The other day, EcoSalon, a blog I follow, reposted an article by fellow writer and friend Scott Adelson, titled ‘Making Space for Your Inner Homebody‘ in which Scott makes a case for respecting your Inner Homebody as “the great indoors–and staying home, in particular—gets a bad rap”. In his article, Scott invites the reader “…to stop and look around, and pay some attention to your quarters.” because “…exploring your space can be a limitless source of creative and emotional inspiration…”.

 

My space, my current home, is a café in North Beach, where I’ve taken up temporary residence to write a novel. After five days, no after the first day already, it feels like home, which is good because I’m an indoors kinda gal. There’s not much that I have gathered here:

 

  1. My backpack which fits my laptop and all my notebooks perfectly, bought in Nevada when I was on my way to a writing retreat where I met my agent;
  2. My folder with clippings, printed with Chagall’s ‘Bay of Angels’ bought at the Chagall museum in Nice where I spent hours and hours wandering through this tiny museum soaking up all his colors, his light and his shadows over and over again;
  3. My Moleskine Woodstock notebook from the ABC Bookstore in Amsterdam, which I bought knowing I would need it one day for the project that was closest to my heart;
  4. The Burning Man survival guide 2015, given to me by an awesome friend and avid Burner.

 

It’s all I need to finish this book that makes me reach deep inside and scare my soul like no book has done before.

 

That and a gallon of tea and the sweet and dedicated care of the café’s staff, among who my fave waitress Evelyn, who just got her degree in creative writing and who leaves me in peace when I sit hunkered down over my laptop and happily engages in a conversation about writing and stories when I need a breather. It turns out we share a fondness for Lydia Davis’ flash fiction (Listen to this total fun podcast in which Michael Silverblatt interviews Lydia Davis for KCRW’s Bookworm).

It’s home for now and it caters to my Inner Homebody as it should: it’s a great source of creative and emotional inspiration.

 

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