My writing space has been in transition for three years as I’ve moved from home to home to home. And during this time, most of my books have been in cardboard boxes, shuffled from place to place. I’ve missed them.
One great thing about writing is that it’s accessible. Anyone can do it with only a pen and paper. On a phone. On the back of a grocery bill.
I’ve learned to write in cafés and libraries. While I’m walking or lying in bed. Even in doctor’s waiting rooms. It’s good to know that I can write wherever I am.
Now, I’m in a fresh, new writing space with a new desk and – best of all – bookshelves. Right now, they’re empty, ready to welcome my books. I don’t want to rush this unpacking. I want to figure out how to organize them. By genre? By size? By colour? So many possibilities.
What will I write in this space? What new stories will come to be? What frustrations will I face? I can only imagine the possibilities. But at least I’ll face them with my books, spines out, pages full of facts and stories that are my old, familiar friends.
A global pandemic. Self-isolation. Health worries. No work. Too much work. Unsafe work. Unsafe streets. Blatant racism on display in the most gut-wrenching ways. These days, it can be hard to concentrate. Hard to sleep. Hard to see the way forward.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve had trouble reading and writing over the last five months. My mind races from one dire situation to the next. I’m easily distracted. And if you’re one of those people who can’t concentrate, who can’t read right now, that’s okay. However you feel, that’s okay.
When I’m awake at night worrying and wishing I could get back to sleep, I remember when I was a kid, when I used to stay awake on purpose, vowing to read the whole night through. Sometimes I would set a stack of comic books beside my bed, determined to read them all. Other times, I’d read a novel under the covers. Reading has always been a joyful escape, and writing too.
Is there a book that might help you escape right now? That might bring you happiness?
Or maybe you have a story inside you that wants to be written? That helps you move forward? If you do, I hope you write that story.
