Fruits and Flowers

Bathe in sunbeams, watch the sunrise, leave your office, and you’ll find pleasure all throughout the natural world. Writing, on the other hand, isn’t always pleasurable. Does your writing cause you to wither or to bloom? Are your writing roots in need of water? These SPACE maps are themed around nature—its mountains, trees, and flowers. As you look through, think: can these down-to-earth writing practices help me grow?

Julie, New Zealand

Julie is a lecturer in plant ecology. Her SPACE action plan tracks writing like a sprouting fern. To make her writing grow she set out to find fresh air, surround herself with greenery, and take yoga breaks. 

Rebecca, Ireland

Rebecca’s SPACE of writing is a fully-grown tree. Each branch bears a different SPACE principle. Below, Rebecca underlined the words ‘Make Space’. For her writing to be fruitful she needs to make room for SPACE, for the things that bring her pleasure. 

Rima, Sweden

Rima’s SPACE of writing is a smiling flower. Each petal holds action plans: take walks, speak to colleagues, snack, use colours, and read for fun! Could any of these practices help you blossom?

Daniel, USA

Daniel, a PhD candidate researching the history of death, does not create a writing space out of flowers, but out of grass and gravestones. How do you approach ending your writing? Do you give it the care and attention it requires?

Rose, USA

Rose’s SPACE map is made from shells, flowers, words, and a person peeking in from the corner. To make writing more pleasurable, Rose will buy a writer’s pad, eat well, and talk about writing with friends.

Emina, Australia

In parentheses at the top of Emina’s SPACE map are the words: ‘Light Universal Joy’. In the middle of the page, a flower opens. Beneath, Emina writes ‘family, friends, history’. Pleasurable writing grows from the ground up.

Mila, Canada

Mila’s SPACE is a colourful lake. When recalling a time of pleasurable writing, she also turns to natural imagery: “I remember an open window, the greenery, the birds singing, the smell of grass and trees”.

Luisa, Australia

Luisa’s SPACE map is a sun rising above the aspect of writing she finds most difficult: writing applications. She creates a mantra for herself, commits to asking friends for advice, and decides to spend more time outdoors.

Sophie, UK

Sophie’s SPACE map is made of vines, stars, breath, a sun, and a community of people. It’s an image of what writing—when trimmed and watered—could grow to feel like.

Ethel, New Zealand

In Ethel’s SPACE map, words dance around a colourful flower. Musical notes circle the petals and drops of rain run down the stem. Ethel’s flower of writing flourishes.

Ethel, New Zealand

Ethel’s SPACE map is a flower. Raindrops hold words inside as they fall—words like ‘social support, positive thinking, and communication’. Sunlight shines over the flower. Inside the sun are the words: ‘bigger picture / goals’. 

Sarah, USA

Sarah draws her SPACE map as a real place: Bread Loaf Mountain, a mountain range in Vermont. Which peak do you need to climb to make it to the summit of your writing?

Linnéa, Sweden

Linnéa’s SPACE of writing is an untamed bush. It spirals across the page. She, too, plans to write in environments that are beautiful, to stand up, to walk and think during breaks. Linnéa seeks to set down-to-earth writing goals so she can feel the joy of sky-high achievement.

Terrie, Australia

Terrie, like Rebecca, visualises her SPACE of writing as a tree. ‘Grow, blossom, hibernate, reflect, shed’: Terrie SPACE map gives her writing practice permission to take up space and put down roots.

Sophia, Sweden

Sophia’s SPACE map cultivates a writing practice grounded in wellbeing. You cannot cut your mental and physical health off from your writing. Mind and body must flourish together — or wilt.

Rob, New Zealand

Like Ethel’s, Rob’s SPACE of writing flowers. His petals suggest different ways to enjoy writing more. If you were to pick just one pedal which would be most fruitful for you?

Hilary, UK

Hilary’s SPACE map shows a bird flying free from the chicken coop. ‘More sharing, more courageous, more energy, more risk’, she writes.

Main image credit: Sharon , USA