Space and Quiet

On our walk to school this morning, my six-year-old asked, “What’s it like to be home alone when we’re all at school and Daddy’s at work?”

“Well,” I said, “that’s when Mommy gets my writing and editing work done. It’s nice to have a quiet house so I can focus.” I thought maybe I should add that, of course, I miss him and his siblings, but before I could, he nodded thoughtfully and said, “Yeah. I get that.”

He likes to be alone when he’s creating, too, turns out. For example, when he works on his latest picture-book series, Larry and the Gnome (in which Larry Bird gets into various basketball-themed scrapes along with a pointy-hatted sidekick, a companion series to his critically acclaimed Jokić and the Gnome), his ideal workspace is the basement floor, amidst a spattering of markers, and away from the general hubbub of our noisy family, with a trusty Cliff bar to fortify him.

I was struck by my little guy’s recognition of the power of quiet and space in the creative life. I’m also impressed by his prolific output. My workspace involves sitting at a desk, not sprawled out on the tile floor (oh, to have the spine of a six-year-old again). I surround myself with all the ritual furnishings one might expect in a writer’s office: aromatherapy diffuser, beeswax candle, vibrant sticky notes scribbled with reminders, dozens of craft books and mentor texts within arm’s reach, and SO MANY NOTEBOOKS. Having lived in many different homes of many different sizes, I do not take for granted a dedicated writing space. Having a bustling family, I most definitely do not take the quiet for granted, either. Whatever your creative endeavors are, whether illustrating an NBA star or querying the next literary agent, here’s to finding a great space and a quiet mind and letting the ideas flow!