Macho Guy and I fled south just before Christmas to escape the frigid Michigan weather. When we departed for warmer climes, I had to leave my beloved Writer’s Cave behind. I could hardly take it with me; it’s a room in our house.
It’s not any old room, mind you. It is strategically located in the Creativity Triangle, the place where uniquely brilliant ideas suddenly emerge from the wormhole connected to the collective unconscious and light the bulb over my head. I do my best work under the influence of my Writer’s Cave.
I am surrounded by books than inspire me in my Writer’s Cave: romance novels [naturally], science fiction [of course], mysteries, westerns, plays, poetry, memoirs, biographies, an eclectic assortment of non-fiction, multiple craft of writing books, and my old English Lit textbooks. [I’m sentimental about them.]
In my Writer’s Cave, books find a friendly home and express no desire to leave. They never complain about being crowded two and three deep on the shelves of my five bookcases, on my wall shelf, or on the hutch shelves above my corner computer desk. The volumes in my To-Be-Read Pile never express resentment for being stacked on the floor when I run out of shelf space. My books are also very gracious about being loaned to my book-loving family and friends, especially to those who have roomy bookshelves.
Artwork on the walls of my Writer’s Cave also plays a part in providing inspiration to me. A caricature of me done at a science fiction convention by the late Kelly Freas, the Dean of Science Fiction Illustrators, hangs on one wall. A pen and ink sketch of Star Trek’s Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock hangs beside it. I have three acrylic spacescapes and a print of “Earthrise” on adjacent walls.
Macho Guy gave me the gift of music several Christmases ago—a Bose Radio/CD Player that sits atop one of my file cabinets. For emotional inspiration, I listen to Andrea Bocelli. [Love that voice!] When I’m plotting, I insert a Mozart CD; he gets my inventive juices flowing. When I write earthy romantic scenes, I play the Russians: Rachmaninoff, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin. I break out Ravel for much steamier scenes. Howard Hanson’s “Romantic Symphony” works well for afterglow.
Macho Guy also created a supply cabinet for me from an old used vertical double-locker. He painted it an off-white shade and fitted it with shelves for the office supplies that didn’t fit in my desk. The DIY Network would be proud of him.
I confess that I’ve been spoiled by the hardware and peripherals I managed to accumulate over the years. I adore my Officejet Pro All-in-One Printer-Copier-Scanner-Fax. I don’t have to run out for those services; I can do it all right there in my Writer’s Cave. [If Macho Guy hadn’t taken his golf clubs, I could have taken the Officejet with me.]
The external flat screen monitor on my computer desk, the external stereo speakers, and the external Apple keyboard and trackpad are added conveniences when working at my desk on my MacBook Pro. So are my comfortable, adjustable computer chair and the worktable opposite my computer desk.
On the subject of my corner computer desk, all I can say is that it is perfect for my needs. Most everything is at my fingertips: a file drawer for important files; a drawer for pencils, pens, etc.; a deep drawer for notepads, journals and other paper supplies, under-desktop drawers for the external keyboard and trackpad; a shelf for the modem; desktop space for a phone, an electric pencil sharpener, file racks for frequently used files, a postal scale, and a cup warmer for my tea or hot chocolate [depending on my mood].
My eyes are misting as I write this. Here in our rental cottage in Florida’s panhandle, I am making do with a very basic setup. I am sitting on a kitchen dinette chair instead of a computer chair. For a desk, I’m using a folding table. The only pieces of office hardware I was able to take with me were my MacBook Pro and a portable Deskjet printer. I sneaked my iPad and Kindle into an extra compartment in my wheeled computer case, and I managed to squirrel my electric pencil sharpener into the one box in which I fit only the most necessary of files. I had to leave the cup warmer at home.
Damn, I miss my Writer’s Cave!
The cover photo on my Facebook page is of the computer desk in my Writer’s Cave. To see what I left behind in order to stay warm for a few months, click on the following link—
https://www.facebook.com/JolanaMalkston