Anne Lamott’s Perfect Writing Space

I recently wrote about creating a space for your writing,  And I saved the BEST for this article because these are my personal faves.

My Favorite Creative Writing Space

Even though the desk is small, the feature I like about this space is the colorful clothesline draped  above the desk. A dozen years ago when I attended a writing workshop with famed author Anne Lamott (known for her awesome book Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life), she shared how a similar clothesline effect keeps her work-in-process organized. She suggests hanging chapters of your manuscript above your writing desk, each one clipped separately by a clothespin or binder clip. Then as new ideas crop up, or you’re ready for revisions, the manuscript pages are right there, organized and easily plucked from the line. I’ve envisioned such a line above my desk ever since. Seeing this colorful example refreshes the idea.

My Second Most Favorite Creative Writing Space

I generally go for warm tones and a homey vibe. But the visuals in this inspired home office space are making me rethink that decor for my office. What if I had a clean spare space that didn’t distract me? What if everything was put away and I truly worked from a blank slate every day? There’s a certain calmness created by the tip-top organization, don’t you think?

What if… just sayin’…  for the sake of my inner creativity… what might I produce in a room like this?

Your Turn

1.  Are you an organized writer? What tools do you use? Will you consider the clothesline now?

2. Is your writing space clutter-free? Do you prefer to write in a clean spare space or in a messier environment?

I’d love to hear from you! Please post your thoughts in the comments box.

(photo credit: Thomas J. Story)

3 Levels of Drafting A New Piece of Writing

Several years ago I attended a weekend spiritual retreat organized by the Omega Institute in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  Some of the notable headliners included Wayne Dyer, Joan Borysenko, James Van Praagh, Loretta Laroche, and  Dr. Brian Weiss.  I enjoyed the presentations by these wonderful teachers, but I’d come for one thing:  to sit at the feet of author Anne Lamott and lap up everything she had to say.

Anyone who has read her bestselling writing how-to book  Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life knows she has a wonderful way with metaphor, and a grand sense of humor.

She tickled her audience that day with her wry wit while teaching us about her recommended 3 stages for writing drafts:

1.  Start with a “down draft.”  Just get it all down.  Write, write, write.  Don’t worry where things might fit in.  Just get it all down before the muse runs away.  Think of the “down draft” as your parking place for ideas, experiences, and memories.

2.  Next, continue with “up drafts.”  Raise your  “down draft” from bare essentials to workable material.  That might mean adding new material, taking things out, moving elements around, shaping the piece of writing toward its publishable form.  Think of the “up drafts” as prettying things up.  This stage of drafting is truly where “writing” takes place and will mean you spend the bulk of your writing time at this stage.  Be okay with “up drafting” 5, 10, 20, even 40 times until you’ve refined your prose.

3.  Finally, attack your prose for the “dental draft”  as you polish and final hone.  During this stage, go deep inside your draft, review every word, every sentence, every paragraph for polishing.

If you’re not 100% certain of your doctoring (or dental) skills, now might be the time to have an experienced editor take a final look.  You’ll want your prose to be bright, shiny and smiling.