Monday, May 7, 2018

I'll Show You Mine if You Show Me Yours: Reds' Writing Spaces

JENN McKINLAY: I recently cleaned my desk, so I figured it was as good a time as any to share what my work space looks like. I follow several publishers on Instagram and I am always fascinated when they share their authors' work spaces. I love the ones that have windows to look out and I am resentful of the ones that are super tidy. So, here's me, trying to build some resentment:
Jenn's Desk
This is where I work, mostly, when I'm not writing at the kitchen counter, standing up so I can stretch or hunkered in the car waiting for Hooligan 2 while he's in guitar lessons. A lot of writing has been done in my car! But this is where I toil the most. To the right is the window where I can look at the dogs running around the backyard and at the pool where I lifeguard the Hooligans, mostly to keep them from doing dumb things since they've been swimming since they were toddlers. The portrait over my desk is a canvas of my fam reproduced from one of our old Christmas cards, which brings me joy. 

How about you, Reds? What's your desk look like?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I have an ancient computer desk tucked into the bay window of my parlor. Not shown in this picture: a VERY messy oak table to the right, where I keep files, stacks of correspondence, and some house plants struggling to stay alive. Also not shown: my Shih Tzu Louie, on his bed behind my chair (but not TOO close behind!) and my black cat Neko, who likes to go from the windowsill to my desk, cross my laptop, and then perch at my left hand, the better to receive tribute in the form of skritches. I try not to keep too much on my desk, but everything I have there pleases me: three crystals from a friend who swears they improve concentration and creativity, a crystal typewriter paperweight from Front Street Book Shop (now, sadly, closed), a mason jar from a wedding for my pens and pencils, and a pretty Lilly Pulitzer agenda for notes, etc.

Julia's Desk
The view from the window would look out over my front lawn to the road, if it weren't for the fact I have a gigantic overgrown rhododendron in the way. It's nice, really; it keeps me from glancing up at each passing car, and in the spring and summer, it's a popular place for birds. If I could change one thing about my work space, it would be the temperature - it's cold most of the year. In the picture, you can see the woven woolen shawl I keep to toss around my shoulders. In the worst of winter, I have to slide an electric heater beneath the desk to keep my feet from freezing.

HALLIE EPHRON: Here's my office where I work when I'm not on the couch in the living room under a pile of blankets, or like Jenn standing at the kitchen counter. It's windows on 3 walls, and last year sparrows nested in the forsythia bush RIGHT outside the window by my computer. Yup, it's cold in there in the winter. Can you see my orchid and my streptocarpus (blooming again!) in the window? And beside the orchid is the green-glass swan I bought to celebrate Never Tell a Lie. 

Hallie's OfficeJenn: I have orchid envy, Hallie!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I have a perfectly nice proper office upstairs, in the bedroom across from ours. But ninety-five percent of the time, I work here, in our sunporch. For years I worked in here on a little rolling laptop table, then a couple of years ago I snagged this vintage oak library table at a garage sale down the street. So much open work space! Ha, that didn't last long, as you can see. 

Deb's Desk
Isn't it interest how many of us work in rooms with windows? Our porch is really, really cold in the winter (when I am forced to go upstairs) and blazingly hot in the summer when the west sun hits all those windows. But I love the view over the whole back yard. I can let the dogs in and out, and make endless cups of tea. And of course there is the sofa for plotting (napping) and a good reading chair. 

INGRID THOFT:   After several years at the dining room table, the condo we moved into three years ago provided me with “a room of one’s own.”  It’s small, but my desk faces Puget Sound and Pike Place Market:  The view is endlessly fascinating.  When it’s chilly and dank in the winter, I turn on the gas fireplace, and when the sun—yes, we do have sun—shines in from the west, there are blinds that cut the glare, but keep the view somewhat intact.  One of the best things about my office, in addition to the deep blue wall, is the mementos that remind me of favorite people and places.  These include challenge coins from my police friends, plates from Turkey, and the blue Santa Claus I created in second grade.  Santa is a constant friendly reminder to go out on a writing limb and not be afraid to try something new.

