Goodhart

We worked with materials that I never thought could go together... like a pen, some bleach and a sheet of soft coloured paper. The effect appears gradually. It’s another fascinating process. This isn’t my attempt. It’s Pippa's.

I didn’t produce anything that would hang on my walls but then that wasn't the aim of the morning. What I did come away with was a lot of inspiration, especially when it comes to looking at those finer details of life that are all around us... but there was more. I had a chat with Sue about the art of illustrating and it was then that we planned our collaboration. I have a number of children’s picture book manuscripts, words only, with written illustration guidelines where relevant. I have a rough idea of what the pictures might look like but I was interested to see if Sue’s expert input would add another dimension to my work.

As soon as I got home I emailed a manuscript to her. She came straight back to me with ideas that were already ‘running through her head’. Changes began to happen, improvements began to emerge, as she suggested some fine tuning to my story line, things that I wouldn’t have thought about on my own. She’s now working on some rough drafts and we’ll be meeting up very soon to merge our ideas. We’re hoping to make a joint submission and although we both know that it could well join my list of rejections, it’s been extremely useful to look at my words through an artist’s eyes... and who knows, it might even be accepted!