Describe your writer space and what setting best makes your creative juices flow.
20 thoughts on “READER FRIDAY: You Are Where You Write”
I have two writer spaces: one is a small desk in my bedroom with a desktop computer; the other is a covered porch at the beach, with the waves about 50 yards away and great sunsets.
But I’ve written in cottages, ski resorts, ferry terminals, restaurants, hotel rooms, etc.
Sometimes getting away from my home base and distractions is great for my productivity.
Wow. I like this. I’ve only recently bought a laptop to get mobile. I had liked the solitude of my home office but in my new house, the view from my sum room or under the csnopy of huge trees is inspiring.
I could totally write with you at the beach, Sheryl.
I don’t have a dedicated space. I would like one, eventually, I think.
I have gone to the mobile extreme… I write whenever I can, wherever I’m at. I started with a laptop, went to a smaller laptop. After going to a printing and publishing conference about 3 years ago (and finding I was one of only a half dozen people out of about a 1000 that didn’t have a tablet or iPad) I investigated and got an older re-ferb model to see what the range of things was I could do with it. (I also do graphics, design, webworks, etc.) I got the latest and greatest iPad for Christmas last year and my writing spot is always with me now.
Funny thing is – I got an art app (53 paper) and e-pencil and started doing watercolor and other art again – It’s been 20 years… and I do love my app, but I’ve recently gotten a portable watercolor kit from Japan and a small tablet of watercolor paper. The kit even has a brush with it’s own water supply in it. So, old school is still awesome – but I guess I’ve become a professional wanderer/adventurer.
I like to have my writing, painting, and camera with me at all times, because you never know when you’ll get a great chance or possibly lose an awesome opportunity. Sometimes I’m on my motorcycle, sometimes I’m hiking, sometimes I’m with my pups, sometimes I’m grabbing a quick bite to eat. “Always Prepared.” (And yes I am in scouting. 😀 ) Instead of camping out in a tent, cold, this fall/winter… I think I’m going to rent a yurt for a week (cabins are ok, but I’ve never done a yurt) out in the great Michigan North – bring the girls, my bag, and a bunch of paper. I am need of some serious “me” time – have office, will travel!
Very nomadic and highly creative. The ways you express your artistic side keeps those creative juices flowing. I like it, Penny. Thanks for sharing. Now…take a hike.
In the house, two spots. My office which is painted a vivid orange with a cream glaze coat over the top, bamboo floors, and abundant light. Three windows, all behind me, painted titanium white. The desktop is here, two monitors, printer, two bookcases, and the trio of overflow books stacked on the floor. Good speakers for music. Today, I’ve got The Piano Guys playing, coffee steaming, and a gorgeous dawn turning the hillsides to gold.
The other spot is my armchair with my laptop. I only write there if everyone else is gone. Family is a distraction because I care about them.
I sometimes write in the buzz of a public place. Not my preference but better than not writing. Unless the volume is overwhelming, the folks around me don’t disturb the work. I always have a tablet with keyboard and a camera with me at a minimum (due to work-work) so the means are usually close at hand.
I don’t write out in natural settings. That’s recharge time and I let the connections flow, jump, and play.
Wow. I felt revitalized just reading your comment, Paul. Lovely You are a writer for a reason. Cheers
I can identify with your “mounds” of creativity. I used to think that if I piled it high enough, the weight pressure might yield diamonds.
Write now my writing space is a heap of debris. To my left is the stack of five printed out copies of ms MS from the five times we gave it a line-by-line edit, made all the fixes, then did it again and found new ones. The last one came up pretty clean, so there are probably only three or four glitches in the finished product.
On my right is the three-by-three table that usually has my notebook and the mail, but is right now heaped high with a dozen or so book I was using as examples as I made formatting decisions and choices. And a couple of weeks worth of unopened mail, because who has time when your self-imposed pub deadline is approaching. None of the utilities has been turned off, so I’m apparently still OK.
My computer itself sits on a small, rolling typing table that I can wheel down the hall from its usual spot in the corner of the living room to my bedroom when the house is filled with my teenage son’s friends. I like having a little clatter and clamor when I work – I grew up in a big family and worked in newsrooms all my career – but six or seven teens is more than even I can bare.
Good heavens! Right now. Not write now. Damn.
Freudian
Oops. My comment to you, John, got posted to Paul#s. Whoopsy.
