Back To Work

Christopher Fowler
Tuesday 5th April 2011 at 01:10
(I wrote a shorter version of this before but can't find it on the site) Today I'm siting down with a blank canvas and not an idea in my head. The plan is to come up with a novel synopsis by the end of the week. Fellow writers are always horrified when they see my writing study. 'Where is everything?' they ask. 'How on earth can you work like this? There's nothing here!' I grew up in a terraced Victorian house where space and light were restricted. In summer you stayed cool inside, but in winter you lost the will to live. It was cluttered and chaotic with books, magazines and far too many ornamental objects. When I switched to writing novels full-time, I knew I needed a better space in which to work. Now most of my outer walls are floor-to-ceiling glass. Living in a goldfish bowl takes some getting used to; there are many days when you have to wear sunglasses to the breakfast table. The unforgiving design ethic of stark white minimalism and glass is not conducive to the care and protection of beloved old books. Only one room could be shielded from the relentless glare of daylight, so that is where the library lives. I couldn't leave books out in the light because even recent volumes have yellowed and turned brittle (whereas my rare paperback collections from the 1950s are fine). Wi-Fi means no cables, and the printer is tucked away, although it's virtually redundant now. The study naturally became a paper-free zone as nearly all of my research documents, photos and letters are stored online. Even my book awards are stored in an electronic format. There are 360 degrees of blinds which can be lowered one at a time, according to the position of the sun. One problem is that my past books have all been written on different systems, and there's no single access source for the texts. The earliest were typed on manual typewriters. Even my first Bryant & May mystery novels were written on now defunct systems, so I have to go back to the master copies for reference. I keep style guides and character reference notes online, but still revert to pen and paper occasionally to help me visualise a situation. It's a great way to work, calm and uncluttered -but not for everyone.
Posted in
London

18 comments

Alan Morgan (not verified) Tue, 05/04/2011 - 09:10

Man, I'd be sat whimpering in a corner and fearful of moving in case I tripped over your invisible cat. Even just as a picture on the monitor in this house somehow the kids have lost some chocolate buttons under the keyboard and jam I never knew I had now sticks bus tickets for a journey I never made just where I least wish them. What with this and the piece on Nice Of Light earlier are you being hunted by some sort of shadow devils?

As a related aside, years ago and (needless detail alert) in a bathroom showroom opposite the old Safari cinema in Croydon I was caught and held by the sight of a completely glass toilet. I looked at it from every easy angle. 'Why would anyone want a transparent toilet?' I said at length. It was purely for display it transpired, but on being pressed the salesmen confessed that it could be plumbed in. We both then stood and looked at the toilet for a few minutes more with not a word said. Then parted and again, without further conversation.

Alison (not verified) Tue, 05/04/2011 - 09:28

I think John May would approve.

james carroll (not verified) Tue, 05/04/2011 - 10:36

I have a similar setup. The only thing on my writing desk is a laptop. Staying focused is everything. The more clutter the more chance of being distracted.

Vicki (not verified) Tue, 05/04/2011 - 12:57

This is obviously where I am going wrong clutter is my middle name!

Anne Fernie (not verified) Tue, 05/04/2011 - 15:24

Clutter (which is only evidence of your life lived isn't it?) may distract but it can also trigger things off. I would feel instant depression in a minimalist room seeking in vain for identity clues and not finding anything - brrrrrr.

Helen Martin (not verified) Tue, 05/04/2011 - 16:28

I think a walk into the library is called for at this point, Chris. Surely ideas don't come out of the air but from 'what if' thinking. Go immerse yourself in some history or maps or photos and then see what your brain says. My library is behind my back when I sit here so it is invisible unless I turn around to find something - distraction or resource, I can choose.

Rick (not verified) Tue, 05/04/2011 - 16:58

Looks like you should have a scrub-nurse in attendance to mop your brow during the painful extraction of a dangling participle!

It brought to mind a book I have on writer's working environments; here's Shaw's garden shed where he worked.

http://www.shedworking.co.uk/2008/05/george-bernard-shaws-writing-hut.h…

Your promise of the blank screen also brings to mind the opening of Sondheim's SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE — a passage I often site with writing students: "White. A blank page or canvas. The challenge: Bring order to the whole. Through design — composition — balance -- light — and harmony." Write on!

Vickie Farrar (not verified) Tue, 05/04/2011 - 20:20

Love the invisible cat concept, Alan.

All that pristineness and transparency would render me useless. My "wallpaper" in every room of my house is tall bookshelves filled not only with books but lots of little book-related "stuff," resulting in much delightful and highly colorful clutter. And I work at home in a loft upstairs so that I can enjoy the distraction and view of a freight train that lumbers by twice daily (just over the back yard wall).

But (cliche time): "To each his own" or "Whatever works."

Hey, Chris, if you need some inspiration, travel into your library, grab your copy of "Brewer's Dictionary of London Phrase and Fable" and open it randomly. The way you think, inspiration should be near instantaneous!

Joyce (not verified) Wed, 06/04/2011 - 03:55

I think I would spend every minute dusting off the finger prints. I can't stand glass tables and could hardly eat my dinner once at a brand new and proudly presented table. All I could think of was the whole thing shattering and a piece of glass ending in my throat. Just thought! - do you wear gloves all day?

Alan Morgan (not verified) Wed, 06/04/2011 - 08:30

Got it, this is the FUTURE! isn't it? Child of the 60s this was what you were promised, and if you've got walky phones instead of hover cars then you'll damn well have a house of the FUTURE!

Last time I saw furnishings like this (other than the aforementioned toilet) it was on a Moonbase. A FUTURE! moonbase.

Anne Fernie (not verified) Wed, 06/04/2011 - 09:50

Oh dear Chris, ever get the feeling your readers aren't minimalists......?

Jan (not verified) Wed, 06/04/2011 - 16:44

Wot u need me dear is a cushion for that chair........

Anne Fernie (not verified) Fri, 08/04/2011 - 10:47

.....plus a mug of tea and an overflowing ashtray.

I.A.M. (not verified) Fri, 08/04/2011 - 22:04

Mug of tea and an over-flowing whisky glass, actually.

Helen Martin (not verified) Sat, 09/04/2011 - 15:32

and definitely easier access to that library resource in the (apparently) darkened room. Hmm "Compare and contrast the darkened source of knowledge with the floodlit point of creation."

Mike Cane (not verified) Fri, 15/04/2011 - 13:36

You have to dig through the site now to find them (the site has become more text than photo heavy), but Minimal Mac would probably run that picture on its site. It highlights stark minimal setups such as that. Here's the most recent I could find:

http://minimalmac.com/post/3941935391/steve-offutts-sweet-mac-setup-sha…

I couldn't get away with something like that. I'd be surrounded by all the cats. Sleeping on the desk!!

Jeremy (not verified) Sat, 16/04/2011 - 15:18

I am not a minimalist by any real stretch, so my work space is probably only half as tidy as Chris' photo, but it certainly is saddening to me to read so many comments here from people who can only identify themselves by their possessions. :(