Ingrid's Desk
HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: So I had two options. One, clean up like a banshee and lose hours of writing time but convince you I'm organized or two, whatever.  I chose whatever. You will see I have a wonderful window overlooking a big sugar maple. This is a semi-circular hunting desk that was my mom's. The wall color is Ralph Lauren Antelope Tusk, which is hilariously meaningless. Name badges from ten years of conventions, so heavy that if I get up wrong, the chair falls over backward. There's bottle of chardonnay, a gift from Sue Grafton. A rock that says "imagine" and one that says "patience." My words-a -ay chart. My easel with ads and pictures of Mercer Hennessey from TRUST ME (Tea Leoni) and Rachel North from THE MURDER LIST (Rachel Evans, whose photo I saw AFTER I picked Rachel's name). Bookcovers and posters and lots of stacks of paper.  BUT! I know where everything is. And I didn't even show the piles of files/stacks of books part of the room.  I really really love it. 


Hank's Desk
RHYS BOWEN: This is one side of my office. On the other wall are bookcases with all my reference books. Do you notice the harp ( to sooth and give me an excuse to stop working) and Eleanor Roosevelt sitting on the bookcase to cheer me on?

Rhys's Desk
Wait...what? Rhys, you play the harp? How did I not know this? Fascinating! 

LUCY BURDETTE: I had to really think about this--show my desk? or show Yoda the cat sleeping on the bed next to the spot where I spend most of time?



The desk has a slanting wall, where I've taped photos I've loved over the years. Behind the computer are my favorite photo of the kids with my brother nephew and assorted guinea pigs, John with his golf buddy John, a Sherlock Holmes bear that Diane Vallere sent me for reading and blurbing her wonderful costume shop mystery, my favorite lamp, and assorted other mementos from my golf mystery days.



And here's Yoda saying get off the dang computer and get back to work!

Okay, readers, what about your work spaces? Windows? Clean and tidy? Not so much? Anyone else have a harp kicking around?



93 comments:

  1. Since John tends to sit at the dining room table when he’s using his computer, I’ve pretty much abandoned my [not very neat] desk in the study nook and set up my computer on an adjustable height table in a corner of the living room so that I’m not off somewhere all by myself. There’s lots of windows so I can keep track of the deer wandering through the back yard; sad to say, however, there are no harps . . . .

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    1. Alas, no harp here either, Joan, or deer of that matter.

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  2. Ever since I got a lap top (and roommate who spent more time in their room studying than in the living room watching TV), my living room has become my space. I'm usually in an easy chair with my computer on the lap and the TV on, either being mostly watched while I surf the net or completely ignored while I polish a review or surf the net. The mail I need to take care of is being ignored on the coffee table next to where I set the computer when not in use. On the end table next to me is the pile of books I've read and reviewed waiting for me to put them away (or make up a space to pretend they belong since I am out of bookshelf space).

    (And before you worry too much about my roommates, it really was their choice to study in their room. I talked to them about it many times. And I don't have any roommates now, so it is no longer an issue period.)

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  3. My writing desk is an old drafting table stuck in a corner between the kitchen and the couch. I have a wall in front, with a bulletin board covered with old pictures, a running script autographed by Eric Whitacre, some Mardi Gras beads, a photocopy of the harp part for Stars and Stripes Forever in John Philip Sousa's own handwriting (casually faxed to us once by the US Marine Corps Band because, hey, it's what they had on hand) and a bunch of old cartoons that still make me laugh. And, yes, in the other room, there's a harp sitting around. (For Rhys: 25 string Markwood with bronze strings. Is yours a Dusty Strings? It's very pretty, and I'll bet it sounds great!)

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    1. OMG, another harp. I am feeling very lacking. That's wonderful, Gigi!

