Inspire Me!

One day…

One day I will have an office to call my own, and not a little corner of a room. When that time comes, I’ll have the freedom to design it however I please. I can draw inspirations from here and there to create a place that is wholly and purely—me.

However, being a military family that lives on post more often than not, that’s not likely to happen anytime soon. So, instead, I have my own little corner carved out in the bedroom. There’s not much to it, really. A desk, a file cabinet with a printer on top. Yep—that’s about it.

So, how do I take a place like this and make it my own?

1. Personalize it! You have your own unique tastes—allow yourself to splurge just a little to use those tastes to create your work space. Like colored sticky notes instead of the plain yellow? Get a few to go crazy with. Maybe you always wanted a mouse pad with Taz on it (if you don’t know who Taz is, quit reading immediately. Just kidding!). Personally, I love all things color, so I have colored sticky notes, colored pens, colored paper clips…the list goes on. What can I say? Color inspires me!

2. Play with it! Just like when you first move into a house, sometimes the first set up doesn’t end up being the most ideal. Maybe you thought having the notebooks stored below the desk was best, but you found that you were spending too much time digging for a specific one. Instead, maybe they need to be stacked neatly in the open space above the computer so you can select the one that you need with ease. Make these changes as needed, don’t let them fester and get under your skin. It’s easy to take a few minutes to rearrange.

3. Plaster it! Don’t forget…your walls are your friend. So, invest in a couple of corkboards or whiteboards. These are great ways to keep track of lose papers, hold calendars, and jot notes. Don’t go overboard—unless that’s your personality. Clutter often gets me down more than inspires me creativity.

4. Pictures! Paper! And Parcheesi? You know what sometimes inspires us the most? Those little trinkets that make us smile, the ones that distract us just enough to all our minds to muddle through that last road block. So put up a couple of pictures of family/friends, or of beautiful mountain views, flowers…whatever tickles your fancy. Write your favorite quotes or short excerpts of books/poems on colorful paper and post them around your work area. And Parcheesi? Sometimes games that work our brains will stimulate more activity. Now, I technically have no idea what Parcheesi is…it just started with a ‘P’.

I’m still in the process of getting my “office” sorted out. As the days go by, I hope to start incorporating my inspirations into my work space. I know I have those pictures somewhere…

What are some steps you can take to up the inspiration quota of your work area?

UPDATE: I just finished the substantial edit of Dividing Spirits! Yes, I’m super excited to have that done. I’m putting the novel aside for a bit to work on the query/synopsis/proposal part of the writing process. After that, I’ll probably do some more planning for Sam’s Way. The story is really starting to come alive in my head. In a couple of weeks, I’ll come back and do another run through Dividing Spirits to pick up anything I may have missed, possibly add in some more layering. Fun stuff!

Don't Sit There!

As the unpacking process reaches the point of “no boxes”, I’m busy arranging, rearranging, and changing my mind again. You know that crazy indecisiveness as your mind toys with the million and a one choices and strategies—even as I type, I’m resisting the urge to move the living room furniture once again.

Part of this process is, of course, setting up my work environment. Being a writer, I have specific requirements for optimum creativity. Ideally, I like a quiet place with lots of light and few distractions. In my old house, I was blessed to have areas to make a complete separate office. However, due to circumstances that I won’t talk about because I’ll just want to scream, our new house is bigger, but a different setup. I don’t have the extra rooms like before.

After much contemplation, measuring, mouth-twisting, I finally made some decisions. My work area is now split into two areas. Downstairs, right off the kitchen, the house has a built-in desktop. This area is my work station during the day. It’s where I compose my blog posts and delve into reviews. I check my emails and play on Facebook and Twitter. It’s also where I do all the rest of my organizing of life—menu planning, organization plans, homeschool schedule, etc.

Our big desk fit nicely on one wall of our bedroom. Now, normally, I would not like the desk in our room. After all, the bedroom is supposed to be a sanctuary, a place to relax. But due to space constraints, this was the best option. So all my novel-related work will take place up there. We have a nice big window to let in lots of light. I can shut the door on the world and settle into some peace and quiet.

Now it’s time to set it up in exactly the way I think will jumpstart the most creativity. Not sure what that is yet, but I’ll have fun playing with the set up. I do know that I want to get one corkboard for character/setting notes/pictures. I’m a pretty visual person, so I think that will help stimulate my muse and get me “in” the story.

I’ve noticed that I have different preferences depending on what I’m writing and where I am in that project. When I’m writing a first draft, nothing bothers me. I can be inside/outside, standing up/sitting down, on the couch or at my desk. I just get excited to write! When I’m researching or editing, though, I’m much pickier. I want quiet. I want a specific set up. The biggest difference, I think, is that when I’m writing a first draft, I can do that in short spurts. Twenty minutes here, thirty there. When I research/edit, I get frustrated with anything less than an hour. Strange, huh?

Work environment can be pretty essential to who we are as writers. It can affect our energy, our focus, and our creativity. Do you know what your preferences are? How do you mold your surroundings to fit those preferences?