I would ask you how you set up your writing spot at home? Do you have a bright, sun-softened room that lends itself to calm energy? Is there an old vintage desk, or a new offering considered “farmhouse” style? Do you stack papers on it, on one corner? Do you keep your phone nearby or stash it across the room so that you can stay focused? Do you have carpet, wood-flooring, or perhaps fancy tile? And how is the chair? This is almost the most important…the CHAIR! Is it upholstered?

What colors surround you? What music plays, or do you need quiet stillness to work? Do you set a timer, make notes in a planner, write on a whiteboard? Do you schedule your writing time, or just grab the odd little moments to put words on paper?

What are your dreams for your writing future?

Aren’t I nosy? You see, these details intrigue me. Where we all create story…what is it like for you?

My own spot is not quite as sunny as I desire, nor is it eastern-facing for the morning beauty. My dream writing room is as such…a bright, fresh, simple room with sunshine…and a sunrise. I would have a wall of white-washed ceiling-to-floor shelving which would hold my cherished books, photos, keepsakes. Just a few, not too many…keepsakes, not the books.

My current desk is a part of a matching pair. It is not big enough, but workable. It is not vintage, not with any type of ‘history’. The other one holds my needs for the ‘other’ job that I can’t quite leave yet. The feeling of that work takes up a lot of the room, sucking space… and I yearn to clear it all out, rearrange my surfaces to accommodate my writing…just.my.writing.

I also work on my laptop from my fat, comfy chair in the living-room, or on good days, out on the lanai. During the BC (Before Covid) times, I loved the coffeeshop in old town, or the bookstore. Oh, for those days…

I am half on, half off, regarding the music question. If it is instrumental, if it is soft and low, if my mood is right….I have it on while I work. But often, this destroys my concentration. Odd, I know, when so many use this TO concentrate!

I have papers on the desk, since I am always reviewing, or referencing, or needing to scribble. I keep a planner, or three…that I, desperately, try to use to schedule writing time. The discipline of segments in color, bold and important, not to be ignored.

Herbs in windows, a retro desk phone in soft mint, sits on a side table. This is not plugged in, just pretty. It could work, it should work, but that would mean another phone line…which I am still deciding upon, but it would be kind of fun…Shelving with books, although, these are not the beauties I dream of, just oddball finds that I have painted white. There is carpet, soft light grey walls, and rattan baskets for files, pens, clips, manuscripts.

The chair is upholstered, and one I just KNEW would be perfect…but causes my legs to go to sleep. It is on rollers, and is lovely, if not a bit body-damaging.

I am okay with this setup. It is not perfect, but then no one I know has a perfect writing spot. One friend writes from an RV, cramped but cozy. One friend writes from an apartment she shares with two others, in a corner of her tiny big city bedroom. Another writes from her closet~ I am astonished how productive she is.

So, that is what I would chat about…if we were having coffee….our writing spaces, our desktops, our chairs…because it is so interesting to know how others find ways to produce story, or music, or art. Where do you settle in, get comfy, and weave your words?

~HPen~