Where I write… I’ve always somewhat envied people who actually seem to be able to get work done while sitting on the sofa with the television blaring and their computers on their laps. Alas that person is not me. And what of the type of person who goes someplace like Starbucks to get some work done because they prefer to work in the presence of others? Again, that person is not me.
Where I Write
Nope. I’m a sit-at-a-desk-and-get-your-work-done type of girl. Whether it’s my current quest to blog myself into exhaustion for next month’s NaBloPoMo or eek out 1,000 words a day on my book, I work best at the expanse that is my desk. Despite the usual piles of papers and notebooks on the top, everything really does have a place.
My home office when I lived in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The obsessive-compulsive side of me rests a little easier knowing that my work-related stuff has this space.The exact same desk and set of Rubbermaid drawers sit in the opposite corner. My husband (no more! divorce happens…) often works from our home office, though sometimes at night he will work from the sofa, thus mucking up the coffee table with stuff that doesn’t belong in the living room. Many days it’s just me and Zoey. Notice how idyllic the scene appears with her cozied-up on her doggie pillow. Don’t let that deceive you. She often lays under one desk or another and scratches at the carpet obsessively.
When working on my book, I work best without any audio distractions besides the many birds that chirp outside the window. If I’m blogging, I like to play a little music. Television while working is a definite no-no for me, although occasionally I stream a Netflix documentary in the background, and always regret the distraction. During my undergraduate days, I would study on the couch with the television glowing in front of me. It wasn’t until graduate school that I buckled down and learned to love working at my desk.
Where I used to write in Idaho.
I gave up my old desk for the move. I had wanted to find “real” desks” for our new office, but time and money eventually brought us to IKEA, which doesn’t exactly qualify as “real” furniture, but it’ll do. Perhaps most important for me is my chair. Notice the mesh backing and extra pillow on the seat. We actually drove to my classroom on a Saturday before our move and switched chairs, since my classroom chair was in better shape than my old home office chair. I figure whatever teacher now occupies my old classroom will just have to life with armrests that are being held together with black electrical tape.
Somedays I am sad that I must sit and type in a room with white walls. I miss the bright yellow walls of the office of our Idaho house. Still though, I am eternally thankful that I have a place to write at all and that I am finally out of the classroom and focusing on my life’s greatest passion. One thing I know for sure is that I belong at that desk in that room shaping my thoughts on the page. The classroom feels a million miles away and that’s okay.
On a related note, check out this BuzzFeed post on 40 Inspiring Spaces of the Famously Creative.
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That is where I write. What is your writing environment like?
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Please share responsibly. Jeri Walker, 2012. Updated February 2019.
I prefer to write sprawled out on the floor with my laptop. 🙂 It sounds like you eithe needed a break from teaching or maybe it wasn’t the perfect career path for you. Sometimes you have to try to find out. Personally, I thought writing would be what I’d quite teaching for, but I love teaching so much that I’m keeping writing for a hobby on the side.
That’s truly admirable that you can teach and write at the same time! Writing has always been the one thing I want to do with my time, but it probably will never pay the bills (keeping my fingers crossed). I love many apsects of teaching, but I just needed to get away for awhile. Working 55-65 hours a week, six days a week, and always doing curriculum planning in the summer really wore me down. And the pay… ugh. Good luck!
Quit…not quite. Damn typos!
I like to write when I am alone, late at night. No distractions or unecessary noise. I am happy to have the television on. I usually sit in the lounge on the sofa.
Phoenicia, I’m not good with distractions. Even the television is usually too much for me to handle. I should try to write in a vault I suppose 😉
Fun blog, Jeri. I work mostly in my office, which is painted an awesome bluish greenish whatever that makes me think of the water in Wales. I can’t listen to music unless it’s classical, otherwise I sing along and then end up typing the words I’m singing! Oddly, I can have the TV on, but only something that isn’t intriguing. I usually only do that if I’m suddenly feeling that the house is empty or I’ve been alone too long. Overall, though, I have too many voices in my head to add to the noise!
RoseMary, it would probably be good for me to try writing elsewhere from time to time, especially for observation activities. Yet, I know where I work best, and that place is definitely at my desk in a tomb of silence most days.