CommentsIt’s a mess. I usually sit in bed propped up with pillows and type on my laptop. Hi, Kelly. What better place to write a romance than in bed? To be honest, when my study has a high concentration of mess (see the comment above about caretaker Pinklepurr), I move to a room with a lower concentration of mess. I can’t work if there’s junk everywhere. That’s procrastination excuse # 453. I was nearly swooning there when I saw your incredibly neat study, Vanessa, complete with visible floor space and a desk top. But then you revived me by saying it was on a very very tidy day and some time ago. ;-p LOL, Sharon! I hear you on keeping the desk clear. Why is it so darn hard? You had a problem with eight-legged tenants in your study recently. I hope *they’ve* cleared out. The ghostly inhabitants of Little Bombay just gave me the chills. My hubby’s studio was a very cold room, even in the middle of summer. Oh, and one night we walked in there and found swarms of mosquitoes buzzing around. Sort of like the Amityville Horror. Have I mentioned how happy I am to be in our current house? We’re told our current house also has invisible residents but they seem to be helping my productivity. Actually, V, I have to agree – Little Bombay was a rather creepy place. Even the skip out the front made it look like you were disposing of the bodies! lol! Yes, that house was shabby without the chic. Perhaps we should christen it shabby chit? Pronounced it the French fashion, of course, ma chere! Yay Vanessa on getting your own place. Ironically I have my own office but have taken to hauling the lap top down to the kitchen when everyone is out of the house and writing there as I am DISCONNECTED from the internet there and far more productive! Cheers Hi, Fiona! Wireless broadband is a wonderful thing…except when you’re on a deadline. I’m glad there’s a spot in your house where you can get away from the lure of the internet. Thanks for visiting!  cheryl says: Hi Vanessa, I have a lovely study that has a view of the garden, which can be distracting. Sadly, I’ve run out of room for bookshelves, and I need to do some major rearranging. I love the idea of an office away from home! 9-5, no kids, husbands, animals to interrupt. Run out of room for bookshelves? Cheryl, nooooo! Get those builders back in to remedy that right away! My dream is to have a personal library with bookcases from top to bottom and all the way around. I’m looking forward to having one of your books on my bookshelf. Hi Vanessa, your study looks like such a conducive place to write. I so relate to pushy kitties wanting attention and being determined to sit on lap/laptop/papers. Aw, what sweet kitties, Kandy. I can just picture them gazing at you through the window and wondering why a mutt named Brutus got a starring role in your last book. I have a “do not disturb” glare in lieu of a sign, which my husband knows very well! Kandy, I haven’t seen the new study, but I have to say your last house with the writer’s eyrie in the attic was my dream! Even down to the flowering jacaranda tree out the window. Sigh! I loved that little house! I have three cats. They love me; I love them. We drive each other nuts. To keep the peace, I must: A) Give them better places than my lap to nap. This means elaborate scratching posts, soft blankets, cushy beds, and sun, sun, sun. If I ignore any of the above rules, they’re hellions. They whine, fight, climb on my lap, walk on my keyboard, and generally make their surly unhappiness known. If I do as I should, they’re angels. Like right now. The two boys are sleeping snuggled on the master bed, where they’ve spent all day in bright sunshine, and the girl is on a fleece blanket by a sliding glass door in the kitchen, watching birds and squirrels. Oh, how adorable, Jamie! It sounds like your kitties have trained you well! Our cats won’t go near scratching posts. Not the ones specifically made for cats, anyway. The newel posts on the staircases have been scratched to ribbons by my Possum. Hi Vanessa, your study looks like such a conducive place to write. I so relate to pushy kitties wanting attention and being determined to sit on lap/laptop/papers.  Rita says: You have such a lovely neat space. My space is huge and I look out to orange trees and scrub palms. Last week a small alligator. Right now you would have trouble telling the color of the desk. Guess I need to set some time aside today to straighten. Yeah, Rita, you had me at ‘alligator’! Wow! I hope it stays well away from that lovely writing space of yours.  Liz Talley says: I finally have a place…once we cut the hot tub out (another story – we had a hot tubbin’ room. You gotta love redneck country!) When I first started, it was at the kitchen table (much like Anna). I sat right next to the high chair so that when I sat staring into space wondering about my ruined debutante’s next disaster, I could see dried carrots under the tray of the highchair. Almost two years ago we remodeled the bath and thus the hot tub went out and a desk for me went in along with a lovely window seat. I have to say I love my office. Wish I knew how to post a pic. I’d share. I love a glimpse into my fellow writer’s lives. Thanks for sharing yours. Liz, I would love to see your writing space. Post it on that gorgeous new website of yours, please! I’ve always loved window seats. They seem like a fantastic place to sit and daydream. I imagine you now have a view of a garden and not dried carrots! Once upon a time, as newlyweds, my husband and I shared a 3500 square foot house…with no one but each other. Toilets outnumbered inhabitants two to one, as did bedrooms. We each had a dedicated office, and still had a dedicated guest room. And then that whole biological clock thing took over. Out with the guest room, out with the private office spaces, in with the