Writer’s Room by Jeff Winch
KRISTEN DEN HARTOG lives and writes in Toronto, Canada.
What I like about my space
Mine is a very basic space, but it suits me. Best are the heaps of books on my shelves, and the pictures of and by my daughter, and the bits and pieces of cluttery mementoes, like a caterpillar made from half of an egg carton, painted green and covered with sparkles. Or the framed drawings my childhood friend made for my second novel, The Perpetual Ending. I like that I am beside a window, though the view is of a balcony that needs repairing and a backyard with patchy grass and a weedy garden. On the plus side there are tomatoes ripening, and (when it’s not summer) I get to be in this space all day, alone, doing something I love.
What I write here
I write novels, short stories, and some non-fiction. I only recently said Goodbye to a blog I wrote about the books I read with my daughter. Right now I’m at work on my second collaboration with my sister, Tracy Kasaboski. The book is about our grandmother’s family in London, England, leading up to the First World War.
My favourite writing quote
My favourite writing quote is from EB White: “There is no trick to it. If you like to write and want to write, you write.” Upon reflection, these words fit with my space too. There is no special beauty here, and while sometimes I see other writing rooms and think how much lovelier they are than mine, in the end I don’t need something other than what I have. When I write, I go to a different world that is all my own, and I stop noticing the physical space around me. If I’m noticing, I’m not writing.
Instead of a picture of my unpicturesque office, I’m including a photograph my husband Jeff Winch took before we met, one I’ve always loved, entitled Writer’s Room, and taken in an abandoned house.
My creative spaces online
For a peek into other writers’ creative spaces, take a tour here.
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