Writers don’t necessarily need a studio to write in. We need something to write with, to write on, and to write about.

But for the work I do, I also need research materials, hard-copy volumes, a laptop, lined notebooks, a printer for handwritten edits, highlighters, post-it notes, tape, and scissors. And sometimes, I need wall space to paste things up so I can look at them for a while.

I’m lucky enough to have a room at home where I can do all of this in, but I’m often not there. I like to create out in the world. It inspires me and forces me to write. At home there are too many distractions. If I’m at a public library the people around me are working, too. Time is precious. Some are talking to each other. Some have interesting shoes or hair. Some are distracted. And many, are people I never see because I’m absorbed in my own work. They wash in and out of the makeshift ‘workroom’, the place where I happen to be writing that day, and I’ll never even know they were there because I’m in my internal studio. An internal place. A creative state of mind.

I studied photography and graphic design, writing and story boarding at Central St Martins in London. They had classrooms and studios in Central London then, and I have fond memories of walking the halls past the fashion and lithography studios. I loved the painting and sculpture up on display. I’d stop and read the commentary to the contemporary art pieces, and marvel at the thinking that went into creating them. They were clever and moving. I walked to my class with a new understanding of the world. They were thought made form. My life had been changed. That’s the power of art. I’ve always remembered and respected that.

Sometimes when I’m writing I imagine dozens of creative people around me. They’re spread across the city and the world, dancing with the creative force the way I am. And I think about how we’re all in that same ‘place’, in a mental or spiritual field of creativity, cheering each other on.

That feeling, that place inside, is a more substantial studio than one with four walls, and a window, and good heating, although, that’s vital, too. An internal cathedral where the creative practice is safe and nurtured and supported is essential for sustained practice. And it’s a wonderful place to be. – Marilyn Miller