Do you have a favourite place to write?
I sit in the comfort of an armchair with my laptop, and a cup of black coffee close at hand. I may read a poem, or a chapter of a novel to get my creative juices flowing. Occasionally, I listen to classical music, but I mostly write and edit in silence.
Do you have a particular routine?
Favourite place to write? In my office of course; I can lock myself away from the rest of the household activities and be on my own. Throughout my career as a writer I have tried to have my office on the ground floor – so if I am in the kitchen or lounge and suddenly have an idea, I do not have to climb stairs to put the idea onto the computer.
I do like peace and quiet, but allow myself a little Mozart from time to time – when I am doing research, not when I am being creative.
The walls of my office have photos of me at various times in my life doing things that even now inspire me. Framed prize awards are always a good spur too. There is a year planner (‘Academic’ year, which I find more useful than the usual ‘Annual’ one), and a large clock kept seven minutes fast (the seven minutes tricks my brain better than being five or even ten minutes fast).
I have two desks, both with computers and printers, though I use the machines for different type of work. In any case, I have always regarded myself as a ‘belt and bracers’ man, so tend to have two of everything in case of failure of one – editors would not be pleased if I told them I couldn’t meet the deadline because my computer had broken.
Vital to me is a comfortable chair to work, it’s on castors so I can move from one desk to the other with ease. I also have a large armchair – for contemplation (my wife says I use it to sleep in!). There are six large bookcases filled with reference books (the Internet is not always to be relied upon), and three four-drawer filing cabinets (useful for keeping my paper records – which I regard as a vitally important aid to memory).
Over the years I have had many different offices, but all have been much the same; I found out what worked for me, and stuck to it.
One last and very important point – NEVER seat yourself where you can see out of the window, windows are one of the biggest timewasters a writer can come across.