You may be confident that you are a creative individual, but do you
make the most of the space around you to support that? When I first
started writing seriously for a living in the 1980's I had a desk under
the stairs rather like Harry Potter's bedroom only a lot smaller and
with no door on it. It made me focus, but there was literally no room to
expand my thinking - or even my legs.
Back then I had no idea
when Feng Shui was, but I wish I had because if you pay attention to
some very simple principles you can make the space you create in really
part of your whole process. It's been around for thousands of years and
used extensively in the East to make homes more welcoming and the
environment more harmonious.
When you write you are in a
particular energy zone, and you need very specific things. First you
need to feel safe to allow yourself into that different zone with no
fear of interruptions so you need to be in a space that is not a
corridor - which pretty much rules out the kitchen table unless you have
leanings to being a journalist and want to learn how to work in a
noisy, crowded environment. A room with several doors in it can also be
distracting as you can have a subconscious fear that you could be
interrupted at any time. If there is only one door in the room, try to
sit at an angle to it so your back is not directly to it. Again it's a
subconscious anxiety that you cannot see anyone sneaking up on you, and
you want to feel confident and in control when you are writing.
Negative
energy spaces are dark, cramped and looking out onto an unattractive
view - the back of the garage or a neighbouring industrial building or
block of flats. If your view is unattractive then either put an
attractive blind there or put your back to it and put a beautiful poster
or print on the wall you are directly looking at. Make the room
comfortable and attractive with some living plants in there and perhaps a
water feature that will prevent the energy in the room becoming stale.
Put
objects in there that are beautiful and give you pleasure, and perhaps
things that will give you ideas - an unusual piece of driftwood or a few
pebbles or a postcard that brings back happy memories and make an ideas
board. Use a simple cork notice board and pin on it pictures, fabric,
headlines from newspapers, ads from magazines - things that your eye can
rest on and feel intrigued by. Have a mirror in the room to reflect
light from the window or hang crystals to catch the sun and reflect
rainbows into the room.
Clutter is the enemy of creativity
inasmuch as you need to be able to see what work you have in progress. A
rigid or regimented workspace is not what I mean - some disorder is
fine, but not to the point that you can't find a piece of research or
enough room on the desk for your cup of coffee! The same with your
furniture, don't crowd the space so you have to squeeze through the door
and climb over a sofa to get to your computer.
Put a welcome mat
outside the door of your workspace, it will encourage you to go in there
more often and reassures you that your creative process is something to
be celebrated.
I hope these ideas are helpful, and remember the
one thing you truly need to do to improve your creative energy is to
just to have the intention to create and then apply yourself to doing
just that!
