Sadie and I have an office in the daylight basement of our mom's log cabin, where we've been staying since our dad passed away two years ago. The windows look out on our pasture, over a brook to wilderness - not another house in sight. Our writing space is surrounded with handmade bookcases, desks, and filing cabinets crafted by our dad and our grandfather. Our chairs are back-to-back, so we can easily spin around and view each other's screens. Our mostly-Australian shepherd dog, Henry, has a bed in front of one bookcase, and our cat, Emeril, has an empty-cardboard-box bed on Sadie's desk. Our other cat, Harriet, feels free to noodle around either desktop, intent sometimes on having her own say on the keyboard. Unfortunately neither one of us is skilled in translating cat to English. Besides, it's already been done. LOL.
Our atmosphere is always light hearted with much laughter, usually resulting from misinterpretations of what we're saying to each other due to our age-related hearing issues. Part of which must be genetic, as our dad thought "There's a bad moon on the rise" was "There's a bathroom on the right," and "Sound of Silence" was "South of Thailand."
We take our writing seriously, though, and we are so blessed to be able to work from home. We love the long Maine winters with the woodstove cranking out the heat as we can devote more time to writing. We squeeze in writing whenever we can during the summer days which are devoted to haying and maintaining our farm of goats and chickens. It's a wonderful life!
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what's your writing space? Tell us!
Moderator Steph
Showing posts with label My Writing Space. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Writing Space. Show all posts
Sunday, 20 March 2011
Monday, 28 February 2011
My Writing Space by Stephanie Burkhart
My muse, Juliet, loves my writing space. She just hops on the top edge of my Macbook's display screen and settles in with a cup of tea and her nail file and it's time for her to go work. She's easy. I wish I had it as easy as she did. –wink-
I need to be centrally located in the house so I can keep an eye and ear out on my kids – especially Joe, my 4 year old. Strike 1 – I'm within earshot of a 4 year old.
My dining room fits the bill. I flip open my Macbook and put my coffee down next to it. Mind you, coffee is fuel for the soul. (Juliet would argue green tea is.)
Right above my mousepad is a calendar of events for the month. It helps to keep me on track. To the right of my Macbook, I have my notes and handwritten pages, which I'm going to type up. 80% of my writing is done longhand and I just have to come to the computer and type it up. Juliet likes that. She treats herself to manicures, pedicures, and massages. I'm stuck typing. My fingers are dying for a manicure.
20% of my writing is done at the computer. Those are the rare occasions were both kids are at school and I have peace and quiet in the house, or both kids are upstairs playing Wii.
Just in back of the Computer is a book on my TBR pile, my kindle, or my working copy of my WIP. Currently, I'm working on a a contemporary romantic suspence, "The Fabrege Secret," and edits for The Wolf's Torment. I try to be neat and organized at the buffet table. My WIP has a notebook with a working cover, folders with my notes on Brattleboro, VT and St. Petersburg, Russia as well as Russian Christmas traditions. I usually don't listen to music or background noise when I'm at the computer. I like peace and quiet. When the kids are home, I channel out the "background noise." (Listening up for the important cries of "Mommmm, Joe is bugging me again," or "Mommmm, Andrew won't share.")
My Macbook is new to me, but I am learning. I really like the keyboard. It's easy to type on it with a backlight. Safari is a great web browser, but I'm still trying to feel my away around the nooks and crannies of the computer. I have a secret confession: If it wasn't for my black gig stick, I'd be lost. Shhh… don't tell Juliet. –wink-
-smiles-
Steph
I need to be centrally located in the house so I can keep an eye and ear out on my kids – especially Joe, my 4 year old. Strike 1 – I'm within earshot of a 4 year old.
My dining room fits the bill. I flip open my Macbook and put my coffee down next to it. Mind you, coffee is fuel for the soul. (Juliet would argue green tea is.)
Right above my mousepad is a calendar of events for the month. It helps to keep me on track. To the right of my Macbook, I have my notes and handwritten pages, which I'm going to type up. 80% of my writing is done longhand and I just have to come to the computer and type it up. Juliet likes that. She treats herself to manicures, pedicures, and massages. I'm stuck typing. My fingers are dying for a manicure.
20% of my writing is done at the computer. Those are the rare occasions were both kids are at school and I have peace and quiet in the house, or both kids are upstairs playing Wii.
Just in back of the Computer is a book on my TBR pile, my kindle, or my working copy of my WIP. Currently, I'm working on a a contemporary romantic suspence, "The Fabrege Secret," and edits for The Wolf's Torment. I try to be neat and organized at the buffet table. My WIP has a notebook with a working cover, folders with my notes on Brattleboro, VT and St. Petersburg, Russia as well as Russian Christmas traditions. I usually don't listen to music or background noise when I'm at the computer. I like peace and quiet. When the kids are home, I channel out the "background noise." (Listening up for the important cries of "Mommmm, Joe is bugging me again," or "Mommmm, Andrew won't share.")
My Macbook is new to me, but I am learning. I really like the keyboard. It's easy to type on it with a backlight. Safari is a great web browser, but I'm still trying to feel my away around the nooks and crannies of the computer. I have a secret confession: If it wasn't for my black gig stick, I'd be lost. Shhh… don't tell Juliet. –wink-
-smiles-
Steph
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