Dear Reader,

I recently Tweeted something odd. At least it is for me.

It’s amazing how normal I feel whenever I get to work from a Starbucks. Literally feel like I can get things done. Good sigh.

— IcessFernandezRojas (@Icess) November 20, 2015

There’s something to say about space, especially for writers, that makes the world go right-side-up again. It’s been four months since I’ve moved home to Houston and while it’s great to be home writing space and time have been hard to come by.

It’s hard to go from a set up with a dedicated desk to a kitchen table in a noisy living room. With headphones, the problem lessens but sometimes a writer just needs quiet.

Starbucks or a coffee shop is NOT quiet, but it’s quiet enough.  A good set of headphones and the latest Adele album (have you heard it yet?) and it’s enough to do some work.

So, yes, Starbucks makes me feel normal. And normal is good. I still miss my set up, though.

 

 

But space also has another meaning for me. Head space. Creative space. The space where things are all possible.  Some people call that space Hope. I call it my creative, white-hot center.

Robert Olen Butler coined that phrase in his book, “From Where You Dream”. I read that phrase during grad school when I was all artsy and, frankly, douchy but in the cutest possible way, if that’s possible.

“You have to go down into that deepest, darkest, most roiling, white-hot place– it can’t be white-hot and dark at the same time, but I don’t care–that paradox, live with it — whatever scared the hell out of you down there — and there’s plenty in there; down into the deepest part of it and you can’t flinch, can’t walk away.”

That white-hot center. That place from where creativity comes from. That place where hope lives and the place I keep pristine.

That space? For me, that space is magic. As I reflect back on this year, I know that 2015 has been amazing to me. No, I didn’t win the lottery nor did I purchase a big, flashy new Texas McMansion. This has been an amazing year because for the first time, I feel free. The white-hot center part of me, from where creativity comes, is free and for the first time I feel I can do anything. Absolutely anything.

And I have! I have worked on projects that really appeal to me and used my voice in new and different ways.

That makes me feel…well, like this

 

 

 

And who doesn’t want to feel like this all the time?

Space. It more than just a desk and a computer. It’s where creativity comes from. And, if  I’m lucky, my space will be all I need for a long time.

 

Writing from the white-hot center,