Where I Write: Amy Lord

It probably says a lot about me that, despite spending a fair portion of my time writing and blogging, I don’t have a dedicated workspace.

Instead I work from my sofa, laptop perched on my knee.

You can tell how serious I am about that day’s work by whether or not the television is playing in the background. If I’m blogging, chances are it will be, but if I’m working on my novel, it’s always switched off.

When we bought our house three years ago I planned to buy a desk and set up a workspace in the dining room, but over time I went off the idea. The thought of facing a blank wall with traffic whizzing by on the street behind me wasn’t very inspiring.

I still plan to set up my own study, this time in the spare bedroom. I started decorating the week of the Brexit vote and realised just how much I despise the task. So the room is still unfinished and the desk remains unbought.

Hopefully this year finishing the room will rise to the top of our priorities list, but for now, the sofa is my creative home.

And actually, it works well enough for me.

I’ve always been a night owl, preferring to write after my husband has gone to bed. There’s something about this time of day that allows me to turn inwards into my own little bubble, drawing the words out onto the page. I generally listen to music while I write: I’ve spent years cultivating a playlist that evokes just the right mood and I return to it again and again, those songs triggering the emotions I need to connect with my work.

Of course, working in the living room isn’t always practical. But it means I don’t have to spend all day sitting at a desk. I have a full-time job where I do just that and writing in comfort allows me to distinguish my own writing projects from my day job.

And as I have a wall of bookshelves in my living room, it does feel like a great place to write; being close to all those wonderful stories never fails to inspire me.

Amy is currently crowdfunding her debut novel, The Disappeared, with Unbound. You can support the campaign here. She also blogs about books, writing, travel and life in the North East at Ten Penny Dreams. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @tenpennydreams.