A Room of Your Own, by Natasha Mostert:

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Virginia Woolf famously said that a woman needs money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction. I would agree that these assets are highly desirable but I do not believe them to be essential. J.K Rowling is, of course, a case in point.

At present I am busy promoting my new book, Keeper of Light and Dust, and one of the questions I was recently asked in an online interview, was what kind of environment is necessary for the creative impulse to flourish. It turned out that what the interviewer really wanted to know, was what my office looks like.

On a good day my office looks whimsical (I hope), on a bad day it looks like the playground of someone who needs serious help: stacks of paper and printouts, photographs, boxing paraphernalia, sagging pin boards with too many newspaper and magazine clippings, objets d'art made by my godchildren, CDs, many, many little bottles of hand sanitizers (neurotic, don't tell me, I know) and books, books, books. Of course, I am sure there are writers who have offices where all is serenity and order and whose creative impulse takes flight in the face of chaos. Still, I am relieved to know that most of my friends who are writers, also work in an environment of cheerful anarchy.

I have a friend who writes crime fiction and who does his writing in his bedroom. It is not that he does not have an office, but he prefers the bed. As he has a day job, he starts at four in the morning in order to fit in the necessary writing hours. Furthermore, he says the muse deserts him unless his wife is also awake. She is not allowed to speak or watch TV while he works, but knitting or reading is tolerated. She is a lovely lady and I have never heard her complain. I do, however, strongly believe she has several gold stars next to her name somewhere up there where the score is kept.

In the end, though, I believe that if you are a writer, the creative impulse will manifest itself no matter where you are or in what circumstances. Whether your writing space is a beautiful oak paneled study or a haphazard corner in a suburban house - ultimately, it doesn't matter. You will write regardless.

Natasha Mostert, Keeper of Light and Dust, Dutton, Penguin Books