For years, I have been on a quest to find the perfect place to write. Not really a major dilemma, you might say to yourself as you shrug your shoulders, but I assure you that for a writer, this is a critical part of the process. I discovered quite early on in my writing “career” that getting words creatively organized into something that could be even remotely referred to as a story would never happen in my home office. Too many distractions. Thousands (yes, thousands) of books, 523 cool pens, lots of mementos and interesting art done by the grandchildren proved to be enough to cause me to stray from the task at hand. So I recently made the decision that I would not even try to write in that room. It’s been cleaned up and made very efficient to do what it’s supposed to do – be a home office. I can work in there quite comfortably and be tremendously productive.
My husband was the one who came up with a solution to my writing space issue. He knew of a gorgeous maple desk that needed a bit of work to make it usable, so he offered to fix it up and move it into our bedroom (which is an insanely big room). There, he said, I would be able to sit at my desk, look out the floor-to-ceiling bay window and be inspired. He did have an ulterior motive. An old loveseat occupied that particular space, and I had, for years, used it as a collection spot for my clothes. Okay, now you know. Husband Wayne felt that it was time for me to give up my unconventional closet and get rid of the loveseat, which was really not in any condition to be used as a loveseat in the first place. I agreed, and told him to do it quickly before I changed my mind. He did. And I am so happy!
The “new” desk really is beautiful, and it has given me ample space for my laptop, the reference and notebooks I need, and even a printer. I open the blinds every morning and with windows on three sides, it’s almost like I am outside. I can concentrate on writing and have produced some fairly impressive prose during the past couple of weeks. When I need to work on my business, I walk across the hall to my office and do what I need to do there. A perfect setup!
There are other positives. I’ve done a thorough purge of my real closet – 7 garbage bags of old clothes have been dropped off at a local thrift store. The dust bunnies that repeatedly set up housekeeping in my bedroom are now shoo-ed out before they have a chance to multiply because I’m in there often enough to catch them. My home office is neat and organized. My writing space is free of clutter.
So, I have the perfect place to write. And when I want, I can extend that to the local coffee shop (who have threatened to have a sign made that reads “Wendy’s Office”), and to a nearby restaurant where I seem to have a habit of visiting on Wednesday mornings for breakfast. Thanks to Kim at Fireside Coffee and Lisa at ABC Restaurant for allowing me to take up table space for hours at a time.
Writing really is hard enough without having to deal with less than ideal conditions. Find your perfect place – and WRITE!
Inside the Writer 
Good stuff, Wendy. I know exactly what you mean. Every writer hopes to find that place where he feels most comfortable, where the muse will consistently arrive at the appointed time, and where the words will pour worth with little effort. Over the years, I've put myself in various places and found I could write in most of them–providing the surrounding distractions (read: noise) weren't too bad. Thus, I've written in my writing room at home as well as the kitchen island downstairs; Kanaka Creek Coffee (a short walk from our house); and the quiet study room at the local public library. I like having the flexibility to be able to write in different places. You never know when I might feel uninspired in one place, yet fired up in another. It's good to have options.