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  4. I have two work spaces: an official, tax-deductible office that looks like a tornado zone with a large messy desk and messy bookshelves and a big screen desktop. This is where I do my editing work. My creative writing and morning sprint happen at the small, very neat desk in our guest room. Only my laptop and a notepad sit on the desk. Both work spaces face windows, but now I want Deb's sunroom.

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    1. Two spaces? Brilliant! Yes, Deb's sunroom is quite enviable!

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  5. Fun to see all these offices! At my second-floor desk now - which is in messy phase rather than clean phase at the moment. To my right a wall of windows onto the street, so I can monitor the neighborhood. In front on the wall a whiteboard with the long-term to-do list and pix of my kids attached. Also on that wall a small calendar, a map of Cape Cod, and a framed essay my son wrote when he was ten - Three Tips for Being a Good Writer. My laptop is raised on a box so I don't get neck strain, and a wireless keyboard is at the right height for my hands. (So many of your desks don't seem to have very good ergnomics, ladies!) Behind me is an upholstered rocking chair for pen-and-paper plotting, and the futon couch serves as nap space and overflow guest bed.

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    1. Yes! to good ergonomics! I've had a dozen or two desk/chair/typing surface/monitor height combos, with the best one of all the one I have now. My desk is a sweet little Arts & Crafts one that we inherited and I promptly grabbed as mine. It has bookcases on either end, and a pullout drawer just the right height for a typing/mousing surface.

      My computer is a huge, touchscreen monitor, and it's raised on two different monitor stands, combined so my neck is not strained trying to see.

      I've done a lot of research into ergonomics, and used to give talks on how to avoid neck and back strain (along with repetitive strain on wrists) to sewing enthusiasts. The same principles apply for writing: thighs and forearms parallel to the floor; monitor straight ahead. Most laptops do not allow for this level of comfort.

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    2. My ergonomics are terrible, which is why I write standing up quite a bit. The napping futon - genius!

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    3. Napping place a must. I not only have the sofa in the sunporch, but a chaise upstairs in the proper office.

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    4. As I've entered the first stages of decrepitude, I've found that finding a place to nap is not the problem. It's avoiding a nap when you don't want to take one that is my enemy.

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  6. How fun! Kudos to Hank for going au naturel and how do you get anything done with the glare of all those Emmys - I started to count but couldn't keep up! Debs, your office is my dream--the library table is wonderful. All of the offices/writing spaces are wonderful. Thank you for the glimpses into where the magic happens.

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    1. The Emmys are amazing! I like that you call it magic - much better image than "the place I gnash my teeth, weep, and sweat all over". LOL.

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    2. Kait, the floor in the porch slants down towards the windows, because the room was the original screened sleeping porch. So when I bought the desk, we cut the legs down so that the top would be a more ergonomic height, but we had to cut them shorter in the front so that the desk top would be level. That was a horrible job, but worth it in the long run.

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    3. That's wonderful, Debs! One of the houses I lived in when I lived in NJ had that same problem. It had been built in the 1830s and the Grande old dame had settled a bit over the years. We never had as creative a solution with the furniture though.

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  7. Fascinating to see your work spaces! Thanks for letting us see them as they are. I have a desk for my computer (still a desktop; a laptop is in my future, I hope) and a desk for paper work. They both get progressively messy until one day I say, Enough! - and tidy them up. Then the cycle begins over again.

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    1. It is a cycle. Before this post, I could barely see my desk!

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  8. I'm envious of your sunrooms and bay windows. I use a small bedroom to keep my stuff organized, but day-to-day writing happens at the kitchen table, so I can open the door to let the dogs in and out. Or standing at the kitchen counter. Or now that summer is approaching, the screened porch.

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  9. My office is off the living room and furnished with pieces I designed and my husband made to hold my pc, printer, and so on. There are windows looking out onto the yard, but I work facing away from them to avoid being distracted. When I’m revising, though, and working on a printout, I’m on the living room sofa (winter) or the sunporch (summer) with my feet up. And of course, there’s a cat around, wherever I’m working.

