A Room of One’s Own

“All I could do was to offer you an opinion upon one minor point – a woman must have money

and a room of one’s own if she is to write fiction.”

Thank you, Virginia Woolf, for that quote.

When I first read it, I thought it was quite a depressing opinion on how to be successful as a

writer, because: 1. I didn’t have any money. And 2. I certainly didn’t have a room of my own.

That was almost twenty years ago when a friend gifted me Woolf’s book A Room of One’s Own.

And now, I see the wisdom of those words. Not that I ever doubted Virginia.

We’re going to set aside the part about having money because I’m a lady and ladies don’t talk

of such things.

But I am going to talk about having a room of one’s own in which to write fiction.

It’s a game-changer.

First, a big thank-you to my loving Husband who spent most of the winter creating a space for

me to call my own when I made the big, crazy leap to Fulltime Writer. (Yes, it deserves

capitalization.)

Second, why is having an office such a big deal? Because I said so.

Just kidding.

It’s many things.

When Woolf said: “a room of one’s own,” I believe she actually meant “a room with a door.”

Closing the door, closing out distractions, closing out teenagers who naturally start every single

sentence with “Mom… Mom?” is a big deal. Before, my office was in a nook between the great

room (where The Husband played Xbox) and the living room (where everyone watched TV). As

much as I’m not interested in almost anything The Husband watches on TV, it’s still too

distracting for me to write.

With my own desk and a lot of counter space behind the desk, I can spread out. The previous

nook area was pretty small. Now I can have all my books of research open where I need them.

As of writing this blog, I have five books laid flat to pages I want to reread before writing a big

war scene, as well as my trusty thesaurus.

Last, it’s a joy to come to my office every morning. It’s cozy and beautiful. It’s filled with things

that inspire me and make me smile. Who wouldn’t want to come to work in a room that is

one’s own and was a labor of love by one’s Husband?

On my Instagram, I created a video tour of my new office. But I wanted to point out a few

special parts that make it all my own.

- Bookshelves – lots of them. This was my number one request when The Husband

started designing the office. Every time he gave me options, when he started the

sentence with “I could put bookshelves here…” I said: YES! I didn’t need to hear the next

option. The shelves hold books from the wonderful writers I’ve met on my journey since

publishing Diamonds in Auschwitz. They hold books from indie stores that I frequent.

And, of course, they have all the books I’ve used for research with my historical fiction.

- Friends toys, as in the TV show. Obviously. All work and no play as they say. I have a

Friends Polly Pocket – it’s my pride and joy. And I have Friends Little People. Still in the

package but I’m not committed to keeping them there. Maybe on an unproductive,

rainy day, they’ll be freed.

- A dry erase/magnetic board. I’m a visual person. I kindly reminded The Husband that I

needed a white board so often during construction that he started rolling his eyes

before the words were even out of my mouth. On it, I currently have the historic

timeline of World War II in the Philippines as well as plot points. I have pictures of my

main characters for constant reference. It’s a great place to organize my book outline

and make sure it lines up with actual historic events.

- Last, I have artwork from My Girl. Her artistic abilities and the creations she makes to

coincide with my books are truly inspiring. I can only hope to be as talented as her one

day when I grow up.