This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Another column from secret writer Emily Tootsweet! You can also catch Emily over at her personal blog! Enjoy…
I only got my desk when I started taking my writing seriously. I used to write lying on my bed with my laptop in front of me. I was comfortable up to a point but it didn’t really suit for typing for any length of time. So I counted my pennies and got the cheapest desk I could find from Argos. I had to get one that fitted into my bedroom too so it had to be small. As soon as I’d built it and put my laptop on. I felt every bit like a proper writer. It was amazing the difference it had on me. I had my desk light to the right of the laptop, my pen holder and pens to the left, I had my 4 dictionaries (Yes! 4 dictionaries – all different sizes but all as important!) on the desk and I suddenly felt extremely writerly.
I got the desk and tried my best to keep it as tidy as possible but as time passed, the messier the desk became. I had anything and everything on the desk. For example, right this very moment I’ve still got all I mentioned above on it but I’ve got two bottles of water, a bottle of perfume, a box of tissues and a huge pile of papers that I need to go through and decide what to shred and what to keep. My desk is a mess. And to be honest, I don’t think it’s helping my writing. I get easily distracted so when I sit at the desk with all the good intentions of writing some of my novel, I see the pile of papers or something else that makes me forget all about writing and I end up doing something else.
So the answer is to keep the desk clutter free. And after I’ve typed this column that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I need to keep distractions to a minimum. I need to reclaim my desk from all the clutter that seems to have taken over.
Continuing from last weeks column, another writing fantasy of mine would be to have a office to write in with a huge desk, a really comfortable chair and one of those computers that has about 3 different screens. I would have the desk in front of me (obviously) and I would have a bay window to the left with a fantastic view of some hills and fields, or at least some sort of picturesque scene that would inspire my writing. I think to get that I would have to win the lottery. And there’s no chance of that happening since I don’t play the lottery. Hmmmm…….
So writers out there, what are your desks like? Do you keep yours tidy or are yours just as messy as mine? Do you even sit at a desk or do you sit somewhere else? I’m being nosy in this column this week. I want to get to know my readers a wee bit since you’re all getting to know about me :oP
Yours,
Emily Tootsweet :o)