My Writing Space

Finally! My creative space is exactly the way I want it Well, for now. I mean, I need to get the space underneath the desk better organized but for now, it is functional down there. The top is what really matters. Cause there is where eveything writing/business related happens.

I have to tell you, I'm so excited about it because I designed and built this all by myself with a ruptured disk in my back. Mike helped me install the support brackets. I really love the size and layout. Particularly since my son, Mike, mounted the larger monitor. It is at eyelevel and takes all the strain off my neck.

Since the back surgery I've tried to insure that my posture at the computer was as healthy as I could make it but looking down at the small screen of the laptop has been causing pain in parts of my neck. I also had to turn my head to the right to utilize the larger monitor and this caused pain. It just wasn't working as I thought it would. After thinking about it for a few weeks, I realized the only wat to solve it would be to get that larger monitor in front of me but it had a huge screen with a very nice large base. The desk is about 18 inches deep, enough space to work but not enough to stack monitors.

So, last week, I found a wall mount on Amazon for a reasonable price and ordered it. You can see the results in the photo above. I took this just after cleaning the dust and organizing everything. Yes, I tend to be a clean desk person. It gets messy but it is very distracting for me when it is messy. I have things in folders, notebooks, and files. Bills go in the metal bins along with notes and reminders and working copies of my writing. I like having hard cover of a dictionary and a thesauraus handy as well as a good grammar book. These save me huges amount of time when editing my or someone else's writing.

Yes, I know I can find that stuff online but I still prefer to look up a lot of things in real books. I have one dictionary that is 10x7, 4 inches thick, and weighs probably 10 lbs. Yes, really. I love that thing. I bought it at the Stars and Stripes bookstore in Frankfurt, W. Germany in 1978 and while the language has added a few more words, I doubt in my lifetime that it will increase enough to fill another volume this large.

Just so you know, I don't have this one on the desk. But I digress.

I've been writing a bit every few days but I've been very dissatisfied with what I've been doing. Still I'm plodding along. I forgot to log how much I've written and that's annoying, too. I wanted to do that because it helps me keep my focus on the fact that I am writing and have numbers to show it. Now, if you feel that's not helpful, that's fine. It helps me to know I've actually written 50 words today before the pain forced me to stop. I like knowing that I hit 1500 words in an hour on Monday because by Friday I may be unable to move for several days. Depression looks for weaknesses and if I have something to beat it back with, even a small stick, it helps.

What does your writing/creative space look like? Do you like it clean and tidy or are you one of those who thrive in a cluttered environment? If you could change one thing about your writing space, what would you change?