A Place To Write

I enter my place to write. It’s a beautiful study with floor to ceiling bookshelves containing every book I ever read, plus many I have yet to read. There’s a large walnut desk in the center of the floor facing the double carved doors with a soft leather chair I can whirl around sitting behind it. The chair turns to a matching computer desk with files neatly stored in the immaculately kept drawers. To my left are large spotless windows looking out on a beautiful manicured lawn that sweeps downhill to a lovely pond. On this pond the Canadian geese have stopped for their morning swim and are greeted by the long necked swans. On the padded window seat, my beautiful cat waits for the right moment to greet me with a soft purr.

THEN I WAKE UP!

My actual writing space is a spare bedroom on the first floor of my condo. There are no bookshelves, but there are piles and boxes of books. Some I’ve read, some I haven’t and some I probably never will. My desk is a second hand one I got when my son-in-law closed his building office. My chair is also an office reject. It does swirl around, but it squeaks. There is a window in my ‘office,’ but the association hasn’t cleaned them this year. I have to keep the blinds closed anyway because if I don’t the sun hits my computer screen and I can’t see what I’m writing. Besides that, my view is of the parking lot of the complex and offers little inspiration or relaxation. As for my cat – he’s trying to jump on the key board so I’ll rub his head or scratch his belly if he isn’t successful in making me get up and feed him again. This ‘office’ also serves as a storage area. My off season clothes are in here as are my Christmas decorations and some boxes that have never been unpacked since my move to this condo. A table to the side holds the items I’m trying to sell on ebay. In the middle of all this chaos I wander in here every day and sit down to write, knowing I have it better than many people.

I know a woman who writes on a card table in the corner of her bedroom. Another one has a set up in her basement near her washer and dryer. A male friend has put a computer station in his walk in closet. And many, many writers have written their books on the kitchen table or a temporary desk in the living room.

The point is not where you write, but that you continue to write. We would all love to have the perfect office as in my dream, but even that wouldn’t guarantee success in the writing game. Some of today’s best books have been composed in cramped or undesirable conditions. It doesn’t matter how plain or fancy your writing space is, the important things is that you set someplace up to write and then WRITE. The words on paper are what really count.

And who knows, someday you may hit the best seller list and be able to afford the writing space of your dreams.

Lynette