1 Space Can Account for 70% of Your Life’s Work
Are You Choosing Wisely?
In the Writer’s Digest article, The Hemingway Home & Museum, Zachary Petit dives into Ernest Hemingway’s house in Key West and how it shaped the writer.
Interestingly, the director of the now-museum, Andrew Morawski, says,
“He started or completed 70 percent of his life’s work in that writing studio. That’s where the magic happened for Ernest Hemingway down here in Key West...”
That’s an astonishing statistic considering he only lived there for less than 8 years.
Other writers feel the same way, as they and a guest can book a slot after closing called “Evening Writing Experience,” where they get a tour and the chance to work in the late writer’s studio.
While much of Hemingway's legacy has become mythicized, his Key West experience highlights the importance of spaces.
If you’re not careful, the wrong space could have deadly consequences on your work.
But if you’re intentional, your productivity and quality could be much better.
How can we design suitable spaces for writing and creative exercises?
Ernest Hemingway’s Key West residence | Image by Upstateherd on Wiki Commons
Designing Spaces for Every Part of the Writing Process
All writers can define a multi-step process for their projects.
First, they need an idea or concept. Then, they plan how to communicate, write, edit, and publish the final piece.
Some writers can do it all in one place (whether or not it’s the most productive way for them is another issue). But most of us need different settings.
Spaces help inspire, focus, and clear our minds.
And we need variety: not one place can influence us for the diverse needs in the writing process.
Creativity and Exploration
Most of us need to work at being creative. We face anxiety, pressures, and many things that get in the way and fog our minds. If we don’t have a creative space, it’s hard to overcome those barriers.
It looks different for everyone:
Hiking, boating, and other outdoor exploration activities
Coffee shops and settings with movement
Jacuzzis or places that force a separation from technology
Art studios for creative studies like painting or playing music
Plazas or spaces to meet new people and have conversations
Planning
Once we have an idea we want to pursue, we need a place to research and outline our project.
We should prioritize places that offer little distractions and optimize our productivity by making it easy to take notes or type (plenty of room and bigger screens to work with).
Private office
Public or university library
Coffee shop corner with plenty of space (and headphones)
Hotel or resort cafe (you don’t always have to stay the night, as long as you purchase a coffee)
Planes and trains (while space is limited, with the right upgrade and setup, you can get great focus)
Writing
By the time you’re ready for the writing stage, you should be thinking faster than you can type. You’ve done the research and have a solid outline. Now it’s time to add flesh to the bones.
Every writer needs something different at this stage. You may need noise in the background or wind hitting your cheeks. Or you need a candle-lit spot to get words on paper.
Office
Coffee shop
Relaxing outdoor spaces like a beach, lake, or park
Library
Editing
It’s tempting to edit our work right after we write. But if we want a fresh perspective, we should do it the next day and at a different location.
It’s even better if you use a different method to read the work (I like to switch to my iPad and edit on a PDF with an Apple Pencil).
Most spaces overlap with the writing stage, but they often counter the latter stage’s preference. For example, if you write in an office, you might edit on the sand at your local beach.
Or, if you wrote in a coffee shop, you might edit in your office.
Reflection & Strategy
Finally, find a place to review your final work and where you want it to go. Choose publications and platforms that serve your audience best– where they like to hang out. Not where you feel it is most prestigious.
You might read your final piece while lying in bed or at the end of a nightly walk. Find somewhere that can clear and refresh your mind for a new read and to look ahead.
Audit Your Space
Maybe you’ve already found your spaces. But life changes, and they won’t always work the same way.
Hemingway wrote in Paris, Spain, Cuba, and other places, but Key West worked the best for him.
It’s all about experimentation and always ensuring you intentionally audit your spaces so you can do your best at any stage in your life.
As you finish this letter, I encourage you to think about where you write and where you express your creative energy.
Is it the right place? Or should you find a better space?
Further reading…
For more on Hemingway, read “Hemingway’s Technique on Suspenseful Introductions.”
Pick up a copy of Polina’s new book, Hidden Genius, to learn how the most successful people create amazing works under the most extreme pressures.
Check out my article on Clio Websites, “How Partnering with a Writer Can Transform Your Business.”
I’m digging deep into walkability and how that benefits communities. Read my letter to the editor published in the TCPalm (my new town of two years). It’s the first one on the page titled “Put people first…”
Read my article, “You can’t freelance while you work with us.”, on The Startup.
I’m developing a possible subscription service for unlimited content and copy. If you’re interested in something like this, reply for more info.