Guest Post for GLAZE- Top 10 Places for Kim Curran to write

Coursework. Revision. Musicals. That sums up what I have been doing to stop me blogging, which is something that will be rectified come the middle of June
. For now though, expect any posts that have been scheduled as part of a thing, but not much else. Apart from complaining on the internet. Sorry.

Anyway, we now have one of my favourite authors, Kim Curran, author of Shift, Control, Delete and GLAZE, talking about where she likes to write.

1) On the top deck of the 243 bus

This is the bus that I used to take from Waterloo to Shoreditch and back in my commute to and from work. It was on that bus that I had the idea for Shift and where I wrote most of it – scribbled in notebooks. I’ve written a fair bit about my bus writing. The combination of being stuck in a boring place with no internet connection, and weird people to avoid, allows me to lose myself in the writing. And there’s also something about the forward motion that gives me a sense of progress.

2) On the train

Since I’ve moved further out of London, it now takes me 40 min to get into Waterloo. Which is just the perfect amount of time to get some writing done. Like the bus, it’s really productive because I don’t have access to the internet. And thanks to my tiny MacBook air, I can type away on my lap – as long as I get a seat. And boy am I grumpy if I don’t.

3) In my office.

I am probably most productive when having a writing day at home. I get up and start writing straight away, without bothering with boring things like showering or getting dressed. Often, I’ll be so lost in the writing that I’ll start at 8am and next thing I look up and it’s 5pm. I have a great chair (courtesy of James Smythe who I bought it off) a terrible desk which I HAVE to change, and a black board, which I scribble motivating quotes on. Oh, and it’s a MESS!

4) In the Royal Festival Hall

The Royal Festival Hall is my home away from home. I’m a member, which gives me access to an area on the 6th floor, which seems to be filled with writers and other creative types. I have a bunch of friends who also work out of there, so I get to have the company and the camaraderie I miss so much when spending days upon days on my own. The coffee is poor but the view is to die for!

5) In a hammock.

I finished Shift in a hammock in Mexico. And I worked on Delete in a hammock in Oman. Once I get my act together, I’ll put up a hammock in my garden and write from there. There’s something about the gentle back and forth motion that’s so soothing.


6) In Topolski

There’s a café near Waterloo that is a pop-up for the Royal Festival Hall. Not many people know about it yet, so it’s quieter, there are more power soc

kets, and it’s cool (the RFH becomes a sweat box in summer). The staff are super welcoming, the coffee is great, and as for the view, well, they project Polish films on the brick walls and the place is filled with the artwork of Toposki himself. So it’s equally as inspiring as looking over the Thames. I love it there, and it’s where I’m having my launch for Glaze.


7) In a park

Until last year, I lived in a flat with no garden but with a beautiful park nearby. And when the weather permitted, I used to go and sit under a tree and write while watching the joggers and squirrels scamper around. I found it more inductive to scribbling ideas rather than clocking up the word count.

8) In bed

Sometimes, if I’m up against a deadline, I don’t even bother getting out of bed before I pick up my laptop and start writing. The one time I attempted NaNoWriMo I did this. I woke up, started writing, and didn’t get up till I’d hit my daily target of 1667 words.

9) In a pub

I recently took part in a writing event called 1001 nights – where writers are invited to create a story that’s 1001 words long, using characters and suggestions from Twitter. It’s run by the super lovely Nicci Cloke and the two of us held up in a pub in Clapham, wine and burgers on hand, and I wrote like the wind. You can read about it here: http://thatnightwheretheydowriting.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/1001-curran-what-happened/

10) ANYWHERE

Basically, I can write anywhere I can sit down. With pen and notebook or on my laptop, it really doesn’t matter. Just so long as I can get the words out of my head. And a change of scene is crucial for me. Often if I’m struggling with a plot issue, moving to a different location


Great post from Kim. Also, great book from Kim. You can read my review of Glaze sometime this week. You can find Kim at her website at her twitter at facebook  and on youtube.
Glaze will be published on 15 May 2014. You can find it on goodreads here.