The Writing Life – Episode 5: A Writing Space with a Door




Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach show

Summary: (If you’re a subscriber reading this in email, please click to website to use the audio player.)<br> <br> <br> <br> In this week’s three-and-a-half minute podcast, you'll hear about the conditions and circumstances under which E. B. White wrote—and those under which Glynn Young and Ann Kroeker continue to write.<br> <br> I allude to a passage from Stephen King's memoir On Writing that I read years ago. It awoke in me a jealous and obsessive craving for an office door:<br> The [writing] space can be humble (probably should be, as I think I have already suggested), and it really needs only one thing: a door which you are willing to shut. The closed door is your way of telling the world and yourself that you mean business; you have made a serious commitment to write and intend to walk the walk as well as talk the talk. (King 151, Pocket Books - a div. of Simon &amp; Schuster, NY, copyright 2000, personal copy)<br> I longed for a door. A door, I thought, would help me become a productive, efficient writer. I had a writing space. I just needed a door. Yes, a door ... to shut.<br> <br> If only I had a door, I could write.<br> <br> Websites and resources mentioned in the podcast:<br> <br> "The Daily Routines of Famous Writers" (Maria Popova, Brain Pickings) with E. B. White's reflections on imperfect conditions.<br> "On Being a Writer: Writing" (Glynn Young, Faith, Fiction, Friends)<br> On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (Stephen King)<br> Note: Amazon link does not match personal copy from which I quote, so pagination may be different<br> <br>   * * *<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> On Being a Writer<br> "This brand-new book is a must-have for career writers, whether seasoned or just starting out."<br> — from "10 Great Books for a Writer's Wish List" on Huffington Post<br> <br> NOW AVAILABLE<br> <br> “A genial marriage of practice and theory. For writers new and seasoned. This book is a winner.”<br> —Philip Gulley, author of Front Porch Tales