Redesigning My Writer's Crate

From Cheryl's Writing Crate

This past weekend was devoted to an entire fall housecleaning mission--one that started at sundown Friday evening and went well into the wee hours of Monday morn!  When one of these intense decluttering, deep cleaning fetishes strike it completely consumes me, and the only way for me to survive it is to simply get into the zone and just go with it.

Although I usually have a bit of help around the house throughout the week from my 6 children that still live at home, when I'm in the midst of a full-fledged cleaning rampage like this, they know it's best to steer clear and let me have at it without any interruptions.  And because they fear for what I might ask them to do (scrubbing the fireplace tiles is not high on anyone's list in this family!) it's usually never a problem to get the house to myself for a couple of days.

As I whirred about my seemingly endless list of tasks (happily so, I might add, because believe it or not, these deep cleanings are therapeutic for me) I stopped and took a good, hard look at my sacred space that we here at this blog refer to as our "Writing Crate".

Our mission on the homepage of The Writer's Crate blog states "Live a writer’s life. Take yourself seriously. Set up a Writer’s Crate—a nook, a corner, or a room dedicated to writing filled with items that inspire you—then sit there and write every day."   We launched our blog in September of 2012--two years later, I still enjoy reading our mission on a weekly basis because it reminds me of how important it is to feed my muse and write as often as possible especially when my busy life tries to get in the way of that.

Even when I don't have the amount of time I'd like to sneak away and spill my gazillion ideas onto paper, I usually have a few minutes (make that seconds) to sit quietly in my very own corner of the world, my writer's crate, and just daydream a little bit (usually about the novels I'm going to write as soon as the last dish is cleaned or the last load of laundry is folded and put away).

It's this special sanctuary that I find comfort, inspiration, passion, and usually direction where my writing life is concerned.  But like other rooms in my home, I tend to get bored if the layout, color scheme, and overall design remain the same for too long. So as I tore about doing all that cleaning and reorganizing last weekend, I realized that my writer's crate needed a bit of freshening up.

Because I am working full-time now, my mind is even more busy than I ever thought possible, so I've really been focusing on simplifying as much in my life as I can.  With that theme in mind, I realized that my writer's crate had gotten a bit cluttered and wasn't as orderly or inspiring as it was when I first created it a couple of years ago so I decided it was definitely time to make some changes.

My First Writer's Crate

It didn't take much to redesign my precious, new writing haven.  I traded my writing armoir (my daughter scored it for her new mini art-studio) which was loaded with books, journals, sticky notes, quotes, and ongoing project lists to a smaller, simpler desk that I painted in a pale turquoise.  I keep a simple vase on it (because I love it, plain and simple) as well as a reading lamp and that's it!  I have enough room for my laptop or one of my journals and the two drawers hold my favorite pens and writing books.  

My Fresh, Simple Writer's Crate Makeover

Everything else has been placed back on my favorite bookshelves or in my little office that I use for bookkeeping and other household tasks. When I need something during a writing session, I make sure I have it available, but now that I've been writing in my new nook, I'm finding I have everything I need, just a clean and quiet space to let my thoughts flow without the dozens of distractions I used to have all around me.

It's only been a short period of time that I've been working from my revamped writer's crate, but the change in scenery and the set up of this new space has already shifted my attitude and production immensely. Not only did my entire house get a thorough cleaning and makeover, but my passion to write did as well, and once again I get excited to find those very important snippets of time to sneak off and do what I love most--get creative in my beloved and newly refreshed writer's crate.

Have you taken an inventory of your writing space lately?  If you could create the perfect writer's retreat, where in your home (or elsewhere) would it be?

Will Power--Thanks to Shakespeare!

From Kate's Writing Crate...

          As a writer, it's difficult not to be inspired by William Shakespeare. He wrote prolifically. He wrote beautifully. He wrote without the aid of a dictionary, a thesaurus, spellchecker, or Google. And he wrote by hand with a quill and inkwell.

          I once tried to write with my great great aunt's pen with a slightly bent nib and an inkwell. It was frustrating. The ink would run out mid thought. It dripped and smeared, too. I gave up after one page. But Shakespeare had no other choice so he got on with it. He was driven and dedicated.

          This leaves me--and everyone else who wants to be a writer--with no excuses not to write. I have plenty of modern pens and paper, a computer, and every reference book and web site I need, including refdesk.com, which I take for granted.

          I am constantly reminded of this by a sign I received for Christmas that now hangs in my Writer's Crate. It makes me laugh--and it keeps me writing.

         It's a picture of Shakespeare with WILL POWER written underneath.

          So if you are not writing, what is the obstacle?

          No time? You can find pockets of time. Cheryl wrote her book, Pregnant Women Don't Eat Cabbage, on a series of Saturday afternoons when her husband took charge of their children for an hour or two. A woman in Japan has written two books on her smart phone while on trains going to and from work.

          No writing space? The Writer's Desk, by Jill Krementz, shows authors writing in all sorts of places: Toni Morrison on a couch; Walker Percy and Cathleen Schine each in their own beds; Rita Dove and Saul Bellow standing at tall writing desks; Ann Petry at her dining room table; and Veronica Chambers sitting on her kitchen counter. A majority of the authors are sitting at their desks, some with their feet up, most with their feet on the floor. With few exceptions, the 55 writers photographed have very cluttered or sparse spaces so your level of neatness/organization is no excuse either.

          Face it, writing all comes down to determination and dedication. You need to sit, stand, or lie down in your writing space and write.

          Now list five writing goals for 2013--then make them happen!

          My 2013 goals:

                    write every day;

                    write 52 posts for this blog;

                    continue to edit or co-write articles for trade and/or national magazines;

                    take another writing class;

                    and finish my novel.


          Cheryl and I each have started novels, but we want to finish them. We decided to test out two writing books to help us reach that goal. Starting January 1, Cheryl and I will follow 90 Days to Your Novel: A Day-by-Day Plan Outlining & Writing Your Book by Sarah Domet. I was also intrigued by The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt so I will be following it as well until I find which one really inspires me.

          Wish us well!

What are your 2013 writing goals?