I often grab a cup of coffee with a writing partner of mine. She writes mostly adult, but dabbles in other genres, and has recently published her debut novel. She’s tapped into a well of determination and desire to use her time to get the work done. She inspires me! It wasn’t the work though, but the conversation about the writing space and how we live inside it that got me thinking. She told me she likes her ‘stuff’ around her: paper stacks, books, writing utensils, and a pile of complete randomness that just gives her comfort. She told me when she has company, she shoves it away in some hidden spot and swipes the deck clean to tidy up.
I started to think about my own writing space, and the spaces in which I live. I like a certain amount of order, but I also love my ‘stuff.’ Especially in my writing space. I have spiritual books and non-fiction books, random post-its of my ‘don’t forget to do’ stuff. I have journals, markers and pens, sticky notes, candles and cards from my kids or a dear friend. I have a snug little blanket I toss over my shoulders on a cold morning and always a cup of some kind. I wonder, why I’m so afraid to leave those authentic parts of my life revealed?
Authenticity vs. privacy, it’s all about the hidden lives we are leading—who really cares what it reveals about us? I have had visitors over the years, that have been interested in my collection of stuff. What does that tell them about me? Currently, my stack downstairs includes Annie Dillard and Alice McDermott, Kate DiCamillo and Barbara O’Connor. I’m artsy and random, but I grow inspired by all this paraphernalia, particularly the books of authors I love, that lead me to hope that I could one day stand on their shoulders—a sentence, a paragraph, a meaningful character would do.
I was reading Stephen Pressfield’s The War of Art and it defined me for myself. Not the fundamentalist, who likes things neatly lined up and tied in a bow, I am randomly creative. I’m a humanist, ready to create a friendship or have a conversation with a random stranger. I anchor my beliefs in inclusivity and kindness and hope to create books that do the same. Understanding my own flaws and tapping into them is a vital part of the writing process. How can I create three dimensional, characters without studying the fears and inhibitions in myself?
What is it that makes you authentic to yourself? What do you hide? How do you make yourself known to the world? Perfect or imperfect? Real or manufactured? And why do you care? All this, like my stacks of stuff is the juice that I love to read about…it’s the not so perfect, the plunders, mistakes and misfortunes that make for a great read. The perfect, not so much.
Gael Lynch writes middle grade fiction, is currently pitching IVY LEIGH EVER AFTER for publication. She would, as always, love your thoughts and ideas and most of all she’d like to stay in touch! Please feel free to subscribe.
7 thoughts on “A Conversation about ‘Stuff’”
Great article, Gael💕. I feel the need to clean up/ organize my workspace before creating. It’s almost as if I’m clearing my mind of stressful clutter. When I’ve completed my best work, I find so many crazy messes- from all over- scattered around me. But I only use the best pieces in my creations. Then, I repack everything up, and put away the scraps, details, memories…until my next creative venture.
Isn’t life like that? We read, write, color, cut out the bad parts until next time? Save the best parts for sharing? It’s almost like we’re playing peek-a-boo with our own history. The reward? The hugs, the love, the next venture.
And there’s always that next adventure on the horizon, right! Being messy, for me, is a big part of the process…and acceptance of that has been long in coming! But thank God I’ve found that place in my lifetime. Some never do, unfortunately! Love that you have found that creative inside of you! 🙂
Love this. Not bothering to clean my desk as I was planning today!
You should never bother cleaning your desk, Karen! You have a whole lot of juicy stuff coming out of your ‘headquarters’! 😉
We all have our hidden stuff and hidden secrets. I think of this as our guilty pleasure. What productive person is ever neat heading to a result. I love my organization but also love being in a middle of a messy project because I know I have been creative. Thanks for the reminder to be,
In all its glorious flaws.,
Very interesting article! I’ve journaled for years. Never gave thought to my surroundings in the moment, so thank you for making me give thought to that. I realized it is not at my (chaotic) desk which is surrounded by “stuff”. Rather, I write before I sleep – so in bed where my surroundings are more “calm and quiet”, the place I can “think and feel”.
Loved reading every word. Thank you for sharing.
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