A writer’s writing desk is sacred in ways many people won’t ever understand. It’s not that everything has its place (it might), or that the sight of loose papers is an organized mess (maybe it is), it’s the level of comfort one feels when they sit down and look at the work station in front of them. Now, before I go any further I would like to be blunt about one thing:
WRITING IS HARD WORK
and takes more than discipline to be able to endure the multi-hour brainstorm sessions and character mock-ups a story requires. The environment a writer writes in is just as important as process itself.
Perhaps a writer’s writing desk isn’t a desk at all. For myself there are several conditions which must be met before my creativity is fully engaged.
Enter Theodore. Funko Pop, desk defender, and my longest writing companion. He was present when Urban Heroes was being edited for the tenth time, when the first draft of Gunmetal Greys was completed, most recently when The Nature of Gods was launched on May 15th.
When the writing session begins he takes his place on the audio interface and serves as a presence symbolizing a no nonsense work ethic. It may sound weird, but it feels wrong to sit at my desk and work without him present. This carefully molded piece of plastic is a thing which has its place, and while my desk is often the expected organized mess, Theodore must be respected. He has his space as I have mine. I write and he holds me accountable.
Are you a writer with a condition which must be met before writing can truly begin? Do you have any pre-writing rituals in your arsenal which must be heeded before you can get any work done? I’d love to hear about them. Give me a holler in the comments below.
🙂
-TJ