Rituals: My Writing Space

Guest blogger, Rehana Begum

I am a writer who always begins with frustration—frustration of wanting to produce that perfect thing and anxious that I might never get there. So I think it is not surprising that on my desk I have a stack of rectangular scraps of paper ready for that fleeting thought to come to mind and be captured by my hungry pen.

I think the convenience of my writing desk has grown over time. I clutter my table with notes and lists and then I de-clutter it. I move it around my room in order to find the most inspirational or stimulating spot. And I think I do this because when I write I feel I am being driven by it and I never know exactly what will flow onto the page.

My writing space is neither picturesque, nor ornamental. It consists of a desk; a surface that holds objects of use. The reason I avoid displaying objects that may create a specific mood, such as photographs, postcards or even souvenirs is because I feel it will sway my writing style towards that mood, which may not work so well for the task at hand.

My desk is tucked away in the peacefulness of my bedroom. With a bare wall in front of my writing space I can easily stick up memos and a calendar. A pot of a variety of writing pens waits beside a paper tray of both neat and not-so-neat paper. And of course a space for the storage of my laptop is there on the top shelf of my desk. So, my desk, to me is not only a surface where I sit and write, but it also holds necessities that aid my writing. For example, I have to have hand lotion on my desk to prevent me from tearing at my finger skin.

I feel that being able to write requires self-control, while at the same time allowing myself to be controlled by an invisible force. When I sit to write there is a part of me that knows I can create something really good, and this is important to keep me going. But there is always this other side; that I wouldn’t quite call a ‘negative side’; but a side that makes me roam around, meander, and play with words, sentences and ideas until I am happy (at that point in time at least) with what I have written. I think it is this side of writing that I find frustrating because it is tortuous and unpredictable, but I know it is absolutely necessary for my writing process if I am ever to write well. I have to go through this stage of what seems to be unproductive in order to later be productive. It is the final overcoming of this obstacle that makes, in the end, the entire writing process so pleasurable.

Rehana Begum is a graduate of English Literature, postgraduate of Cultural studies, a writer for her own blog: Unpacking the Library, and is currently career planning. Rehana has a passion for all things creative and has set her eyes on the publishing industry. She enjoys sewing dresses and half of her wardrobe is tailored by herself. Rehana would one day love to write her own novel. She lives in London with her family. She blogs at unpacking the library.

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