The perfect office

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If I was to suddenly come into money one of the things I’d like to do is have the shed in my backyard transformed into a two-storey (but multi-story) studio. There’d be space downstairs for the all-important bikes, a bathroom and storage for other essential shed kipple.

Upstairs would be a massive bench for writing, somewhere to boil the kettle, shelves for my trinkets, pinboards for brainstorming and a wide window overlooking my back garden.

The perfect view would be through some wizened red gums across a beach and out to sea – but that’s highly unlikely from where I live. If I take the fantasy further, the office might even be an actual treehouse, so that I’d be surrounded by living energy. If that sounds silly, check out some of these stunning treehouses. I don’t think I could manage the PNG version but most of the others would make for a magnificent writing space.

There are other ripper treehouses here.

Guess I’ll have to make do with my imagination for now.

Clare Bowditch on writing – and persevering

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Extract from the The Sunday Age’s M magazine cover story on Melbourne musician Clare Bowditch on May 6, 2012:

“People are so scared of not being good enough, they keep their first draft under their bed forever,” she says. “No one tells you that when you start something you’ll be shit at it for a while.”

Now, when an aspiring songwriter asks her how to get started, she tells them: “Just write the f—ing song.”

Despite her improvement, Bowditch says she writes, “10 shit songs for every average one, and three average songs for every good one”. This ratio has remained constant. What’s changed is that she no longer flagellates herself over the mediocre tunes.

“The trick is to just keep on creating,” she says. “If you do, victory is nigh, whether the world recognises it or not.”

Coming up

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Blink a couple of times and we’re approaching half-way through the year already. I’m not on track with my writing goals and failing to achieve the creative work-life balance I’d intended. Must try harder.

That said, there’s lots to look forward to in the coming months. I thoroughly enjoyed the Emerging Writers’ Festival last year and this year I’m chuffed to be back, telling spooky stories at Fright Night. Sounds like great fun.

And stay tuned for details of the Melbourne Writers’ Festival Schools Program, where there is rumoured to be more Tim frivolity in the wind.

I also have various school and library visits on the cards and, hopefully, some flexing of the creative muscles on an exciting project inspired by the Australian Society of Authors interactive books workshop.

Which all means I should be brewing a pot of tea and getting back to work…