Stoves, Trains and the Will-o’-the-Wisp: My Creative Spaces

People often ask me where I actually sit down to write my poems. The short answer is: wherever I happen to be at the time.

Inspiration is a fickle thing in the Highlands. It can strike while I am walking by the River Ness or in the middle of a busy breakfast service at the guest house. When a thought arrives, I have to jot it down immediately. If I don’t, it tends to vanish like a will-o’-the-wisp, disappearing into the mist before I can catch it.

From Kitchen Table to Poet’s Den

While the initial sparks can happen anywhere, the lion’s share of the actual work happens at home. Usually, you will find me at my desk or tucked up in front of the wood-burning stove when the Scottish weather decides to be particularly “atmospheric.”

For a long time, my office was simply the kitchen table. In a busy B&B, that table had to work incredibly hard. It was my desk, my dining area. My dining area also acted as my treatment room for massage therapy, and occasionally even a temporary bedroom when family came to visit.

After sixteen years of juggling, I finally decided to close one of my guest rooms and convert it into a dedicated office. Having a proper space to house my thoughts has been a bit of a revelation, though the stove still wins on a cold winter afternoon.

Writing on the Move

I have also found that trains and planes are some of the best places to get words onto paper. There is something about the steady rhythm of travel and the lack of usual distractions that opens up a lot of space for thinking. When you have a few hours of uninterrupted time and a changing landscape outside the window, the poems tend to find their own way out.

Whether it is a quiet corner of Inverness or a seat on the Highland Main Line, the goal is always the same: catching those fugitive ideas before they slip away.