Irvine Welsh …

Irvine Welsh …

Scottish novelist, playwright and short story writer Irvine Welsh is best known for his novel Trainspotting, which was later made into a film of the same name. His work is characterised by a raw Scots dialect and brutal depiction of Edinburgh life. He has also written plays and screenplays, and directed several short films.

In an interview with New York Times Style Magazine in 2016 for their A Writer’s Room series he spoke about his home office in Chicago.

I grew up in a small rabbit hutch of an apartment in the kind of municipal housing district that they called “projects” in the U.S. but are more tellingly referred to as “schemes” in Scotland. There was no room for bookshelves, so n the absence of somewhere to permanently reside, books tended to transition through our house and around the scheme. As a result, I like to have books about to delve into to inspire me; sometimes just a glance at the spine of a certain work will help.

My workspace in my Chicago home is usually ordered when I begin a project, but it descends into a mess of Post-it notes, photographs and articles stuck on the walls by the time I’m finished. You’re catching me quite early on in the game here. Music is very important in my writing. I have a playlist for each character and usually end up with a mixtape for every novel. Sometimes I get carried away and forget to write, but it’s never wasted, as something always resurfaces from my binges.

The space itself is really four areas: a library-type room with a large desk I can cover with a manuscript; an alcove with my decks and music; a smaller office with a whiteboard and reference books; and a balcony where I can sit outside and write in the sun, counting my blessings that I don’t have a real job to do. As much as I like this place, I try not to get too attached to it, and I therefore do a lot of work in coffee shops and on public transit. It’s important for me to be able to write anywhere and not get too precious about trying to chase the fool’s gold of optimum conditions.