Writing space, the short story and memory

This article examines the effect of the writing environment on the writer, the subsequent impact on what is written and the reasons for this, focusing on the relationship between writer, writing space and memory. In its exploration of the effects of writing spaces on the writer and what is written, it draws on affect theory and humanistic geography, alongside the writing of Georges Perec and Gaston Bachelard. This article considers the concept of space and the process through which a ‘space’ may become a ‘place’. Arguing that, rather than being static, the relationship between writer and space is subject to continued change, that memory is a key factor in building this relationship and that the writer’s ultimate aim is always to make the space a ‘home’ for her writing.