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writing clubs
HelenKay has been talking about writing clubs, which makes me want to jump up and move to Manhattan or someplace where such things exist.
I have a great big house. I have a study in my house, and a studio. The desk in the study is piled high with stuff I'm supposed to file but probably never will; the studio is worse. Far worse. Fabric and paint and every conceivable bit of stuff you need to do textile art (basically, everything). But even if they were absolutely neat, these rooms, I couldn't write in them.
Very rarely, when my muse is feeling generous, she allows some writing here. Mostly she shuts me down with a snap of her fingers. Mostly I find everything in the world to do but work when I'm at home. So I go to Starbucks, where the internet connection is expensive but ten times faster than my home internet connection. (We live in the boonies. Satellite instead of cable, no DSL, and thus an anciently slow ISDN connection). In Starbucks I have a corner table that I claim with a plug so I don't have to think about my laptop battery. At Starbucks I can usually write with great concentration for long periods of time.
But Starbucks isn't perfect for one big reason: the puppy boys have to stay at home. I hate leaving them for more than three hours, so that puts a crimp in my work rhythms. They spend a day every week running like crazy with their friend Sherri, and I spend the whole time at Starbucks.
So you see my problem. I need a Writing Club. Someplace where I could have a corner to setup my laptop, an internet connection, and my dogs could sleep on the floor near my feet while I work.
I can hear you saying that I should just go out and rent an office and you know what? I would love to. An office downtown, I'd go to work there everyday and write pages and pages. But offices cost a considerable amount of money --$350 a month is the very least I'd end up spending -- and it's just not in the budget for the foreseeable future. So a Writing Club sounds great, but the problem is, there isn't one where I live and the idea of getting one organized and running -- that gets filed under Procrastination Projects.
I love the idea, I just can't see how to make it happen with a reasonable amount of time and energy.
More on research/internet stuff after I've fed my people. And the puppy boys.
PS. I admit without hesitation that my good friend Suzanne is absolutely right when she calls me a spoiled space glutton. Actually she calls me a spoiled space whore, but lovingly. You shouldn't get the wrong idea.
October 10, 2005 06:03 PM
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Comments
Perhaps a crazy suggestion, but are there any artist studios for rent in your area? The ambiance usually consists of dust, neighbors with multiple piercings, and decrepit shared toilet facilities, but if there's room for a desk, someplace to plug in a laptop, maybe a phone line, this might be all you need. Alternative newspapers or arts organizations might offer some leads.
On the other hand, if Starbucks works for you, go for it. A latte is certainly cheaper than renting any space, and just getting out of the house, whether you have an office at home or not, really makes a difference. (I do my writing at an old lake cabin where the dog is my only company and the internet is slow dial-up -- works for me.)
Posted by: Jena at October 11, 2005 08:49 AM
Jena, believe me -- I'd love to find an artist's studio. But they are scarcer and more expensive than plain office space. If Starbucks let me bring my dogs in, I wouldn't be worried about this at all.
Posted by: sara at October 11, 2005 10:00 AM
I think Starbucks in America and Starbucks here in New Zealand must be a little different – one we don’t have any space for writers at all and two if you are caught loitering I think they would throw you in the street. The reason there are not that many New Zealand authors doing well perhaps? Once again big business hurts the little guy. Tsk tisk.
Posted by: deborah at October 11, 2005 04:07 PM