Portia MacIntosh

My Constantly Changing Writing Space.

I started writing novels as a way to tell the world about my experiences touring with bands  – something I have been doing since I was fifteen-years-old, and I’m in my mid twenties now. I wanted to tell my stories anonymously, so using them to inspire works of fiction seemed like the best way to do it.

The thing is, when I started working on Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place and How Not to be Starstruck, I had no idea that one day a publisher like Carina would pick them up, so I had to keep up the day job, and I had to keep myself in material. This meant touring with more bands (I’m not complaining, I love it) and trying to fit writing in around that, which was tricky at first.

When Novel Kicks asked me about my writing space, I realised that I didn’t have one. I hadn’t give it much thought, but soon realised that most people have their desk or place where they write and that’s where the magic happens – one thing I can say for certain, I haven’t ever written at a desk.

The truth is that I write where I write. Sometimes I’ll be in bed, on my laptop in the middle of the night. Other times I’ll be on the road and frantically tapping away entire chapters in the notes app on my phone or my iPad. I have even been known to write chunks of my book using a pen and paper.

To some it may seem like chaos that I don’t have a writing space or writing ritual, but I think it’s great. I feel like a double agent, hanging out with rockstars and then secretly using my time with them to inspire my fiction, but I also think it’s a wonderful thing that I have been able to write books in such a chaotic environment. It just goes to show that you don’t need a desk and a hi-tech laptop to write a book. You can be anywhere – at home, in a hotel, on a bus, backstage at a noisy gig… I’ve even made notes on my phone from a club in the middle of the night.

If you want to write books, don’t let anything stop you. You don’t need hours of free time and a quiet study to work in, all you need is something to write with and a fierce imagination. It’s that simple.

Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place is out on 20^th February, ahead of Portia’s debut novel, How Not to be Starstruck, in March.

by

Laura

I’m Laura. I started Novel Kicks in 2009. I wanted a place to post my writing as well as give other writers like me the opportunity to do the same. There is also a monthly book club, a writing room which features writing prompts, book reviews, competitions, author interviews and guest posts.

I grew up by the sea (my favourite place in the world) and I currently live in Hampshire. I am married to Chris, have a cat named Buddy and I would love to be a writer. I’m trying to write the novel I’ve talked so much about writing if only I could stop pressing delete. I’ve loved writing since creative writing classes in primary school. I have always wanted to see my teacher Miss Sayers again and thank her for the encouragement. When not trying to write the novel or writing snippets of stories on anything I can get my hands on, I love reading, dancing like a loon and singing to myself very badly. My current obsession is Once Upon a Time and I would be happy to live with magic in the enchanted forest surrounded by all those wonderful stories provided that world also included Harry Potter. I love reading chick lit. contemporary fiction and novels with mystery.