children. And my husband and I now share the smallest of the 3 bedrooms as an office. The decor is hilarious–there are literally two halves to the room. His side: Ultra-modern blonde-and-black computer desk with custom-modded gargantuan tower computer, littered six inches deep with papers, cd, and cords to lord-knows what. My side: mahogany-colored queen-anne legged desk and matching bookshelves lined with floral storage boxes, topped with a vase of faux roses (from an RWA meeting), and neatly framed diplomas and family photos. I have to admit, though, that while I do love my half of the tiny office, the place where I do most of my writing serves lattes and cinnamon scones…and has no laundry piles or diapers…. I might be staring into the face of my future! Hubs and I do the big house, two people thing right now, though sadly, our bathrooms only equal our number. He’s recently started mumbling something about “meaning of life” and “children,” so I think our three spare bedrooms (one lovely office, one lovely guest room, one less-lovely foster-animal-caretaking room) may eventually be taken over by human creatures of our own making. All the best with that, Jamie! When the time is right, you’ll have a whole network of aunties waiting here. Mmm, cinnamon scones… Kristi, I love that you’ve managed to fill that house and change the bathrooms-to-people ratio! Your side of the office sounds beautiful and very calming. Great post, Vanessa. Locks are very handy indeed! You might have to drag that elliptical in front of the door if you get desperate.  Kate Parker says: We built our current house, and I put more thought into my study than the rest of the house combined. It faces south, has a lovely double window and is painted bright yellow. Ceiling fan, floor to way up there bookcases, two desks for my two computers (one to the internet, the other for writing) and a door with a lock. The closet has no shelves or doors so there’s plenty of room for file cabinets and hanging drawers. So why is the room always a mess and the door is never closed? I guess I was born without the housekeeping gene. Mine’s yellow, too! A soft, warm yellow, like butter or dijon mustard, with a lovely satin finish. Kate, how cool that you got to design your study! It sounds heavenly. I think our Jennifer would envy the lock on your door. I’d love to follow your lead and have one computer for work and the other for play. Constant connection to the internet is my downfall when I’m trying to write! Great office Vanessa. In my early writing days, I wrote in the corner of my bedroom on an makeshift desk. One season it was in the north corner, the next it move to the south corner and so on and so on. I was always trying to find my prefect space I guess. With three bedrooms and four kids there was no other place for me. Now the kids have different addresses and I have an office. 3/4 of it is mine. The 1/4 belongs to DH, but he rearly comes in here. He bought me a real desk two years ago and my youngest son build me bookshelves as his senior project. There’s music and lemon scented candles and still I grab my laptop and head out to the kitchen table or the backporch, during the warmer weather of course, to write. Wherever the muse is willing to work with me, I’ll go. Aha, Autumn, you’re a writing nomad! It sounds like you and your muse have several cosy places to choose from around the house. Isn’t it great to have a proper desk, though? That was one thing I really ached for (literally!) when I lived in Little Bombay. Hi, everyone! I’m enjoying your comments. Right now I’m at my other office (the one that pays–LOL!), but I will answer asap.  Shea Berkley says: I have a loft that’s bright and sunny. My computer is the family one that everyone gets on, so writing in the evening is out because my kids do their homework on my computer. I’m not sure why because everyone but the youngest has their own laptops, but mine is better, at least that’s what they tell me. What I like most about my area are the pictures above my desk. They’re cartoon caricatures of my family. They make me smile every time I look at them. I have animals, too. My dog and cat keep me company, and entertained. They have little tussles, which sounds awful, but they’re the same size, so it’s a pretty even match. Hi, Shea. You must have an awesome computer for it to be so coveted in the household! It’s wonderful to have animals to keep you company while you work. I wish I could bring my cats to the day job, though I bet they’d misbehave and embarrass me. Love your office, Vanessa. And it’s so neat. My writing spot is in the bowels of our house–great for not being disturbed. That’s the key, isn’t it, Bev? Choose an area that no-one else will want and you can write to your heart’s content. My study right now is a bit…a lot messy, but at least I have this photo to remember the good ol’ days.  Darynda Jones says: I finally got my own office when my oldest son moved out. We remodeled (took like a year) and it is so nice and bright. I have discovered that I write much better if my office is clutter free. Thus, I don’t often write to my full potential. Love your office, Vanessa! I’m glad to hear you finally got a room of your own, Darynda! I think we have the same problem with clutter. It is hard to work when you’ve got books and papers stacked all over. If only someone would pick up after me! I hear you on the ‘puter love. Me and my MacBook are pretty much inseparable. The only thing that could come between us is another MacBook. Seriously considering Kate’s idea of having two laptops–one for work and the other for procrastinating. I write anywhere and everywhere. My favorite place is Starbucks, away from the distractions of home. I find a comfy chair or table near an outlet and sit there for hours. When I’m home, I usually write in my