Piles and Lists

Today I'm posting at the IWSG site and telling everyone the secret to getting published. And don't forget that Wednesday is the monthly blog post for IWSG. There is still time for you to join in by signing onto the list.

Due to the recent plumbing issues, the ceiling in my office needs painted. The damage was slight but my husband will not stand for one small water spot on any of our ceilings. Since I had to move my desk for him to take care of it, I decided it would be a great time to shampoo the carpet. But back to moving my desk.

There were piles and piles of loose papers that I've kept for one reason or another. A big stack of them are my notes from the writer's conference I attended back in May.

I also had a small collection of pages I've torn from various writing magazines like Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers. An article about Metadata. Another on using Goodreads in your marketing plan and another about creating loglines and blurbs. Then there's a stray page with some fitness ideas on it. When I was teaching I collected those by the dozens.

All that loose paper makes it a challenge to move my desks. There there are the written lists and a stack of business cards I collected at the aforementioned conference. People I want to stay in touch with.

I realized all this stuff fell into the category of things I intend to do someday. But I'm busy on my WIP so I keep stacking those things up. But like the realization that it was a good time to shampoo the carpet in my office, I realize this isn't the best time to indulge in those things. Write first, catch up later.

"Time is what we want most, but what we use worst." William Penn

Do you collect articles and make lists of things you intend to study further or use at some time? Do you ever rearrange your writing space? Do you have a list of things you want to work on that have to do with writing but aren't writing?

Desktop

My writing space is a place of comfort and convenience.  I have two cheap desks set up to form an 'L' with my laptop on one and papers spread out on the other.  My journal I found at a craft store for one dollar sits there half-filled with blog outlines and ideas for future blogs.  My monthly planner is there with mostly writing reminders in like guest appearances, release dates and other promotion stuff.  I usually set my drink there too.  Hot coffee in the morning, ice coffee in the afternoon when I'm home and amaretto in the evenings. 

My laptop sits on the other rather clear desk.  I usually can see the fake wood top in spots on it.  I always think of the other desk as the one with work piling up.  Until I realize the real work pile up in my laptop.  I have five emails I'm composing responses to(in my thoughts), most of them about promotion opportunities.  I have blog drafts saved, waiting to be completed.  I have pictures saved I want to put in those blogs and drafts for queries, synopsis of all my books, three books I'm working on, one half done and the other two stalled out for now. 

So I have a messy physical desk top and a messy virtual desktop.  Tons of work to do and so little time to do it in.  Where does your work pile up? Is it organized or a mess only you can comprehend?

Bless This Mess

What does it take to bring comfort and keep the creative vibes flowing for a writer? Some of us like complete silence and others prefer the background sound of music pounding out a beat to fit the mood of our story.

What about our physical surroundings? For me, warmth is the top priority and after that is something to put my feet up on. My day job, the bill-paying one, expects me to be on my feet all day. When I write in the evenings and on weekends, I like to rest my poor tired legs on a soft stool.

Then there are the tools of the trade. I used to think that meant my computer and the journal I kept all my characters and world building straight in. Now I know better. Convenient to hand must be my Flip Dictionary which I love over any Thesaurus and my massive Websters Universal College Dictionary with the incredibly small print. On the other hand is my 2010 weekly schedule book. One or two reference books helping me with my current WIP. This book they happened to be my mineral and crystal reference, Herbal Medicines and a lore book about all kinds of legends.

Spinning my desk around I can grab one of my three ring binders I use to keep my different series and all their paperwork organized in. Since I'm published with three different publishers I often refer back to their guidelines for formatting issues. Each one has a few different things in the style they prefer. Here I have lists of contact information, copies of contracts, hard copies of any interview or review for those books and of course, color copies of the covers. There is one for my newest fantasy series but since I haven't sold it yet the binder is a bit empty.

As you can see from the pictures, I actually work at two desks. One is a simple writing desk ($99 at Office Max) where I work on my laptop. Often the surface is covered with sticky notes reminding me of tasks I must complete or simply the time of an appointment. The other desk holds promotional items, files of things I'm getting to someday and usually one or two magazines I'm going to read someday. Here is my the folder I toss my tax receipts in until I take the time to organize them. There I put my alpha smart until I'm ready to use it again. So many untended but not unloved folders languish there with half started or outlined novels. Someday.

My chair is a simple one I paid less than $50 for at another office store. And a little bookshelf with my most used reference books on sits by my left hand. I have a bunch more of those but I have to get up to get them.

The room itself is a small sitting room at the front of the house I made into my office. It even has a fireplace and gets the morning sun. Completing the entire comfy set up is a folded paper towel I use as my coaster for cups of coffee or hot tea, iced seltzer water or perhaps a goblet of chilled wine. I'm finishing up my ice coffee right now and will probably had one glass of wine later tonight.

How do you arrange your writing area for comfort? Is it private or does the family interrupt you constantly? Do you do anything special to keep different WIPs organized and separate in your mind?