I have a corner office in the house (perk of being an empty-nester), a desktop computer, and windows where I get distracted from writing looking at the hummingbirds waging war at the feeders, or the deer coming to graze on the seeds the other birds knock out of their feeders. Every once in a while a bear wanders through. I just turned in a manuscript, so my desk is in a rare “neat” state. I’ve got a La-Z-Boy recliner with a side table for reading, both for pleasure and when I’m doing edits. And bookshelves. Lots of bookshelves. Converted the closet to file drawers and shelving, plus 2 6-shelf wooden bookcases on the far wall. And a very nice (but pricey) ergonomic desk chair.
You’re giving me ideas. Hummingbirds would keep me mesmerized like a crackling fire, I’m afraid. But your writing spot sounds homey, Terry.
That koi pond setting, with trickling water, would relax me too much also, Kathryn. Hard to get inspired for murder & mayhem when you’re in the Zen zone. You need a middle ground. Ha!
I tend to write best huddled in a dirt hole half way up a mountain where the space beams best penetrate the atmospheric layers so the voices come in loud and clear without worrying about the men in dark suits intercepting the signals as I act as amanuensis for the celestial beings that have chosen me to write their stories.
So…sounds like you’re high maintenance
Uh….sorry about that folks. Apparently Boffin left his wild fungus collection on the kitchen island and Basil thought they were for lunch.
We’ve taken the computer away from him today, until he recovers…and I….uh….oh my.
Mr. Basil Sir! No, don’t climb up there like that, you actually cannot fly!
…excuse me please…..
….MR BASIL!
If anyone can fly, it would be Mr Basil.
A too small desk in my bedroom with a monitor in front, a pull-out drawer that keeps going off track for my keyboard, my printer to the right, and the desktop thingie underneath. I’m a sprawler when I write: papers and books everywhere – hence, the small desk. However, the queen-size bed behind me holds all the stuff that’s stacked in front of the monitor while I’m writing.
A tall bookcase to my right holds reference books and odd items like a fish head night light, assorted toys, a large hourglass, paper, journals. A 2×3 foot bulletin board above the monitor is pinned with quotes, masks, ampersands, time-turner, and other stuff that serves as visual white noise.
I have two writer spaces: one is a small desk in my bedroom with a desktop computer; the other is a covered porch at the beach, with the waves about 50 yards away and great sunsets.
But I’ve written in cottages, ski resorts, ferry terminals, restaurants, hotel rooms, etc.
Sometimes getting away from my home base and distractions is great for my productivity.
Wow. I like this. I’ve only recently bought a laptop to get mobile. I had liked the solitude of my home office but in my new house, the view from my sum room or under the csnopy of huge trees is inspiring.
I could totally write with you at the beach, Sheryl.
I don’t have a dedicated space. I would like one, eventually, I think.
I have gone to the mobile extreme… I write whenever I can, wherever I’m at. I started with a laptop, went to a smaller laptop. After going to a printing and publishing conference about 3 years ago (and finding I was one of only a half dozen people out of about a 1000 that didn’t have a tablet or iPad) I investigated and got an older re-ferb model to see what the range of things was I could do with it. (I also do graphics, design, webworks, etc.) I got the latest and greatest iPad for Christmas last year and my writing spot is always with me now.
Funny thing is – I got an art app (53 paper) and e-pencil and started doing watercolor and other art again – It’s been 20 years… and I do love my app, but I’ve recently gotten a portable watercolor kit from Japan and a small tablet of watercolor paper. The kit even has a brush with it’s own water supply in it. So, old school is still awesome – but I guess I’ve become a professional wanderer/adventurer.
I like to have my writing, painting, and camera with me at all times, because you never know when you’ll get a great chance or possibly lose an awesome opportunity. Sometimes I’m on my motorcycle, sometimes I’m hiking, sometimes I’m with my pups, sometimes I’m grabbing a quick bite to eat. “Always Prepared.” (And yes I am in scouting. 😀 ) Instead of camping out in a tent, cold, this fall/winter… I think I’m going to rent a yurt for a week (cabins are ok, but I’ve never done a yurt) out in the great Michigan North – bring the girls, my bag, and a bunch of paper. I am need of some serious “me” time – have office, will travel!
Very nomadic and highly creative. The ways you express your artistic side keeps those creative juices flowing. I like it, Penny. Thanks for sharing. Now…take a hike.
