The Writing Life

Chapter 2 explores the writer’s workspace and writing routine. Dillard opens with a description of two of her workspaces: an unfinished pine cabin on Cape Cod and a cinderblock study in the library of Virginia’s Hollins College. Both workspaces only contain the essentials for her work to limit the possibility of distraction. In the library study, there is a window overlooking the roof, the parking lot, and the distant landscape, through which she would people-watch and doodle the environment. At one point, Dillard joins a boys’ softball game after seeing them play through the window. Realizing that the real world is hindering her imagination, she permanently closes the window and pastes a simple line drawing of its view on the curtains.

Two stories from Dillard’s early writing days illustrate how rigorous and intense her writing schedule was to the point that she occasionally forgot about the real world. In one instance, she withdraws from her friends on the Fourth of July to work alone instead of watching the fireworks. However, she spends her time in the study unproductively. Annoyed by what she thinks is a bug tapping at her window, she peeks out of the curtain and sees the distant fireworks.