I love to work at an empty desk with lots of space and no distractions, but stuff keeps piling up. Back in 1989 when the Loma Prieta earthquake rattled San Jose, I'd have been killed if I'd been in my office at the time. Books and binders spilled from everywhere. My current office in Oregon is even worse. At the slightest rumble, I need to get out before four boxes of unsold novels, 15 journals and a row of writing books comes down on my head. It would be ironic to be killed by How to Write a Damn Good Novel, wouldn't it?
Any writer who keeps at it for long will find herself drowning in finished work, works in progress, and work you hope to get to someday, along with books, CDs, photos, pens, computers, printers, camera gear, batteries, notes with names whose importance you no longer recall, coffee mugs, and thank-you notes from 2003.
My office is a cozy place full of things I love, but sometimes I flee to the library or Starbucks just to get away from it all.
Some people don't mind a mess, but if, like me, your muse needs a little space, here are some suggestions for creating a non-distracting office where you have everything you need without feeling overwhelmed.
1. If you're not working on it today, get it off your desk. If you won't get to it this month, store it out of sight so you won't feel guilty about it.
2. Buy a filing cabinet (or several), along with plenty of folders and labels (used 9 x12 envelopes work just as well) and file whatever you're not currently working on. You can buy second-hand file cabinets cheap if you don't mind a scratch here and there. Since I don't use the closet in my bedroom office for clothes, we removed the doors and lined up three four-drawer file cabinets in the space. They fit perfectly.
3. Two-drawer file cabinets can do double duty as storage and as a surface to hold printers and fax machines or a big slab of wood that can serve a work space.
4. While you're buying furniture, pick up a storage cabinet where you can hide blank CDs, file cards, envelopes, spare ink and toner, camera gear, and other supplies.
5. Avoid horizontal file racks and stacking trays. You can't see what's in there, and pretty soon they're full. With vertical files, it's easier to see what you have and get to work.
6. When you finish a project, file the final copy and your source material. Recycle everything else. You don't need your outline or the 12 drafts that didn't work.
7. Develop a regular system for going through everything in your office, gleaning the good stuff and tossing the rest. Fifteen minutes a day can work. Or if you're more of a spring cleaning type, take a weekend to go through everything. If you haven't used it in six months and don't plan to use it now, either throw it away, file it, or store it in one of those big plastic boxes they sell at the stationery store.
8. Market listings change constantly. You know you're going to wind up at the website looking for the latest information so throw out those 1996 guidelines. Ditto for your 2001 Writer's Market.
9. Recycle all nonfunctional or out-of-date electronic gear, along with their software and paperwork. Do you have a pile of floppy disks you haven't used in years? Can your current computer even read them? Adios, floppies.
10. Pass your old magazines on to other writers, the local library or writing classes. Read today's newspaper today and recycle it, saving only articles that apply to your writing projects. If you've been moving the same books from room to room and never actually read them, you're not that interested. Give them to the library. Ditto for books you have read but probably will never look at again. Share the wealth and make room in your office.
With luck, these suggestions will make your office more comfortable. Perhaps you have more tips. Feel free to share. Yes, I know none of this is writing, but all those things calling for our attention make it hard to focus on words and ideas. Besides, cleaning the office could save your life when the big earthquake hits.
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P.S. My book on freelancing for newspapers is due out this spring from Quill Driver Books. I'll let you know when they start taking orders.
Copyright 2007 Sue Fagalde Lick
About the Author: SUE FAGALDE LICK is a former newspaper editor turned full-time freelance writer. She has published four books, countless articles and many poems and stories. She teaches writing workshops online and at Oregon Coast Community College. Visit her web site at http://www.suelick.com, and her blog at http://www.freelancingfornewspapers.blogspot.com.
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Give The Muse Room To Dance
