Writing spaces?

[Jo Zebedee]

We're all finding Teresa's blog inspiring... I wondered what other writing spaces are like - what is Juliana's third of a notice board etc. Anyway, here are some thumbnails of mine. The cupboard on the left is where I keep a lot of my work-work stuff, and I have a bookcase that I haven't shown here because it's full of boring management books.

The desk is where I work and behind it I have some stuff stuck up about the current wip. At the moment that's Galaxy and I have a picture that inspired the base, and a couple of pictures that gave me a visual for characters. I also have my scribbled original plan. For anything Abendau there'd be a timeline stuck up instead.

On the filing cabinet there's some stuff from the Chrons christmas cards - so Alc's fab sf card, Parson's magnet, and Perp's address labels. There's also a magnet from a local artist which shows sheep in the place of stars entitled Ewe-niverse.

 

[allmywires]

Very organised! Here's mine: http://360.io/KmBhZh/f

Might explain why my writing is so scattered and unfocussed. Because, you know, I am in general.

(And yes, that is a desk in the corner that I don't use because it is piled high with paper, books, food, TV and DVD player, stereo, etc...)

 

[Mouse]

I haven't really got one.

This is where I write:

 

[HareBrain]

Here's my writing space/office, and it's yellow! Note ancient HP laserjet and the fact that I'm not writing. Or working.

(Note also, sloping doorways more due to wide-angle photography than collapsing Victorian structure.)

I've also shown a close-up of the painting above my desk, by wildlife artist Jonathan Pointer, because it's gorgeous.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

The first two are not so different from spaces I've used in the past. I've never had a laptop, though, so I could never work all comfy on the couch or in bed.

Which explains the tens of thousands of notes (it feels like tens of thousands trying to sort through them, but I really couldn't estimate the number) on loose papers or in spiral notebooks, because I could scribble them when I was lounging on the bed. Now they are disorganization hidden away in neat folders and boxes, but lurking there under the surface.

I know my lovely office space will become crowded and disorganized soon enough. I'm going to have to be militant about what comes in from the rest of the house, but I know that I will eventually cave under pressure. And clutter breeds clutter, at least in this house. But I wanted it to be as neat and spacious as possible to begin with, so that it will take longer to descend into chaos.

When I worked in the dining room at our other house, I lost a couple of steno-pads filled with notes. And when I say lost, I don't mean misplaced, but lost forever. I would have been thrilled with a cupboard to keep things safe or a wall for posters and maps, or shelves like HareBrain's*, though they would soon have been crammed with papers and books and who-knows-what.

Someday, when you are all famous writers -- more famous than I ever was -- you will all have home offices of shining splendor.

___

*The painting is wonderful.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Lizzie, that looks very similar to my room when I was a student. And I'm jealous of Mouse with Beau, that looks well comfy.

It would have been nice to see them anonymously because I think Harebrain's picture* and the sculpture (which I really liked) give it away.

And clutter, Teresa, this room is the magnet for it. No matter what I do it accumulates in it...



*I have a nice one of a half-naked Lichio that stays up most of the time. It's the top half that's naked.

 

[Abernovo]

I'll post pictures when I've finished rearranging the place. I only have a tiny space, which doubles as my living room. Inspired by Teresa, I'm trying to make it a little more work-friendly. I will admit to being a tiny bit jealous of those of you with dedicated offices.

My biggest problem seems to be that I have one room for two rooms worth of books!

The pictures all look great.

 

[allmywires]

Lizzie, that looks very similar to my room when I was a student.

Presumably with marginally less LOST posters?

I wish I had somewhere particular to go where I could write. You know the expression don't sh*t where you eat, well, I think there's something to saying don't write where you sleep. Late at night there is a fine line between concentrating and just slowly sliding down the bed until you're horizontal and closing your eyes...

 

[HoopyFrood]

This is our library, named so because of all the many, many books (and comics).

Corner one.

Corner two, with No One's neat book shelf that my books aren't allowed near. Also the shelf with an odd assortment of things including the Exeter Meeting shield and my trophy for winning my old job's Cheese Day. And my clapper board!

