A clean, uncluttered desk is the sign of a sick mind!
To wit, I should be considered quite sane. Yeah, I know - that's a stretch.On Friday, Wonder Twin posted her article about what's on her desk, so I thought I'd take a page out of her book (i.e., steal her idea) and share a bit about my surroundings. I've probably done this before, but rather than make us both troll back through the archives to find it I thought I'd go through it again. Especially since it's probably changed since the last time we talked about it.
My writing environment is a space of about 120 square feet, of which you can see maybe 12 square feet of clear carpet - we'll get to why in a minute. My 'day-job' desk is immediately inside the door, against the wall opposite my writing desk and computer cart and at the nine o'clock position from the window (with the window being 12 o'clock). A neat little alcove directly behind and to the right of the day job desk houses two filing cabinets and a couple of boxes, plus a briefcase and a pile of tote bags I'll probably never use again. Along the wall to the right and extending from the alcove to the window well are two bookcases, which are, of course, overflowing, double-stacked on the shelves and even piled with stacks of books on top. On the other side of the window is my recliner, which sits in the corner next to my writing desk, which in turn is along the wall at three o'clock.
Now, what's on my desk? Let's talk about what's on the wall over my desk first. As out of the box as I am, I'm pretty much anal-retentive when it comes to keeping up with everything I have to do. Actually, it's that whole I have to have a to-do list thing or I'd forget something sure as I'm sitting here. So, on the wall over my writing desk are two dry-erase boards, one of which is a plain whiteboard that has a list of the books I have to read for reviews and/or interviews. Next to that is my calendar, on which I note deadlines and meetings and such, as well as a priority task list. And next to that is another board, half whiteboard and half corkboard, which right now you can't really see because it has stuff stuck all over it - articles, this really great Zits comic strip that pretty much defines my life, pictures and cards, quotes and other various and sundry information that wouldn't fit on the ginormous bulletin board which is on the adjacent wall and overlooks my computer cart, where the laptop sits plugged up to the power strip and the Internet.
Parenthetically, I have an 'escape' mounted on the wall on the other side of the plain whiteboard, over the recliner - a marvelous framed completed jigsaw puzzle about 2-1/2 by 3 feet in size called Castles in the Air. My brother, his best friend and I put it together in two days back when we were in high school, and my mom had it professionally mounted and framed. It's really quite lovely - lots of fluffy clouds and gleaming turrets of castles in a variety of bright colors with the sun casting a golden glow over all, and a tiny winged horse soaring past the largest castle. It's a magnificent fantasy ... imagine yourself sitting in a high tower, perhaps on a window bench, book in hand, overlooking paradise. I go there sometimes when I just need to process or regroup.
My CD player sits on a rather tall stool in the corner between my writing desk and the computer cart. Next to the computer cart, between it and the door, is my storage cabinet - which is full of reference books, file folders and various and sundry other things that help keep me organized. Atop the cabinet is perched my CD rack and of course, a few more books.
And the writing desk itself - having of course saved the best (or perhaps worst) for last - is pretty much invisible beneath more reference books, an upright filing rack, pictures of the kids, a mail rack, pencil holder, candy jar, paper clip and scratch paper holders, a couple of stray CDs, earbud headphones, stapler, several pint-sized notebooks in which I jot down ideas or research questions, my daytimer, Bible, file folders, more books, an aromatherapy candle and a miniature bust of Jane Austen with a tiny placard that reads, "Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings." Well said, Jane. Well said.
I mentioned that there isn't much of the floor you can see. The reason is that it's covered with the remaining detritus of my burgeoning writing career - more books, stacks of file folders with pages of manuscripts, stacks of research notes and the like. It's actually a little more organized than it was at one time, but I still probably need to clean a bit more. Someday soon.
My busy nothings are about to snow me under, so I'm off to it again. The study window is open, there's a nice breeze blowing in (bringing with it the appealing scent of fresh mulch - and yes, I'm serious, I really like that smell), and it's a glorious day.
Don't forget to register for the HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION drawing - only four days left until the winners are selected and announced (details to the right, under The Chef's Special).
On the Boom Box: Soundtrack for (what else?) Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Book of the Day: In Plain Sight by C.J. Box. Love that Joe Pickett.
Read, read, read!! You know it's good for you!
=) JB
"Anyone who knows anything of history knows that great social changes are impossible without feminine upheaval. Social progress can be measured exactly by the social position of the fair sex, the ugly ones included."
-- Karl Marx (1818-1883) German social philosopher
1 comment:
It is interesting how different people organize their desk, you can tell a lot about someone from their desk.
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