In her essay “A Room of One’s Own,” Virginia Woolf claimed that “a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” While Woolf’s essay had more to do with the lack of financial and educational freedom female writers were subject to, the title of this piece strikes upon an essential piece of equipment in the arsenal of any serious writer: a place to write.

At first the statement that a writer needs a place to write seems too obvious. After all, a teacher needs a place to teach, and a doctor needs a place to practice medicine. But writing is, in many ways, more solitary than other professions. All of the work takes place in the writer’s mind and in the transfer of his or her ideas to the page. For this reason, the lack of interference from the outside world is of the utmost importance. In speaking of the necessity of a writer’s place to work, Stephen King had this to say: “It really only needs one thing: a door which you are willing to shut. The closed door is your way of telling the world and yourself that you mean business; you have made a serious commitment to write and intend to walk the walk as well as talk the talk.”

The closed door that King insists is of such great importance, however, can be a major problem for most writers, however. Not only is it a challenge to find a set time each day for working, but a writer’s loved ones can pose a major threat to his or her work. Attending a reading by Claudia Emerson two years ago, I heard that she had rented out a private office space to work while working on Late Wife, the collection that won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. While I admire her discipline, it is obvious that not every writer has the means to rent a property outside of their homes for the purpose of writing.

In my experience, sharing a home with my husband and dog is one of the biggest obstacles to my career as a writer. As each day begins and ends and my husband and I are at last home from school and work, I am eager to see him and to spend time with him. With our busy schedules, these moments are frustratingly rare, and it takes a lot of determination to spend those few hours alone writing. (Not to mention ingenuity, as the furthest I can physically get from him in our house is about fifteen feet away.) Although my husband is understanding and supportive, I know it can be hard for him to be denied my company. The dog is much less respectful of my need for privacy, and has no qualms about head-butting my laptop out of his way. I have no idea how my writer friends that are parents, especially to small children, manage to find the time to write all of the amazing things that they do.

Every writer is faced with his or her unique set of circumstances, but the answer for each writer that hopes to be successful is the same: Shut that door, and keep it shut for as long as you need. If you don’t respect your work enough to devote the necessary time and concentration to it, then there’s no reason for anyone else to respect it either.