In the house, two spots. My office which is painted a vivid orange with a cream glaze coat over the top, bamboo floors, and abundant light. Three windows, all behind me, painted titanium white. The desktop is here, two monitors, printer, two bookcases, and the trio of overflow books stacked on the floor. Good speakers for music. Today, I’ve got The Piano Guys playing, coffee steaming, and a gorgeous dawn turning the hillsides to gold.
The other spot is my armchair with my laptop. I only write there if everyone else is gone. Family is a distraction because I care about them.
I sometimes write in the buzz of a public place. Not my preference but better than not writing. Unless the volume is overwhelming, the folks around me don’t disturb the work. I always have a tablet with keyboard and a camera with me at a minimum (due to work-work) so the means are usually close at hand.
I don’t write out in natural settings. That’s recharge time and I let the connections flow, jump, and play.
Wow. I felt revitalized just reading your comment, Paul. Lovely You are a writer for a reason. Cheers
I can identify with your “mounds” of creativity. I used to think that if I piled it high enough, the weight pressure might yield diamonds.
Write now my writing space is a heap of debris. To my left is the stack of five printed out copies of ms MS from the five times we gave it a line-by-line edit, made all the fixes, then did it again and found new ones. The last one came up pretty clean, so there are probably only three or four glitches in the finished product.
On my right is the three-by-three table that usually has my notebook and the mail, but is right now heaped high with a dozen or so book I was using as examples as I made formatting decisions and choices. And a couple of weeks worth of unopened mail, because who has time when your self-imposed pub deadline is approaching. None of the utilities has been turned off, so I’m apparently still OK.
My computer itself sits on a small, rolling typing table that I can wheel down the hall from its usual spot in the corner of the living room to my bedroom when the house is filled with my teenage son’s friends. I like having a little clatter and clamor when I work – I grew up in a big family and worked in newsrooms all my career – but six or seven teens is more than even I can bare.
Good heavens! Right now. Not write now. Damn.
Freudian
Oops. My comment to you, John, got posted to Paul#s. Whoopsy.
I have a corner office in the house (perk of being an empty-nester), a desktop computer, and windows where I get distracted from writing looking at the hummingbirds waging war at the feeders, or the deer coming to graze on the seeds the other birds knock out of their feeders. Every once in a while a bear wanders through. I just turned in a manuscript, so my desk is in a rare “neat” state. I’ve got a La-Z-Boy recliner with a side table for reading, both for pleasure and when I’m doing edits. And bookshelves. Lots of bookshelves. Converted the closet to file drawers and shelving, plus 2 6-shelf wooden bookcases on the far wall. And a very nice (but pricey) ergonomic desk chair.
You’re giving me ideas. Hummingbirds would keep me mesmerized like a crackling fire, I’m afraid. But your writing spot sounds homey, Terry.
I love to write (and read) on a chaise lounge, under an umbrella, overlooking our koi pond. Only problem is, my favorite spot is so relaxing, I tend to fall asleep! I have to go to my least-favorite spot, the kitchen dinette, to actually get stuff done.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152721636402502&set=pb.711707501.-2207520000.1441393795.&type=3&theater
That koi pond setting, with trickling water, would relax me too much also, Kathryn. Hard to get inspired for murder & mayhem when you’re in the Zen zone. You need a middle ground. Ha!
I tend to write best huddled in a dirt hole half way up a mountain where the space beams best penetrate the atmospheric layers so the voices come in loud and clear without worrying about the men in dark suits intercepting the signals as I act as amanuensis for the celestial beings that have chosen me to write their stories.
So…sounds like you’re high maintenance
Uh….sorry about that folks. Apparently Boffin left his wild fungus collection on the kitchen island and Basil thought they were for lunch.
We’ve taken the computer away from him today, until he recovers…and I….uh….oh my.
Mr. Basil Sir! No, don’t climb up there like that, you actually cannot fly!
…excuse me please…..
….MR BASIL!
If anyone can fly, it would be Mr Basil.
A too small desk in my bedroom with a monitor in front, a pull-out drawer that keeps going off track for my keyboard, my printer to the right, and the desktop thingie underneath. I’m a sprawler when I write: papers and books everywhere – hence, the small desk. However, the queen-size bed behind me holds all the stuff that’s stacked in front of the monitor while I’m writing.
A tall bookcase to my right holds reference books and odd items like a fish head night light, assorted toys, a large hourglass, paper, journals. A 2×3 foot bulletin board above the monitor is pinned with quotes, masks, ampersands, time-turner, and other stuff that serves as visual white noise.