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    1. Yoda says yes to the cat, cats always improve concentration

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    2. I love how mobile you are - seasonally speaking. I enjoy working on the couch in the winter, too, with the pets, natch.

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  10. Looking at just the photos, it's easy to tell whose office is whose. Your individual personalities just shine in each picture.

    Thanks for sharing, ladies! Love this little glimpse into your writing life.

    Rhys, I have harp-playing ability envy. Love that instrument, and would really like to have one to learn to play.

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    1. If you can play the piano, you can play the harp. Tuning is the hard part.

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    2. It is easy to tell? That’s so interesting!

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    3. Yes, I think so, Hank.

      Gigi, sadly, I never learned to play piano.

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    4. I have a piano and don't play, either. I am the only one in my house who can't play an instrument and the rest of them are up to four or five! It is very loud here :)

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    5. Jenn, that sounds like here, too, when my daughters were at home. We had a piano, trumpet, electric keyboard, guitar, and a marimba. None of which I can make sound at all melodious. But I have the best voice, or used to.

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  11. This is another thing about JRW that I love--the way you shared the real-life glimpses into how you work (and where!). I have an old oak table, pilfered from my sister because it's at the right height (looking at you, Edith) for my hands to rest comfortably at the keyboard/mouse. Desktop computer because I appreciate a larger monitor than my laptop affords. Above it is a framed blazing red dragon (older nephew, grade 2) and stuck in my pencil holder is a kitten blow-up balloon that says 'I love you' from youngest nephew. To my right is 10-foot view into the front yard, sofa conveniently in front of it so nephews' cats can enjoy the birds.

    And when I retire, Hank, I want to get a job thinking up paint colors! Different ones for different tastes--like Goth colors 'Decaying leaf litter under a full moon', or Zen colors 'Whiteness of birdsong'.....

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    1. Flora, that is a brilliant idea! Wouldn’t that be so much fun? My pantry is painted Baby Lettuce. That is a blog for another day!

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    2. I must say you are off to a great start. You could probably make millions with those names!

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    3. Yes I agree Hank, the names are fab. And now I have red dragon envy...

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    4. "Whiteness of bird song -" *snort* - that's brilliant!!!

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  12. Now I want Deb's oak library table desk and the blue painting over ingrid's mantlepiece. Is it a woman swimming? I can't tell, but it's lovely.

    Count me among the people who had NO idea Rhys could play the harp! I think I know what we can put up if we ever establish a Jungle Reds YouTube channel: Rhys playing something new every week.

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  13. Love the idea of an office with a messy phase and a sorted phase. Mine vacillates between them, too. I have to get SO busy or the mess SO huge that I straighten and sort. Very satisfying.
    Harp, Rhys? REALLY???
    I want one of Hank's Emmys

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    1. The Emmys are sweet. I have Legos on my desk - anyone want those? LOL!

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    2. Hallie, ask her nicely. She could surely spare an Emmy for you.

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  14. No harps.

    Right now, I'm at a small writing desk in a corner of the dining room. It faces a wall and is just big enough for computer and tea mug. To my right is a window that would overlook the front yard except, like Julia, it's blocked by a giant rhododendron that should be bursting into bloom shortly. The chair is awful - a dinky old dining room chair that I have to put two cushions on just to make it remotely comfortable.

    Pretty soon, I'll be able to move upstairs to the room that was my office, became a nursery, and is now The Boy's room. Lovely with a west-facing window over the backyard where all the wildlife comes to hang out, a built-in roomy desk, lots of shelves, room for a decent chair and-best of all-I plan to keep The Boy's bed for mid-afternoon nap/reading breaks!

    Mary/Liz

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    1. Naps are a priority, for sure! I love that you can watch wildlife. I've put a sunflower patch in our yard so I can see the lovebirds flock it in late summer.

