Home is where the work is: Writers and their workspaces

That’s all I need, really. A story to tell. Some questions to ask. A pen, some paper. A dreaming mind.

Two iPads. Two notebooks. That’s all I need to work on my new novel, while I keep my two phones handy to stay connected to the rest of my life. Numerologists may read what they want into the 2x2x2 configuration, but it’s working nicely for me, thank you. I was imagining, structuring, partly researching this book for much of last year, and the time that has opened up is a gift.

Read about Aanchal Malhotra’s workspaces here. 

I like to write in bed, there is great comfort in being swathed in my frayed silk Jaipuri quilt. My desk by the window is piled with necessary and unnecessary papers and reference books. In this season of quiet, I have taken to sitting in our tiny front garden. I scribble my first drafts in longhand, transferring them to my iPad chapter by chapter before collating them. I soak in the brilliant blue skies, which remind me of the Delhi of my childhood and teens – half a century ago now.