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An office of your own: Editor's Notes #229 February 15, 2017 |
| Hello, --Horace Mann In this issue: 1. An office of your own 2. Tickled my funnybone 3. Interesting Web site 4. Writing prompt 1. An office of your own I was surprised to learn that the first published author I spoke with wrote in a storefront office he rented, and I was equally surprised to learn that a highly published children's writer churned out her stories in a bathroom stall on coffee breaks from her day job until she got enough income to support herself and her children by writing. These are only two options for finding an office of your own to do your writing. Most of us need some place of our own to write regularly and comfortably. Here are some options. Consider a portable office. A backpack that holds your laptop and any other items you need to write works for those who are on the go and who live a highly digitized life. If you scan your bills and file them on your computer or type and file your research on a phone or other mobile device, this may work for you. You may take some of your writing material with you to a coffee shop as J.K. Rowling did when writing Harry Potter. My version of that as a university student was to write (by hand in those days) on a bench in a busy university hallway. If you have the space, you may have access to a part of your home, maybe even a whole room where you can write with minimal disturbance. Where you choose to write will depend on who you are and your life circumstances. Here are things that matter to many who write. How much light to you need? How much sound makes you comfortable? Are you claustrophobic? (I once created an office under a stairway and never actually wrote there.) What kind of environment inspires you to write? Can you treat yourself to favourite colors? Even a pen in a favourite color can lure you to the page. Are smells important to you? Do you work best curled up in a chair or sitting on an ergonomic masterpiece? An office of your own, created to meet your own writing needs, goes a long way to keeping you writing. =========== 2.Tickled my funnybone The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend this tragedy. =========== 3. Interesting Web site Here are some examples of DIY office desks. http://www.homedit.com/create-your-own-home-office-desk/ =========== 4. Writing prompt I call this one Wish You Were Here. Wherever you write, let your eyes wander. When something catches your attention, write a wish-you-were-here post card to someone. The thing that caught your eye is just the inspiration. You can describe it or just tell the person you are writing to why you wish were not alone or write anything at all that comes to you as a result of relaxing your eyes. =========== Join Writer's Helper Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/WritersHelperEditor Follow me on Twitter @AudreytheEditor Link on LinkedIn https://ca.linkedin.com/in/audreyowen (Email me first so I know how you know me.) =========== If you know a writer who would appreciate receiving Editor's Notes, forward this issue. If someone has passed this on to you, you can get your own free subscription by signing up at https://www.writershelper.com/newsletter.html |
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