bedroom, with pillows behind my back sitting up in bed. Sometimes, though, I sit in my La-Z-Boy with the laptop. I do have a spare-bedroom/office, but it’s too filled with junk for me to sit in there to write. I did use it for a while, when I still had an iMac on my desktop, but the beauty of my laptop is it goes anywhere. Hi, Arlene! You must be blessed with the ability to zone out and write at Starbucks. I wish I could write anywhere. How do you do it? I love laptops. Two of the greatest inventions of the 20th century IMHO go hand in hand–the internet and the laptop. I write in a sitting room off of our master bedroom. It’s not technically mine as it also houses a loveseat and a wall mounted television along with my tiny antique desk, but it’s quiet while the kids are at school and the hubby is at work. Luckily not much fits on top of my desk except my laptop, so it forces me to keep it cleared off. And the old swiveling inkwell arm now holds my morning cup of coffee. It suits me. Tina, it seems you have everything you need in one convenient place! I’d stake a claim to it officially, if I were you, ’cause it sounds perfect. I’ve been blessed to have a study of my own. Of course I don’t have children yet so it’ll likely get turned into a kid’s bedroom at some point. For now, I revel in it My study though is no where near as tidy as that picture of yours! A whole corner still has boxes of books that have yet to be placed on the shelves…after two years…and recently it was the “everything that doesn’t have a place” room until I spent time cleaning it all out. My desk is in need of a bit of cleaning too… Oh well. I like it and I’m blessed to have it! Hi, Dara! I wonder what books you have hiding in those boxes. (I can be very nosy sometimes.) I’m glad to hear you love and appreciate your study. Thank you all for allowing me to peek into your writing spaces today. May many NYT bestsellers spring forth from those home offices! I’ll leave you with a link to Jenny Crusie’s famously messy study: http://www.arghink.com/2007/09/04/the-twelve-days-of-my-office/  Laurie Kellogg says: Sorry to be late to the party. Since I got my laptop, I haven’t even gone into my office. I love working at my kitchen table. Glad you could make it, Laurie! It’s nice to be able to work wherever you fancy. Looks like the kitchen is a favourite substitute office for many of us here.  Shoshana Brown says: Glad you finally got your study, Vanessa. Since my most recent move, I have an office (shared with my husband), but it’s a bit too dark and I prefer to write in coffee shops, parks, or libraries. Basically, anywhere that’s out of the house so I don’t have to see all the laundry that needs folding, dishes that need washing… Hi, Shoshana! Yes, chores cramp my writing style too. Have to admit I prefer to write once my surroundings are spick and span. I’ve been working at the library a lot lately. It’s quiet *and* clean!
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Vanessa, I remember seeing your writing room very early in the piece and even then thinking it was going to be fantastic. Look at that photo! I was right.
I spent years writing on my bed and then typing what I wrote up at work. (Outside business hours, I hasten to add – or at least mostly!). Then my lovely mum bought me a computer and I graduated to a tiny desk in the corner of my bedroom. But I was still writing in the bedroom! As you know, far from ideal.
Now, I have an office!!!!!!
I pause and give thanks.
A whole room devoted to my writing pursuits. I have music. I have a bookcase. I have my dictionaries and reference books set up. I have my stationery and all my other writing paraphernalia, including spare copies of books I’ve written, in the big built in cupboard all along one wall. I have a lovely view out to the garden. I have filing cabinets and a photocopier and a printer.
Seriously, I LOVE all this. And I’m not so far away from the corner of the bedroom days that I’ve become blase about all this space devoted to my writing!
Hi, Anna! A sparkly virtual ruby slipper goes to you for being first commenter! You like?
Pinklepurr (bottom right-hand corner) has been appointed as caretaker of my study. Unfortunately, he sleeps on the job a lot and, well, it’s not so tidy in there anymore.
I remember your bedroom set-up! It was still very workable, but there’s nothing like having an entire room dedicated solely to writing, is there?
Your current digs are fabulous. Everything’s in its place and conditions are perfect, so you can just get in there and write those wonderful books of yours.
Love the name Pinklepurr!
Beautiful room and I love how the sunlight filters in.
Thanks, Liz! It’s a lovely part of the house–lots of light and a nice breeze in summer.
The name Pinklepurr always gets a giggle. He has a macho stand-over man reputation in the neighbourhood, but deep down he’s as cute as his name.
Hey, I missed Pinkie in the corner! How lovely. I must say something I miss up here is a cat! I’d steal one of yours but they’re a bit naughty!
Thanks for those lovely remarks about the books! Actually I LOVE my office as I’m sure you’ve heard me say more than once in our long acquaintance!
I can send Pinklepurr and Possum up for a holiday if you like, Anna!
P.S. Anna, congrats on your THREE nominations in the Australian Romance Readers Awards!!! http://www.australianromancereaders.com.au/awards.html
Thanks, Vanessa! I’m stoked. And I’m stoked to see so many of my friends in the list as well. Wish I could go to the awards dinner on the 15th May but I’m going to be in South Australia running a workshop that week.
A HUGE congrats, Anna!!! Wow, I’m so thrilled for you!
~D~
Hey, thanks, Darynda! It’s a wonderful list – I’m stoked to be included!
A HUGE congrats for those nominations.
Thanks, Rita! I gave quite a squee when I saw the list!