The environment we write in (and 5 random facts about mine)

How does the environment where you live and work affect the way that you write?

I wrote a few weeks ago that my definition of curiosity includes:

“the wonder of exploring new places – and the ability to see the magic in the tired old streets we call home”

It’s easy to see the magic, the colour, the wonder of a place when we’re exploring it for the first time.  It’s what can make travel writing so vivid, so absorbing.

It’s more of a challenge to keep looking at the world wide-eyed and curious when we’re back home again, to keep on learning from what we see (hear and feel), letting it inform and influence the way that we think, feel and write.

But of course one of the pleasures of writing is that it cuts both ways: we take inspiration from the world round about us to inform and fuel our writing, and the act of writing (listening, watching, taking note, recording, expressing) helps us to become more aware, more appreciative of the world that we live in.  Well that’s how I feel about it on a good day, anyway.

All of this is a long preamble to the meat of the post – also an attempt (not too clumsy I hope) to combine some of these ideas I’d been meaning to write about sense of place, with the latest meme I’ve been tagged with.  This is of the ‘random facts about me’ variety, which I’m shamelessly adapting to tell you a little bit about the world where I live and work, and how that influences my writing.

#1 BBC radio 4 is my constant companion I work from home and on occasion miss the constant noise and chatter of office life.  The radio keeps me company and Radio 4 is thoughtful, intelligent, soothing company.  The presenters make me feel like a grown up – expected to have opinions, and an excellent vocabulary.

# 2 Urban design matters I live in a housing development in Edinburgh known as the ‘colonies’, built by co-operatives of working families in the late 19th century when other forms of housing were out of their reach.  It was built on sound urban design principles, with patches of green space, dead ends that force the cars to slow down, places for children to play.  It’s peaceful, pedestrian, slow moving – at the pace of old ladies and young fathers walking home with tiny tots on their shoulders.  I often wonder how come we’ve lost the knowledge that our Victorian forefathers had – about how places functioned, and how you could design them to work better for people.

#3 The canal is there for me If I walk one way out of my street I reach the canal in under 5 minutes.  I can walk along it into town or out towards the Pentlands.  It’s quiet, peaceful, a haven for wildlife, for walkers, joggers, dog-walkers, small children feeding ducks, artists, canal boats, writers (I’m sure).  The reflections in the slow moving water are stunning.  (Today’s picture is extra special because the ice was frozen over.)  It’s a great place to watch the seasons changing, to notice the power of nature even in the middle of the city.  I always come back from a walk along the canal with new ideas for something to write.

#4 The bus stop at the brewery Walk five minutes the other way and I’m standing at the bus stop, traffic hurtling past on one of the arterial routes into town.  But it’s a pleasant place to wait, outside a Victorian brewery – known as the beer factory by my 5 year old nephew, who loves to watch the lorries moving in and out, the fork lift trucks maneuvering back and forth, men in bright jackets directing the traffic.  And I love travelling into the town in the bus.  There’s always some people watching you can do, or you can just let the movement of the bus lull you into a trance like state which… allows the words to flow.

#5 The old and new town Edinburgh is a city of contrasts.  The genteel New Town is the place to shop, to bank, to get your hair cut.  It’s where I meet up with the Edinburgh Facebook group, in a trendy Italian cafe, drinking lattes and talking social media.  It’s where I meet up with coaching clients, in the quiet club-like atmosphere of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The Old Town is all dark narrow closes, one street perched high above another, looking down at another world running beneath your feet.  It’s the inspiration for gothic horror stories, exploring the subterranean city as a metaphor for the darker recesses of our mind.  It’s a place where you can be thrown, in a moment, back a century or two, imagining the sounds of the past, how these narrow streets would look, smell, sound…Who couldn’t find the inspiration to write here?

Phew. Back to the post with a bump – I was lost in the mists of time there   That’s how my local environment affects me and my words.  How about you?

My 5 things were part of the 5 random facts meme – thanks to Jim Murdoch at The Truth About Lies for the tag.  I fear the tag police might still come after me though – I haven’t really completed the task of sharing 5 facts (some random, some weird), the post ended up a bit more like my answer to the home town meme than I intended, and I’m not tagging anyone else just now.

My guess is that you’re already busy with things you want to get written before the festive break and don’t want more.  Of course if you’d like to play along – just jump in