Writer, Kate Calcutt, tells us how she writes on the 6th Floor.

My name is Kate Calcutt and I’m writing my first novel, ‘The Bigger Picture’. Every Wednesday I write on the 6th floor of the Royal Festival Hall at the Southbank Centre. I write with two fellow writers who I met whilst attending the Faber & Faber ‘Get it Written’ Course. We always try to arrive at doors opening time, 10am, and it if often as competitive as getting a book deal, to get a seat, particularly one over looking the River! If you’re after a quiet, contemplative place to write, then the RFH is not for you. However, I love the buzz of creative sorts at work, or play, who seem to get my own creative juices flowing. It is not unusual for me to be sitting next to an architect planning a new build on their Macbook, a recruitment consultant interviewing a candidate for a job, or a young trendy chap wearing headphones mixing music. Elderly ladies drink tea, mothers breastfeed and writers mentor students; it’s the inspiration that most writers at home on their laptops can only dream of. My friends and I use our day to share ideas, read aloud passages of our work, and ask for input and advice. We are a great source of support to each other without which I don’t think we’d stay as motivated as we are about getting to the ends of our weighty tomes! Obviously there is the odd cup of coffee, bowl of soup and even a glass of wine thrown in for good measure, but what the RFH offers us all is a place of work where we can feel as though writing a book is a proper job, away from the mundane and often distracting kitchen table at home.