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  15. You know what I also love about this - well, two things. One, how very personal these spaces are, this is where no one else generally has entrée, or access. This is Just… Ours. And also, how much I love to be there! It is one of my favorite places in the world. I love how we all surround ourselves with things we love and need, and things that are inspirational, and how different that is for each person.

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    1. I like your notion of personal space, and maybe you should add a roll of crime scene tape to keep out unwanted visitors? Who cleans these offices? If it is someone else, how do you prepare for that? Move papers into stacks? Put everything away in a drawer? I have enough trouble just getting stuff picker up before my house cleaner arrives, and still she manages to hide something each time/

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    2. They are personal - no one is allowed at my desk. As for cleaning, it has to be me. I can't have my stuff moved.

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    3. Yes, I clean. From time to time. :-)

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    4. Hank, you made me spew coffee!

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    5. Ann, my stacks get neatened when the housekeeper comes every two weeks. But they just wave a duster at it. Any real cleaning is done by me.

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  16. My first comment, at a very early hour when the dogs wanted out, left out some things. First of all, Jenn, I love that picture of you and your very handsome hooligans. That's a wonderful thing to have for inspiration. Secondly, when I saw all Hank's Emmy Awards, I thought she must have enough for a kickline worthy of the Rockettes! Congratulations, Hank! And finally, Roberta, how could any of us type anything without feline assistance? My cat, Conrad, is standing between me and the keyboard right now, leaning hard against my chest. There's room underneath him for my hands and arms to move freely, but he's definitely part of the process. Your Yoda is a handsome cat indeed!

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    1. he thanks you Gigi, but it's not with much modesty, as he knows he's the king of the Universe:)

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    2. Thank you, Gigi. I am rather fond of my people :) And Roberta, I bet Yoda and King George would be pals :) you know, if their egos allowed it.

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  17. What a fun way to put off working for a bit! Ok, my office is a tiny space, only a little wider than the span of my arms on the top floor of my house, an ell walled off in the dim past from the adjoining bedroom.Sloping ceiling and attic window mostly blocked by an AC. It was the family office/file room/computer room and became mine. Still with family file cabinets, my own files, a long,old computer/papers/junk table and a big old teachers desk too. Crowded? Uh, yes. The papers pile up when I am deep in work (writing related papers, bills, taxes, you name it). And then I reach a pause, or get claustrophobic, and I clean it all up. But. There is an antique map of Brooklyn, a gift from a son-in-law. Two writing related posters that make me smile. The big desk has tiny souvenirs of travels.Post cards of great women writer. So yes. It's my own (almost) room of my own. Work calls

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    1. Isn't that a quote from Virginia Woolf - "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."? Or something like that. Your attic space sounds lovely, Triss.

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    2. Virginia Woolf, certainly, Jenn. And thanks for the compliment.I loved seeing all the other spaces. Mine might be lovely if I could see any of the surfaces. I am moving into "desperate to clean up" phase. My dream is a room with a wall of files, all working,all labeled.And of course, someone else to file!

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  18. Fascinating! I'm awarding prizes in the following categories, but I'm limited to what I can see in the photos you know. I might change my mind if I had a panoramic view.

    Neatest: Jenn, but how do you sit in that chair for hours at a time?

    Best use of Emmys as decor inspiration: Hank, naturally. Do you have room for any more?

    Cabbage rose theme: Julia. They match the chairs in my sunroom exactly. Good taste honorable mention award also.

    Best "phone with orchids" still life: Hallie! Quick, without looking, where's your Strunk and White?

    Most spider plants/best chair/prettiest bicycle: Deb, naturally. Kudos for cutting down that table to your height too.

    Least ergonomic chair/best blue snowman: Ingrid. Seriously, you sit on a stool to write? My back hurts just to think about it.

    Most interesting: Rhys. Who else has three printers, a sewing machine AND a harp?

    Tiniest space: Lucy Roberta. But very tidy and room for a cat and who needs more than that?

