Writer’s Desk

Writers often work in isolation. It can be a solitary pastime: sitting at their desk, typing or writing furiously, barely aware of the world beyond their screen or page. But today, I thought we take a trip to visit each other’s work space…

Describe your writer’s desk.

Here’s what I want you to do:

Respond to each of the dot points below and send back to be…in the comments box below if you are happy to share this with all readers, or on the contacts page form if you want to keep this just between us.

  • Describe (in words or photos) your writing space (the place you do most of your writing).
  • What do you like about where you write?
  • What would you change?
  • Describe your ideal writing space.
  • Where is your favourite place to write? Why?

My writer’s desk:

Writer's DeskIt’s sparse and simple, but not in that perfect Zen kind of way. It has a utilitarian functionality, it is not elegant or aesthetically pleasing in any way.

A basic Ikea desk with not nearly enough drawers sits in the corner of a room beside the window. Natural light is vital, plus this means I can gaze out on the world whenever I need inspiration or thinking space. Atop the desk is a mess of writers’ tools: pens, pencils, notebooks, PostIt notes, a diary, 3 different style manuals, a lamp, my laptop, my mobile phone…and coffee – perhaps the most important ingredient. I also keep a small tube of hand cream and lip balm on one corner of the desk, alongside a tiny rose quartz Buddha that I picked up years ago in Byron Bay, Australia. Easy to slip into an overnight case or handbag, this has travelled with me all over the world, and has become my bit of home wherever I find myself. I has nothing to do with superstition or religion…I just like it.

Above my desk is a calendar form my home town – a friend sent it to me as a reminder of where I am not. Beside this is hung a picture of a couple of my favourite people.

A quirky thing showed up on my desk recently, a red badge with the words “Punch apathy in the chin”. I have no idea where it came from, perhaps friends who recently stayed, and I could find out easily, but it hardly matters…it made me laugh and is sometimes good reminder to stop procrastinating. I have stuck it to my desk lamp.

In the window hangs a Swarovski crystal star – a recent gift from an aunt. It catches the sun while I’m working and casts refracted rainbows around the room – a sure fire way to make me smile and bring perspective to my writing.

If I could change anything, it would be to have an office, you know, a whole room in which I worked rather than just a corner. There would be a whole wall of bookshelf, another with double sliding doors flooding the space with light and opening onto a balcony. One wall would be a whiteboard where I could brainstorm and jot random ideas. There would be a much comfier desk chair and a bigger desk, and a sofa to lie on when I needed to close my eyes…to find inspiration…I’m not really sleeping!

But when I have the time and I am writing more creatively, I like to sit on the beach with a notebook and pen. There is something about the sound of the waves, the smell of salt and the open sky that is conducive to the flow of ideas. Winter or summer – the beach is my favourite place to write. Failing that, a good café – great coffee, music not too loud as to be disturbing, large windows, the gentle bustle of busy-ness and chatter.

 

Writer’s own photo used.

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