Outer, Inner Spaces

One of the reasons I picked up A Writer's Space ~ Make Room to Dream, to Work, to Write is because it was written by Dr. Eric Maisel, the author of one of my all-time favorite inspirational nonfic books, A Writer's Paris. I was also curious to see what he had to say about writing spaces, the birthplace of every book in existence.

The first 10 chapters of the book address the physical writing space, as well as how to find, regard, respect, manage and protect it. Lots of good advice as well as several exercises at the end of every section to help put theory into action (don't be intimidated by the number of chapters; they're short and the book is only 248 pages in length.)

While reading I learned that I'm not alone in needing a very small, completely uncluttered place to write; evidently Amy Tan has the same problem. Dr. Maisel mentioned some other, interesting famous writer quirks: James Joyce preferred to write in bed; Isaac Asimov had several typewriters set up on tables around his office (one for each project). Alice Hoffman goes so far as to paint her office a different color every time she starts a new book, using a shade that resonates with the book's theme (good thing this isn't my little quirk.)

The next 25 chapters of the book, however, deal with the writing spaces less apparent to the rest of the world: mind, emotional, reflective, imagined, public, and even existential. Here Dr. Maisel discusses things most writers wrestle with in private, like envy, depression, dissatisfaction, coping with rejection, the weight of individuality (chapter 16, the story of my life) and how destructive they can be to the writer as well as the work if left unchecked.

Chapters 26-28 deals with how the writer should handle public spaces (for blogging writers, that's the internet) and this is where I thought Dr. Maisel was being a bit naive at times. He encourages the writer to stand up, speak out, and not be so nice while he downplays (or really isn't aware of) the risks involved for today's working writer. Here I would have liked to see a couple of chapters on how to handle those brave, usually anonymous souls who decide you and your public-accessible space are their personal soapbox, punching bag or restroom.

Aside from that one blip, the book is quite good, which I expected, and chock full of new ways and means of dealing with all these different writer spaces, which I didn't. I've imprinted myself with several phrases I'm probably going to use way too much now, like emotional intelligence (chapter 15).

As always, you don't have to take my word for it. In comments to this post, describe your ideal space for writing (or if you're comfortable working anywhere and everywhere, just toss your name into the hat) by midnight EST on Wednesday, June 18, 2008. I'll draw five names at random from everyone who participates, and send the winners an unsigned copy of A Writer's Space by Dr. Eric Maisel. This giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, even if you've won something here at PBW in the past.