LOOKING AT WHERE WRITERS WRITE.

LOOKING AT WHERE WRITERS WRITE. I can hazard some generalizations about the work places of the writers in the study I linked to yesterday. The most obvious one is that they could all answer the question (where do you write?). They all have a fixed place where they write. Jacqueline Wilson says she does most of her writing away from her office, but her office is special for her. Hillary Mantel says, “All the world’s a desk,” but she writes in her office. Most have have very personal places where they write, often surrounded by favorite objects. Jonathan Safran Foer is an exception; he writes in a public library, and has even switched from one library to another. It looks as if the clean, uncluttered environment favored by some designers is uncommon. Will Self works with a wall full of post-its. Hillary Mantel seems to have the simplest office, with only one ornament. Most of the offices are crammed with books.