Your ideal writing space?

Snow falls.  My fireplace coats one half of me in cozy radiance.  Across the room, Erin animates a book for my curious babe.  School is still a solid day and a half away.  As I sit here inspired by the art of Vladislav Gerasimov’s studio, I ponder physical space.

I catch myself in full muse about the spaces in which I usually write and how they might influence tone, mood, volume, and mission.  Of course, I am sometimes sitting in my office at 3:00pm pecking keys that reflect the day.  Other times still, I am stuck to a conference hall wall -hugging an outlet- allowing my laptop to drink while I scribble electronically.

Though given my choice, it would look much like today.  The mission-inspired rocker where my butt is planted-  was meant for a nursing mother just two years ago.  Since this chair didn’t seem to inspire her “mission” after all, it has lately become my writing chair.  Her lack of love for this spot has become my pirate’s loot.  Here I sit feet up -gliding in the golden glow of flames- tapping on letters for fun.

The more serious posts in waiting:  our school’s use of the Ning platform, tech strategies for increasing writing fluency, etc…  well, they’ll just have to wait.

Actually, there is a plenty about our artistic stick blogger friend that doesn’t concretely resemble me.  My head isn’t that big, I’m not a big fan of Digg, and far more than letters fill my head.  A conversation with my Communication Arts department the other day revealed a multitude of mental strategies for writing.  Most seemed to rely heavily on a stepped-draft approach.  I thought it interesting that my pal Kelly Lock and I both tend to compose in mental spaces before encoding onto the page.  You can thus imagine the stress we felt while fabricating those incremental “rough draft” assignments in high school.  I bet the little fella above would create his “outline” assignment after-the-fact as well.

Come to think of it, there might be many similarities between he and I.  He does have a slender build.  He does lean intently into his superthin laptop.  He does love dim lighting, and his silly feet seem to be less than planted on terra firma at times.  Hey, you can’t always be practical, right?

So where do you write?  Not when you have to…  but when you can.  What is there with you?  Where does it take place when you get to choose?  Tell it.  Draw it.  Photograph it.  Blog it.  Come back and share it.  You know you want to.

ps- If you care that your screen is beautiful and creative, then check out the art at Vlad Studio.  With the Holiday season fast approaching, I think Christmas Volcano is my current fave.  Wow.  No one on Earth would care enough to pay for an ad on this site, so consider this merely a nod in a cool direction.  Image above is entitled:  Blogger (digg it digg it digg it).

Sean Nash

Biology teacher in the great state of Kansas. Back at it in the classroom after a 30-year career in Missouri. Former District Curriculum Administrator, Instructional Technology Coordinator, and Instructional Coach. Biology instructor since 1993. Find more about my passions and my work at http://nashworld.me

8 Comments

  1. On the couch.

    On a good day I scribble. On a spectacular day I have a 1956 Futura typewriter to guide me.

    In the meantime, it’s wherever I can find a puter–this blogging thing has screwed me up.

  2. Ditto. The couch is so comfy, and my laptop helps keep me warm – which is bizarre as I should be too hot (coming into Summer here in Australia).

    On a good day Ben (now 9 months old) will sleep for 2 hours, so I’ll have plenty of time for reading (and a little bit of writing). On a bad day the thoughts disappear into the ether as I have no time to pen (type?) them.

  3. okay, I figured it out. I had to go to your site. Gottcha.

    This is a great question for me today. At my old house, I had three distinct places: my dining room table, the front porch and the couch–the fireplace blazing. Today, I’m in my fiance’s house, and I’m struggling to find my writing space. I’m sitting at the same dining room table at this moment, but it’s not the same. It’s not in my house, and that’s hard. I have two photos of my old spots. How to I upload them to your blog? Oh, I’ll go to mine and do it. It will give me a reason to post there. I haven’t since I moved. This transition thing, I tell you, is getting the best of me.

  4. @Michael – Wow. Yeah, I always wanted to sit in a beautiful place and tap away on one of those things. In fact, about ten years ago I bought a gorgeous old beast that actually worked- at a yard sale across from my grandma’s house. It is currently a pretty decoration at my parent’s home in St. Louis.

    @Claire – I hear you… I know I lose as many good thoughts as I retain. I added Jott to my iPhone last month to make a go at recording good thoughts via voice into text. I still can’t get into the groove of it. Perhaps I should look up some tips on that.

    @Kelly – Do one of two things… stick them on your Flickr site and link to them from here… or better yet, as you suggest: scribble on your blog and come back here with the link to the post. Fantastic! I feel for you on the move. That would be very tough. Make a space for yourself though. That is huge.

    You will be one dangerous customer once all the clutter settles in!

  5. Count me in as a bed bug. I LOVE writing sitting (on my side, of course) on my bed. It’s soft. Lots of pillows. Books to my left; Kurt to my right (tapping away his own thoughts). Writing almost ALWAYS happens at the end of a very long, very busy day. Sundays are my “Week in Review” days, so I often delay for just the right input to catch up with me. Then it’s write out and lights out for me, my man, and my mac. 🙂

  6. Where do I write? I guess it depends on the purpose. If it’s just for me, I’ll either be in my bed or sitting on my couch. It turns out, I’m just as comfy on my boyfriend’s couch typing away as I am on my own. That’s a good thing.

    If I have something to type for a professional reason, I find myself sitting at the dining room table. Maybe it’s fewer distractions???

  7. My writing corner also has a chair with a slight rock (every so often I catch myself unconsciously rocking as I type). I have an ottoman at just the right height so my lap top can lay comfortably in my lap. My chair has wide arms, just enough to balance a note book.

    But the best part is the windows. I have large windows on both sides (it’s the new corner office) and the morning light rises on my right and sets on my left. I can gaze out on the seasons as the pass. I am calmed by the quiet street. It’s a soothing, inspiring place. It wasn’t till I set this up that I realized how much writing at a desk just wasn’t for me.

  8. @Jeanette & Terri – two bed bugs i see. not me. laptop is much too hot to really be a “lap”top, and much too uncomfortable to lay sideways and type with my two fingers. 😉

    @Lindsay – Windows. I couldn’t agree more. Though your place sounds a bit more spectacular, I truly am inspired by natural light. The number one option when purchasing my home: windows.

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