Work Space

I find myself contemplating workspace. With the move this weekend, it’s my opportunity to set up an area (were it a room to itself…ah…that’ll be the day!) that I can use for my primary writing location.

As some of you know by now, my favorite office is a table at whatever coffee shop I happen to be near. That probably won’t change. I love being surrounded by people when I work. But what I would like to change is the percentage of work (and by work, I mean actual pages written on my manuscript) I am able to accomplish at home.

I’ve got some sort of block when it comes to writing prose at home. It’s not that I haven’t done it, nor continue to do it, it’s just that it doesn’t happen very often. So I’m looking at this move as an opportunity to change that mode of thinking. Fresh place, fresh start.

Let’s start with the desk. A lot of people love a large working space. Someplace you can either spread out a lot of things on, or keep clean and empty to help unclutter your mind. (Clutter might be a good future post…me = not so go at keeping the clutter away.) I used to be a big desk person, too. My previous desk now serves as my dinning table. The key word there is now. When it was my desk a few years ago, it was my desk.

These days, I like my desk small. My current desk, and the one I will keep using after the move is 2 ¾ feet across by 2 feet deep. Tiny. And I love it. It has a nice, light pine finish on top, with a dark stained edge. It’s a nice wooden table that looks like it came straight from a nice furniture shop. But the secret is, it didn’t. Or at least it didn’t get to me that way.

I found it abandoned outside an apartment building. And don’t worry, I waited several hours before I laid claim the table, checking every so often to see if it was still there, sitting only a few feet away from a dumpster. In my mind, I saved the poor thing from certain disaster at the city dump.

…now I feel compelled to say I NEVER have done anything like that before or since. That was my one and only refuse “purchase”…stop judging me… oh, wait…that’s me judging myself…sorry….

Anyway, the desk will be the centerpiece of my new work space. I’ve staked out a place for it under a window overlooking a large green space.

So besides the desk?

Sound system will be important. But since my music will actually be generated from my computer, I just need to plug in a good set of speakers.

My chair is a nice, old-fashion wooden office chair on wheels. It tilts backwards and rocks a little if I want. Think I purchased it from some fancy furniture store about ten years ago. It’s a little scratched up, now though. Once, when I was transporting it in the back of a truck, I hadn’t secured it properly and it flew out onto the highway. It’s a wonder it didn’t shatter into splinters. It still works great.

There are a few things I’m going to need for this new space. A couple of filing cabinets so I don’t have to leave everything in boxes. And some book cases…Yes, I do have book cases already, but all the real estate on their shelves has already been claimed twice over.

I’m sure there will be a few other additions once I get settled in.

But the truth is, the best office furniture in the world won't make a difference. The most important thing will be that I believe it's a place where I can work and be creative. Yep...it's all psychology.

How about you? What’s your workspace like? Is it they way you want it? What would you change?

TODAY’S TOP 10 BRETT’S iPOD ARTISTS/ALBUMS:
(in no particular order)

1. K.T. Tunstall – Eye to the Telescope
2. U2 – All That You Can’t Leave Behind
3. John Coltrane – Blue Train
4. Green Day – American Idiot
5. Tan Dun & Yo Yo Ma – Soundtrack to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
6. The Who – Quadrophenia
7. Tei Towa – Future Listening!
8. Sergio Mendes – Timeless
9. My Morning Jacket – Z
10. Billie Holiday – The Complete Decca Recordings