    This was great fun, and the only improvement I can think of would have been to let us guess which office belonged to whom.

    Thank you Jenn, for a wonderful morning entertainment.



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    1. No sewing machine, Ann. A fax machine and old desktop that I can't remove in case it still has important files on it

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    2. The neatness is a lie ;) It was a deadline avoidance task - sigh. As for the chair, it was my grandmother's so the feeling of her being with me makes me happy, and the fluffy cushion on the woven seat cause it to have a lot of give - more comfortable than it looks - thank goodness!

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    3. ALWAYS room for more. And truly, they are inspirational.

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    4. I lost count Hank, but there are at least 33 of those things right?

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  19. So much fun to see where the magic happens! I'm fascinated with the chairs. Most are friendly for hours of sitting, but Jenn, wooden? And Ingrid, pseudo-barstool? Oh, Hank's is incognito. Mine? I have the full-on lumbar support thing and trade out after a few hours for an ergonomic variety that encourages me to kneel/sit like a lazy Catholic. But, hey. Whatever works!

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    1. The stool has a back to it, and I chose a high desk in order to make the most of my view: A regular height desk would put a thick window frame in the middle of my sight line. Sometimes I stand at the desk, and I make sure to take many breaks throughout the day!

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    2. You are so smart to have the lumbar support, Connie. My seat is actually wicker and with a cushion it's quite comfy but, like Ingrid, I do stand a lot. I pace quite a bit while I'm working so standing does make it easier.

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    3. Pacing is good. I have realized I do it, too. My chair is terrible, I am sure it's an ergonomic disaster..but it has a pillow for the back. And it is just the right height. And, actually, I am superstitious to change it. :-)

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    4. I CANNOT write without an ergonomic chair. I have a duplicate upstairs in the proper office, which also has a docking station for my laptop and a full size monitor. You all must have much better backs than I do!

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  20. Beautiful photos and great post! It was fantastic to read about all of your reading spaces. I was reminded of several things. J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter while sitting in a cafe in Edinburgh. Jane Austen had a writing box. Virginia Woolf wrote about A Room of Her Own.

    Question for all of the Jungle Reds: Do you agree with Virginia that a writer needs a room of her own to write ?

    I usually write at dining room table. Sometimes I write on a writing lap-desk.

    Rhys, is that Eleanor Roosevelt in a gym outfit? Playing the harp sounds like fun!

    Diana

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    1. I think a room of one's own is ideal, Diana, but not required. I wrote my first book at our dining room table. Writers should write whenever and wherever they can!

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    2. Jane Austen wrote in the family parlour.

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    3. I would love a room with a door -- and a lock -- alas, I am in the thick of it in the family room but most of my people are making their racket elsewhere so it works.

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    4. Ingrid, thanks!

      Debs, yes, thank you for reminding me.

      Jenn, glad it works :-)

      Diana

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  21. Loved seeing where you all work! Oh and somehow I knew about Rhys and her harp! How did I know that?

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    1. I knew, too. I think it came up in conversation once.

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    2. You were ahead of me on that one! I think it's amazeballs!

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  22. I love Jenn's family photo! And Ingrid's space seems very calm and organized.

    We all have talismans--did you notice? Propped up behind the lamp on my desk is a photo of one of my favorite streets in Notting Hill, a gift from my photographer friend in London. Propped against that is little watercolor of sheep that I bought in the Cotswolds on my last trip. And next to that is my dipping pen and ink bottle that I bought in New Orleans when I was there for Bouchercon. There are stacks of my beloved Iona leather-bound journals, a set of watercolors, a box of alphabet stamps and a box of ink pads, my Canon Selphy printer, and one of many huge stacks of British home and garden magazines. I swear I will be buried under those some day.

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    1. Oh, and pens. Bundles of pens...

