My Writing Space

I’ve been promising on Facebook that I would post pictures of my redecorated office for a while. Well, it took me about two months, but here it is! A little backstory…

When I first moved into my new house a year and a half ago, I immediately claimed the second living room/sitting room as my office. Not that I had to. Everyone in the family knows mommy gets her space or mommy gets a little cranky. I brought in what was left of my office furniture from my previous house (much of it was sold to avoid the cost of hauling it), but it didn’t do much to fill up the room that was twice the size of my old office. I had every intention of getting right to work in it, except…I didn’t. I ended up writing in bed mostly and after doing that for months, I convinced the husband to buy me a small writing desk to fit upstairs, which I ended up not using either. I felt terrible about it!

I think every writer or artist knows that if the energy of your working space isn’t conducive to creativity, summoning the muse is tough work, if not impossible. My office had a clunky desk that wasn’t comfortable to sit at and, over time, it had become overridden with toys. In my bedroom, my little writing desk faced the wall. Nothing too inspiring there. So after I finished the fourth draft of my novel and registered for my first writers conference, I was feeling like a real writer and decided to design a space that was worthy of one. I sold my old furniture on Cragslist and used the money to buy all new (used, really) furniture and decorations. And now, I get to work here!

So, starting on the right, I have my bookshelves. Yes, I read an excessive amount of Paranormal/Dystopian YA Romance. I also have a lot of Women’s Fiction and my favorite love stories, of course. Above my shelves I have posters for The Lucky One and The Time Traveler’s Wife–two of my all-time favorite love stories and the kind I aspire to write. I also have some pretty pictures of Taylor Swift, one of my favorite romance authors and a great inspiration.

I brought my writing desk down from the bedroom to take the place of my old, uncomfortable desk. On the back wall, I have a fireplace that sadly has not shown any signs of working. I may have to talk the husband into poking at it when it gets a little colder because that would set a beautiful ambiance. On top of the fireplace is my lovely Jane Austen collection. And on the left are my National Novel Writing Month certificates, which count for absolutely nothing but I’m very proud of anyway! If it weren’t for NaNoWriMo I may never have realized I could write a novel and I still participate every year for the thrill of accomplishing so much in one month. Of course, I had to get the rain-themed poster too, since this Arizona native loves her rain!

Here I have my cork board and whiteboard for brainstorming. Right now it is filled with ideas for the novel I’ll be starting next month! I also have a new lounger, or what my friends like to call my “therapy chair.” Since I do most of my writing there, I figure it fits.

I bought a room divider to separate my space from the kids’ play area and making the room smaller had the happy side effect of making my office cozier.

And this is the view from my chair! Nothing better on a rainy day.

What’s in your creative space?