My old wingback

Location, Location, Location

Hey, friends. When I first decided to take a sabbatical from my day job and work at getting some of the stories that had been tumbling around in my head onto paper, I had some very idyllic expectations about the process of writing. Not necessarily the intellectual challenge of getting idea to paper – but rather the logistics of preparing for the intellectual process. I pictured myself getting up in the morning, throwing on some shorts, and running out to Starbuck’s, laptop in hand, to “create” for a few hours; or sitting in the pool house with a hot cup of tea, pounding out prose to the sound of birdsong and the occasional commercial airliner on its way to DFW International. But the reality proved much more confining, for me at least.

I started working out of an old wingback chair with a leather ottoman in my study. It was comfortable and relaxing and seemed to be working for a while. But as time went on, minor irritants began to interrupt my train of thought. “The underside of this laptop is getting a little warm on my thighs” or “Where can I prop up this third reference book so that I can get to it without getting up?”

I started looking for alternatives. I had a desk only six feet away, after all. But as often happens, it had become the gathering place for the detritus of daily living – newly purchased books that were yet unshelved, bills, correspondence, church bulletins, kid’s homework, and the like. After a bit of spring cleaning, I had cleared a space for writing. And, I must say, it instantly became my “go to” location. I now can’t seem to write anywhere else.

My writing desk

I still envy those who can sit down in a crowded airport and dash out polished prose as if they were cloistered in a Benedictine monastery. It just isn’t me.

How about you? Do you have a favorite place to write – a place that soothes and inspires you? If so, let me know. Heck, drop me a picture. In the meantime, keep writing and have a blessed day.