I’d been travelling for over a week by the time I arrived at the Katharine Susannah Prichard Writer’s Centre (KSP), and I’d be travelling again once I left, so arriving in my cabin – Aldridge, felt even more of a gift than I’d imagined. As I unpacked, I gave thanks I had this lovely space, no other responsibility than to write, and no obligation to interact unless I wanted.

Space and solitude are immensely important for writers. Many of us write in snatches of time and in all sorts of places. My own regular workspace is a small table tucked in a corner of a busy loungeroom, so the opportunity for sustained periods of concentration with no disturbances was invaluable. I know some writers work well amidst a sea of distractions, but not me.

At KSP I wrote and read. I scribbled on the whiteboard, took photographs of the scrawl then wiped the board to begin again. I walked a lot, pacing the room, and making long meandering laps of the garden before venturing further into nearby streets and the national park. Spring had come early so there were flowers everywhere in the garden and the bush was awash with drifts of wildflowers. I discovered everything I’d ever heard about the beauty of W.A. wildflowers is true.

I ate lunches outside watching the wattlebirds perform intricate acrobatics in the flowerbeds below Katharine’s cabin and I shared the sun with the stumpy-tailed lizard who hung out in the lantana patch. I learned they’re called Yoorn by the local people and the shy bandicoots are Kwenda.

I thought hard about my characters and the structure of my novel, and the big hole in the middle that I wanted to fix. And slowly, slowly I managed to build a scaffold out across that great chasm, working from both sides like building the harbour bridge, and hoping it would all meet up in the middle.

I had sundowners with my fabulous fellow residents – Melanie Saward and Sharon Barba, talking writing and structure and the joys and difficulties of the writing life as the sunset fell away and the fairy lights on the verandah lit up.

It was a very productive time for me. As I wrote and walked and thought, I felt privileged to be in the space where Katharine had nurtured and grown her writing and where so many writers have passed through making this place their own for a small space of time, be it weeks, months or just a single workshop. Places such as the KSP Writer’s Centre, its sister, Varuna, and their French cousin – the Keesing Studio in Paris, are testimony to the importance of space and community in a writer’s life. I’ve been fortunate enough to have a residency at Varuna and it was a similarly amazing experience. Set up by legacies from, or to honour three powerful writers – Katharine Susannah Prichard, Eleanor Dark and Nancy Keesing, these places are invaluable literary inheritances for this country and the world.

But none of these places can function in isolation. It’s the staff and volunteers who keep them running – people who understand and value the craft and process of writing, and understand what’s needed for a writer to achieve their best work. It’s their goodwill, hard work and attention to detail that makes the residencies so special for anyone fortunate enough to spend time there. So thank you Katharine Susannah Prichard, and the fabulous team at KSP. I look forward to returning sometime soon.