Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Writing Nest by Andy Scheer

Having just finished cutting the backyard, I was ready to cool off. So I poured some iced coffee and retreated to my writing room. I not only met the assignment deadline, I also got more comfortable.

While I've written about how economically you can equip your writing place, I've neglected the importance of creating a place you can comfortably stay on task.

For me, temperature is a big concern. The basement location for my writing place offers a great solution. In summer, it stays many degrees cooler than our main floor. In winter, its location near the furnace maintains a shirt-sleeve temperature.

A bookcase to my immediate right holds needed resources within arm's reach. A double-wide file drawer to the left secures all my hard copies and holds my printer and spinning mini bookcase. An electric cup warmer beside my monitor maintains my coffee at an ideal temperature. I've installed decent speakers beside of my desk so I can pipe in assignment-suited music from a turntable in the next room.

It took me awhile to get all the adjustment levers on my desk chair to suit my frame. The chair may no longer look beautiful, but it fits like an old chair.

Writing remains hard work, except for those moments when everything comes together and I feel the joy of the process. Today— as I listened to some of Michael Martin Murphey's early vocals and enjoyed the cool comfort of my writing nest—was one of those days.

When I came downstairs I hadn't planned to write this piece. But rather than have to go back upstairs, writing it gave me an excuse to remain a little longer in my nest.

I hope yours also does its job.

7 comments:

Andrea Cox said...

Such an enjoyable thing, to have a cozy place dedicated to your writing. Thanks for sharing your space, Andy. Happy writing!

Andrea

Mary G. said...

Interesting how GOD makes us all so different. I'd LOVE a special place to write in...but I NEED windows and fresh air. Love your information.

Rick Barry said...

My muse must be bipolar. Sometimes I enjoy writing in a comfortable, solitary place. Other times, though, I feel the need to pack up the laptop and head off to Panera. There, I can tune out the conversations and the music to continue writing, but still enjoy being surrounded by a dose of humanity.

Davalyn Spencer said...

Oh yes, the electric coffee mug warmer. One of God's greatest gifts to the writer.

Andy Scheer said...

Trying to work in another's ideal writing setup would be like trying to wear their shoes. While I've not tried to work in Panera or the like, I appreciate having a highly portable computer that enables me to work with all my files when I'm on the road.

Adam Blumer said...

I think I'm like you, Andy. I also have a basement office with a very similar arrangement: it's cooler during the summer and perhaps overly warm in the winter (because the furnace is right there). I also have a coffee warmer, and I also like iced coffee. Hmmm. This is maybe a little too coincidental. A spinning bookcase—oh, I like that idea. In just a few days, my father-in-law is going to help me install DRIcore subflooring on the floor. That's the drawback with a basement office. I don't know if you've had moisture issues; I certain have, so hopefully this will help. Thanks for sharing.

Linda Glaz said...

Mine has been comfortable, but terribly messy in spite of my efforts to make it cozily cute, HOWEVER, my wonderful coworkers at the clinic I worked in two days a week gave me a beautiful wooden file cabinet as a going away gift yesterday in order to organize my space and make my new EVERY DAY job of agenting and writing a more efficient process. I spent half of today getting everything organized, and I must say, it's looking much nicer and much more cozy!!!