Do you ever wish there was a space where you could go to write? One without a tv muttering in the next room? Or kids, cats and dogs with petitions? A space where you did not know the WIFI password and could not be tempted onto the internet?
I think every writer or artist or creator of any kind has, at some point, longed for such a space.
We are trying to create that for you.
Kat and I have been working on this for months, with the generous help of family. Still, it's a slow process, but we did want to share the progress here. When Fred retired from teach Judo six days a week, it left us with a small commercial buildling that had been Oak Tree Dojo. As empty buildings do, it accumulated 'good stuff' inside it. Lawn mowers that almost work, filing cabinets, plastic tables and folding chair . . . you get the idea. It became oppressive and sad to walk in there. So. Out it all must go. We are halfway there.
Kat and I have a concept. It's to create a space where, twice a month, writers could gather. The imaginary schedule might be that people arrive at about 6 PM and for fifteen or twenty minutes, it's coffee and tea and maybe cookies and coversation. But at 6:30 it's Shut Up and Write time. People would bring their own laptops or tablets or legal pad, and they'd take a place at the tables and write. No chit-chat, no interruptions, just sit down and get to it About 8 PM, it's time to close the laptops and cap the pens, and join friends for a farewell cup of coffee or tea. And then everyone departs until next time. Kat and I would lock up about 9.
We'd have some good research books on shelves for people to consult. Good dictionaries, books on flowers, birds and costume. Historical atlas. Extra paper and pens, a printer. Maybe an old beater laptop or two connected to our internet for emergency research.
At this point, we'd just do this for free, but have a 'kitty' out where people could contribute a dollar or two or loose change for the coffee/tea fund.
No smoking inside the building, but eventually a table and bench outside in the fenced yard where people who need to smoke whilte writing could gather when the weather was kind. No pot or alcohol, please.
Drawbacks: The building is small. We could probably accomodate twelve writers at a time, maybe fifteen, but I doubt we'd get that many. Because our building is in McKenna, Washington. Where is that? Well, it's on State Route 507, between Yelm and Roy. That's at least an hour from Seattle, and closer to two with traffic. Olympia and Tacoma are about an hour away. So I suspect our gatherings would stay small.
We've already heard from one friend who asked about having a drawing or crafting evening once or twice a month. People could bring their crochet hooks or sewing machines or whatever, and have a sociable time for crafting. I am not a crafty person myself, so we'd need some guildance for that.
Eventually, if writers were visiting Seattle for Emerald City Comic Con or another event, we might be able to invite guests to do a reading or a writers workshop. But that would be far down the road.
When do we think we'll have this ready to try? We are hoping for January. The other side of the building is still a mess of boxes of my books, a couple of old Pinball machines, and more boxes of my books. But we will get it cleared, or at least organized, and then we will maybe have an open house so people could come and check it out and see if they'd want to join us to write.
Feedback on this is welcome. What hours or days of the week would be best? Could we do a book launch from there, for self-pubbed writers who might not have another venue? And any other ideas you might want to offer.
Let us know what you think.
Robin
