Well, I finally got off my posterior and whipped my office into shape. It still needs some things, like a new filing cabinet, and I need to go through some stuff, but it's once again a welcoming space in which to sit at my desk and work. For months, I've been on the couch with my MacBook, while in my office languished a perfectly good iMac (with a much larger screen, duh).
We hung curtains, and swapped out an antique daybed for a couple of chairs. The daybed is gorgeous, but it's going to require a special mattress and I just haven't gotten around to locating one yet (3/4 size, in fact). My idea was to set it up with lots of pillows and make it a cozy place to sit and read (or nap). Maybe later. For now, it's nice to have chairs with a good lamp and a couple of pillows. If hubby wants to play guitar while I write, he can. If I want to read while he surfs, I can. Not that we don't have other rooms in the house, but it's nice to be together. 🙂
Is a welcoming creative space necessary? Probably not. In On Writing, Stephen King tells of buying a huge oak desk that dominated his office. Ultimately, he realized the desk was merely an extension of ego and served no purpose. So he downsized and made his space into something where his family could come and be with him. And then, when he was nearly killed by a distracted driver, he once again found himself writing in a small space reminiscent of the laundry room he'd written in before he made a lot of money.
So no, probably all you need to write is a private space somewhere and an active imagination. I kid myself with my desire for order and pretty curtains, but hey, it works for me and makes me feel professional. I've written at Starbucks, where all you need is a small table and an iPod, and I've written in bed. But I really like sitting at my desk. Thankfully, I can do that again without the clutter and odd desk placement to distract me (yes, this is the third position my desk has been in, the logical one from the start, but one I stubbornly resisted — and it's perfect).
(For a fun look at writer spaces, click here. Scroll down and click on the pics.)
What's your creative space like? Do you like order, or does it matter?
I did a post on my writing space(s) two years ago and I took pictures too.
My Irrationalities: My Writing Space(s)
My writing space matters a great deal. It has to be simplistic and relaxing. I don’t do the desk thing either, though I have one. I mostly write on my bed. And sometimes I even write in the tub. 🙂
I want an office. *wah*
Even with my own office, I’ll have to get a couch to sit on with my laptop, as I can’t sit at the desk and work…
Tanya, I love your spaces! I love how you’ve framed all those contest certificates too. Dang, girl, you have a LOT of them. 🙂 I think I have one or two around here somewhere. You’ve inspired me to frame them, even if they are older than dirt. 🙂
I don’t know how anyone writes in the tub, though I know someone in my local chapter who does too. Heck, I can barely stay in the tub. I get antsy once I’ve run the water and sat down. I start to think, “Now what?”
LOL, needless to say, I don’t take a lot of baths, even with the jetted tub.
I’m planning to put a couch in here, PC! I love sitting on the couch to work, but I’d been doing it so much lately that I just felt a need for a change in venue. Now, I’m determined to make this office into everything I want it to be.
I have a table with the computer on it in one section of the living room. Works for me 🙂
Moving into a new house earlier this year, we made the sunroom into my office. Having my own space is great, but I don’t often write in here. 🙂
I write in the bed or on the couch. The sunroom isn’t big enough for either of those, though I have an overstuffed chair in here. I like to sit in it. Since I write my first drafts long-hand, writing at the desk isn’t comfortable. But I do edits and such here.
I’m looking forward to decorating later this year, maybe. New curtains, paint, and some inspirational pictures. That will only make the space better. 🙂
A table in the living room is sort of like writing on the couch. 🙂 I did it pretty much the whole time I was in Hawaii. I had an office, but we had frosted jalousie windows and I couldn’t see out. In my living room, however, the couch faced sliding glass doors. I could see my yard and the beautiful blue Hawaiian sky. Much better. 🙂
Angel, you write long-hand? Wow! I tried to do it, really tried, but I kept crossing things out and scribbling tiny words above the words I’d crossed out, and then I just gave up. Too addicted to cut and paste, and delete. 🙂 If I were living a hundred years ago, I probably wouldn’t be able to write.