Your Writing Spaces: Amidst the Clutter
This week, MJ Henry shares a Writing Space that I’m sure a lot of our readers will identify with.
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The Perfect Space?
I could dream of the perfect writing space, amidst quiet and order, where I could concentrate on those things that fantasy is made of. I would wallow in the simplicity of life’s finer things; simple meals, a quiet wood, a babbling brook nearby – but, no – that is not my life, nor is it my writing space.
Mine is the noise and confusion amidst the clutter of my kitchen table and a little, rolling reading cart, on top of which rests my laptop. When I was still working, I had a little plaque on my desk that said something about a clean desk being the sign of a cluttered mind and a cluttered desk the sign of – oh, what was it – brilliance? genius? – I remember now – a cluttered desk was the sign of a creative mind.
De-Clutter then Re-Clutter!
I have to de-clutter the kitchen table almost daily so that I can sit my three teenaged grandsons down to an evening meal. Fortunately I can roll the writing cart out of the way until the meal is over, the table cleared and re-cluttered and I am ready to write or research again.
The space I write in now is right for me. Raising three boys means that I have to be aware of what is going on with them. Although I can’t follow them around, I can at least be situated in a place where I see them come and go. Writing in the busiest place in our apartment allows me to have communication; noisy communication, yes. But, it’s all good.
Being Comfortable
The clutter, I am afraid, would follow me no matter where I write. I am most comfortable amidst the clutter. I have had offers from children and grandchildren to clear the table before a meal, or to just do a general clean-up of my writing space. Naturally, at every such offer, I scream, “NO!! Don’t touch my clutter!” Hey, it’s me. It’s all me.
I often wonder if, perhaps, one day I might have that perfect space; the little cabin in the woods, where it’s just me and my laptop – and my little dog, too. I would sit on the porch and write, enjoying the sounds and smells of nature, with nothing to disturb … enough of that, there are three teenage girls outside my door looking for three teenage boys. Isn’t it wonderful to have such a glorious writing space as mine?
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Do you identify with MJ’s writing space? Do you write better, and concentrate better, in your own messy space? Please leave your comments below. If you would like to write about your Writing Space, please get in touch!
MJ Henry was born and raised in Texas, January 1950. She has been writing since she was 12 years old, but never consistently, until she recently decided to get serious. Retired, she spends her time writing as much as she can. She has published several articles on-line and one locally, so far.
Loved this post, congratulations.
“I often wonder if, perhaps, one day I might have that perfect space; the little cabin in the woods, where it’s just me and my laptop – and my little dog, too. I would sit on the porch and write, enjoying the sounds and smells of nature, with nothing to disturb…”
I have this space – along with a singing creek, and two dogs :-D although, sometimes my GMR disturbs, or if we have loud tourists, but mostly …. little log house nestled in a cove in the Great Smoky Mountains – I write on the porch with the critters and look out over the ridgetops and the distant Smokies. I feel pretty danged lucky!
I like that rolling cart idea!
Wow! Can I come live with you? Of course I’d have to bring my three teenaged grandsons and my two chihuahuas and all my clutter. You wouldn’t mind that though. You are indeed lucky to have such a perfect spot. Don’t let anything clutter it up.
Oh boy MJ, can I relate! The second my husband goes into my office to “search for something”, I panic. He never cares what he pushes where and certainly doesn’t replace whatever he’s moved to its proper position. “How can you find anything in all that mess?” I often hear, but if it wasn’t in such a mess I’d never find it!
Great post!
I know exactly what you mean. I can’t stand it when anyone messes with my mess.
I’m so glad you mentioned that a cluttered desk is the sign of a brilliant mind… that’s something I will have to remember so my disasterous house doesn’t deter me from getting my work done!
I too work from the mess, especially when there is other work going on. The house always takes a backseat. Sometimes the mess can be inspiring, often its intrusive. But I will try to remember that my mess is just a sign of my brilliance :)
Thanks!
Isn’t it nice to have something to justify the mess? ;o)
My writing space has to be completely clutter-free. Fortunately, I have an extra room upstairs that makes the perfect space. I can’t tolerate distractions. I even purchased a desktop to use upstairs and purposely configured it to to not connect to the internet. Works great for keeping me focused on the task at hand.
I’ve often thought I would like a nice neat space, and anytime I have set up a new space it has always started out neat and orderly, but it just isn’t me. As far as having a computer without the internet … I guess that would help to keep things real, but when I write I often want to go on-line to research some “whatever” so I can have that real too. I’ve found the internet to be a big help while I write. I’m not tempted by social networks or other things when I write, so I guess that’s what works for me.
It’s really nice to see what works for everyone. It just goes to show how different we all are.
My writing space is super cluttered, but how else could it be? I write on paper, I have a few stories, so of course they take space. :) And books, and laptop, and pens, and cute figures of animals, and… you get the idea :) As long as I know where everything is I’m fine.
I totally relate to you, Ekaterina. I have done some writing on paper, but because of the arthritis in my hands, theat really gets to hurting after a while. But, I have all the “stuff” sitting around. Even when I clear the table for meals, it is still a bit cluttered around us. My grandsons have just learned to live with it.