And finally the computer. Technically No One's, and he uses it much more, but I do now and then.

Though if I'm honest, mostly I do stuff while on the laptop, sitting on the sofa. Just like I am now!

 

[ZombieWife]

Hmm, I don't have a writing "space." My laptop is my space, I guess.

 

[David Evil Overlord]

I commit most of my writing either in the comfy armchair, or in bed.

Those are the places I can get my laptop on my lap.

Any surface apart from my lap tends to collect too much clutter. And I think if my lap sat still for long enough...

 

[chrispenycate]

My new flat has space for a chair! Two chairs, in fact, though I dont quite see how I can sit on both. And nested coffee tables to put a laptop on! Hot and cold running WiFi in all rooms! No more lounging on the bed typing one handed, or squidging up into an unused corner of the office (or typing onto one of the office computers and forgetting to transfer to the portable.

Photographs will follow, as I get moved in.

 

[Juliana]

Right, lets see if I can get this photo attachment thingy to work... High-flying techie, me!

Anyway, the four pics show our usually neat apartment which is at present all topsy-turvy due to sorting stuff for our international move.

Pic 1 is the actual office, which leads off the living room. Its pretty much all mine in the am, gets fought over by the kids all afternoon and belongs to my husband in the evening.

Pic 2 shows the "view" of the living room from the office - oodles of natural light, which I love.

Pic 3 shows my third of the notice board. The sports related objects to the left are on my husband's third (the other third is household admin). Above you can just about see my cubby hole - husband and I each have one. Mine has lots of random junk plus my writing and translation work.

Pic 4 shows the view from the dining room through into living room with office on the right. It is very noisy when the kids are home (TV, video games, friends over etc) so this is why I only write in the blessedly silent mornings!

Just to say, am loving reading everyone's descriptions and seeing the pictures!!

 

[Erin99]

I love this thread, Springs.


Some people have lovely work areas (your dog is posing for that photo, Mouse!). So neat!!! I share mine with Seph. We're lucky in that his living room is spacious, so we can have two desks together. His area is to the left, mine is to the right. We both have PCs set up, though this is an old photo - back when the desk wasn't hidden under mounds of world-building and planning notes, and back when I wasn't living here full-time! - so where the netbook is, is now my PC. It's a nice space, though, and I sit facing a bookshelf - which is inspiring.



Edit: And yes, that's a giant purple tilde printed out and sitting in the printer. We are random like that! And he's cute, so we still have him to this day.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Leisha, your picture isn't there. It looks like you removed it from the site that hosted it.

(Curious about the purple tilde.)

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Leisha, I'm enjoying it too. Your pic was here earlier, but now it's gone! Juliana, I love the noticebard... Hoops, that's a serious sff book collection!

 

[HoopyFrood]

That's not even all of it, I have another shelf downstairs in the dining room that's as wide and as tall as the double stacked one in the first photo

All my old University texts (and being of English, there were a lot) and my science fiction are on that one!

 

[alchemist]

I love amw's maps and HB's hare painting!

No dedicated space here, but if things work out, we may be buying a new house soon, with a glass gazebo-thing in the garden. When the estate agent showed us around, he said to alchemissus, "You can write your novel in here." Sexist *******!

 

[allmywires]

I love amw's maps and HB's hare painting!

I want a geological map next! Not that there's any room for one. Maybe I'll just hang it over the window.

 

[Glen]

It was great to read Teresa's blog posts, and I got an enormous sense of satisfaction about that space being made available. It has only just occurred to me reading this thread that I don't have a writing space myself. Maybe that's one of the reasons I was pleased for Teresa.

Maybe its one of the reasons I'm not writing!

We're in a rental property while between homes. We don't move into our new place until late June. There is a study in this place, with the desk and the desktop. But all the books are in storage. Including some of the books on writing I had planned to read. And (I hope, o lord, I hope) some of my notebooks for my stories.

It is harder to find a quiet place here too, and I can't usually listen to music while writing.

I do have this new MacBook. So maybe I'll be able to make it my writing space, no matter where I am.