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    2. Pens - yes, loads of pens. I even have a pen that works like a Magic 8 Ball when you click it :)

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  23. I have a nice, large L-shape desk in my office at work with a 16x20" window WAAAAY up at the top of the ceiling. Love the dual monitors for my editing!
    At home, it's been the kitchen table with my Macbook for 3-4 years now with occasional forays to the couch or my favorite comfy antique chair (springs in the seat cushion!).

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    1. Oh, I'd like an L - more space to stack stuff! LOL.

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  24. Looking at where creation occurs; what a super treat to start the week. I notice all of you have natural light sources. Do you write more in the daytime or at night? And so many laptops, that was a surprise. I wonder how many great books started on dining room tables while the children were elsewhere.

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    1. I just learned the term mid-shift from Sherry Thomas (Lady Sherlock series). She said it was her ideal work time at 2 pm-10 pm and I was so happy to hear that someone else thrived in this time slot. We are both moms to two sons and the mid-shift doesn't work with family, so we wait until they fly the coop.

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  25. I loved seeing these desks and work areas so much! Thank you, Reds, for giving us a glimpse into where the magic happens!

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  26. Nice to see where it all happens

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  27. What a special treat to be invited in to each private domain.....really fun to now be able to picture you working/creating! The den in our home is my husband's space so we had to get a bit creative to find a spot for me since we only have two bedrooms. We took the closet doors off in the guest bedroom and put a desk, file cabinet and bookshelf in the space. A large bulletin board over the desk is filled with pictures, postcards that I send myself when we travel, special notes and cards. I really love my little creative space!
    Helen

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    1. Helen - I love that you send yourself postcards! I sent one to Hub and I from our honeymoon in Maui. I treasure that silly card.

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  28. I kind of have two places where I do my writing, a work one and and a home one.

    When I'm being lazy at work, I just write brief little CD or cassette articles at my work computer and just email them to myself to finish at home.

    At home, the computer (I use a PC thank you very much) is in the Sanctum Sanctorum. AKA the bedroom (or as my mother used to call it, my cave). And it's a mess so there will be not pictures. But the room has the computer and on the side wall there is a number of cassettes and CDs to pull out and listen to while writing. On the opposite side is more cassettes, CDs and the overflowing bookshelves of books both read and unread. In between is the bureau of clothes. Behind the chair to the computer is the bed where a lot of my reading is done.

    It's eminently lacking in entertainment value so no one will miss there not being a pic.

    By the way, I loved Hank's work space with all those Emmys lined up on the shelves.

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    1. By the way, my latest writing piece was a recap of my Free Comic Book Day adventures. It was written at home. Anyone that might want to check it out can see it here: http://classic-rock-bottom.ning.com/forum/topics/free-comic-book-day-2018

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  29. How great to see those office / writing spaces! Thank you.

    In 1973 I was in need of a desk, having moved out of a furnished apartment into an unfurnished. A few miles from where I worked there was a huge old warehouse filled with office furniture, stacked to the ceiling, and a full size wooden office desk which had been painted black caught my eye. It had with a slanted top, green linoleum, and I was told it was "an account's desk". I bought it for $30 and a friend and I hauled it in his pickup truck to a sand blasting company, where I convinced them to put it in booth. Two days later I returned to discover a suede-textured, beautiful mahogany desk. It was then hauled to a refinisher, who smoothed it out and sealed it. I absolutely love it! It's heavy as sin, though.

    My computer, a large iMac, is on a flat table (again used office furniture store) along with it's various accessories such as extra drives, printer, key board, etc. I sit between the two and turn as needed. There's a window on one side so I can see the garden, the other is open to the largish room, which includes a comfy club chair and ottoman with a table beside. The space also has a smallish wet bar area, drawers and a filing cabinet. I use a Relax-the Back ergonomic chair.

    No, I'm not a writer and not a teacher any more either, but I really like my office area.

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    1. Your desk sounds ah-mazing! I love finds like that! Also, I love the Relax-the-Back chairs. So comfy!

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  30. Wishing Blogger let us post photos with comments...
    Rick, that desk sounds amazing.

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