Finding a place to write can be difficult --Ask author An Na (and me)

Where do you work now? How is the space conducive to triggering your imagination?

An Na: When I first started writing, I worked in the study. That worked for a while until my husband decided he was going to go back to school to get his Ph.D.

Now, instead of kissing me good-bye for the day, he would roll out of bed, stay in his pajamas and go to the study with me. UGH.

I moved my desk to the bedroom and then to the living room. But still, just having another person in the house, stomping around, using the phone, etc, drove me insane. Actually, more hostile than insane.

We eventually decided to do what many other writers have done in the past, go to the shed. We bought a Home Depot gardening shed, popped in a sunroof and some windows, and an instant office was erected in the backyard. There were no distractions, no Internet, no phone. I was finally left in peace.

 

From “Interview with Young Adult Author An Na” by Cynthia Leitich Smith


What if someone wondered about where I write?
Here's how I'd respond: I write in my bed. I have a bright red backrest that helps me sit up straight and comfortably. A laptop stand helps prevent hotlegs from my burning laptop without a battery. Most people would not be productive this way. It's crazy, I know, but it works for me.

I write other places too:

• in the car while waiting for my son to come out of buildings (e.g., schools, malls, barbershops)
• in the dentist and doctor's office (whether I am the patient or my son is)
• at the kitchen table so I can see what the big spider (see picture above), birds, and rabbits outside are doing

I don't think anyone would ask me about my imagination since I do not write fiction.