Where the Magic Happens with Deb Linda

I do have a desk. My very own writing desk, with a desktop computer, a lovely lamp, and all sorts of dictionaries and thesauri arranged between bookends.

But I never use it for writing.

I know! Guess I’m just contrary that way.

I used to use it for writing all the time. Then the theater god got me a laptop, so I could sit beside him on the sofa, futzing around the web while he futzed around the web on his laptop. No more instant-messaging each other from separate rooms. Yup, now we send each other messages via our laptops while sitting close enough to reach out and hold hands. We’re dorky like that.

Originally, the idea was just to use the laptop for fun, when TG was home, and to treat my desktop computer as my work station.

Um, yeah. About that…

Hey, who knew I’d get so attached to the portability of my carry-anywhere writing tool? Or to the couch, for that matter. So, in the interest of honesty (and because I’m too lazy to clean off my desk upstairs just to show you where I don’t write), I will show you the places I truly do write.

(If you hover the cursor over the pictures below, you’ll find some extra, um, commentary.)

My main writing spot is the old leather sofa in our den:

This couch loves my butt.

It’s near a window, so I can watch birds, squirrels, and neighborhood cats cavorting when my eyes need a break from the screen.

Across the room is a friendly marching band to cheer me on:

(The picture hanging on the left in the photo is an old Chinese proverb: “Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.” TG’s staff gave that to him for one of his birthdays — I like the sentiment, so I’ve adopted it. The frame on the right holds my kiddos’ self-portraits. It was a Mother’s Day gift a while back, and the self-portraits were meant to be place-holders until they could work out a good time to get professional photos done. But I liked the ones they drew themselves so much I couldn’t bear to part them.)

Below the coffee table (upon which I plant my feet while I write) is a basket full of my writing “stuff”:

Notebooks, colored pens and pencils (yes,  I color-code my notes, though not in any discernibly organized fashion; mainly, I just like playing with colored pens and pencils), emergency chocolate (I know I told you in the last Deb Dish that I keep emergency chocolate in my purse; one can never have too much emergency chocolate), etc. A lot of junk, really. I’m a bit of a magpie.

Sometimes, just to mix it up, I’ll go write in the living room:

I sit smack dab in the middle of the sofa, right where that little cat pillow is. And I put my feet up on the coffee table just like I do in the den, because it helps me get in the mood to write the kind of books that make you want to put your feet up when you read.

When the weather is nice enough I’ll sit on the deck, especially if I’m writing an outdoor scene:

Though this came to a grinding halt after I started getting dive-bombed by a pair of nesting robins earlier this summer. Let me just say, you do not want to f*** with nesting robins. They will Mess. You. Up. *shudders at the memory*

Finally…*drum roll*… the place where my best ideas come to me:

What? Of course I wear my glasses in the shower*. How else could I see what I’m writing on the tiles with my grease pencil?

BTW, if you ever want to see a really funny look on your spouse’s face, try saying “Hey, honey, I need you to come take a picture of me in the shower for my blog post.”

 

*That’s a lie. I don’t wear my glasses in the shower. Sorry. I’m a novelist – I lie for a living. Sometimes it’s hard to stop.

53 Replies to “Where the Magic Happens with Deb Linda”

  1. Your view is gorgeous from the deck – lucky you to have so many wonderful places to write! Each of them looks comfy and inviting. Love the shower shot – (a phrase normally reserved for other sorts of websites.)

    Happy Friday!

    1. Ha! So scandalous, huh? TG says it’s “cute” and “funny.” Huh. I was going for “sexy.”

      Oh, well…some of us have sexy down, some of us have to settle for cute and funny. Life is cruel.

  4. Thanks for opening up your home! It looks so comfy! and you have so many places to write!! How did you get those little phrases to pop up when you roll over the photo? I have so much to learn!

    1. Hi, Missy Olive! Near as I can tell, the pop-up comments are a feature of WordPress. The “title” you give the picture shows up when you hover the cursor over it. I just gave them exceptional long titles. *grin*

    1. Hi K-pop! That is, in fact, the towel I used when I dyed the fuchsia stripe in my hair. Figured the stains wouldn’t show. *grin*

  6. Linda, so much for not being sure how to wow with your office post–problem solved, dear. This one’s a keeper!

    I love that you move with the mood (er, and the martinis!) and that deck–no wonder the robins fought you for it–it’s gorgeous!

    And you are one clever gal–of course the shower is where most of our come up with our grandest brainstorms–now why didn’t I ever think of the grease pencil?!

    1. Aw, thanks. Bathtub crayons work well, too, and are a bit easier to wash off than the grease pencil.

      Re the deck: it’s all in the camera angle. I deliberately pointed it away from the neighbor’s hot tub, which is all too visible since they cut down the wrong tree. 😉

  7. The kids’ self-portraits are very cool — one of them looks like a professional anime sketch — I’m seriously impressed.

    I feel a bottle of wine is missing from the outside table. It would fit so perfectly!

    1. Doh! A bottle of wine WOULD have been the perfect addition. Sadly, it was morning, and I didn’t think of it.

      And thanks on behalf of my kiddos. Son was very into anime at that time. It’s hard to tell from the photo, but he did it freehand on the computer, with one of those drawing tablet thingamajigs.

  8. You need a Rite-in-the-Rain notebook and a Spacepen. (That’s what I have in my shower, anyway. I’m too lazy to wash off grease pencil.) You have a lovely home. 🙂

  9. There is so much awesome in this post, I don’t know where to start, but I’ll give it a go. I love the self-portraits – so cute and such talent! And I love your deck, despite the birds, and your house looks so comfy – I’m totally coming for a visit. I’ll bring a casserole.

    And that shower photo. Well. That is just plain inspiration right there.

    1. Oh, boy! That’ll be handy. Plus, I’ll be the only writer on my block with a live-in agent. Just hope the rest of the Wolf Pack doesn’t get too jealous. 😉

    1. Hi Kelly! Great to see you here. As you no doubt noticed, I’m trying to elevate my posts here to a more dignified level. (Tee-hee.)

  13. Two things.

    1. LOVE, love, love that deck. And I concur on the mofo robins. I suggest a pith helmet. (Thounds like I’m lithping but I’m not.)

    2. You have the most awesome skin. I need details on how you keep it so dewy fresh. I’m looking at your shower shot and thinking you either have some sort of miracle cream (tell me) or you’re an expert at photoshop.

    1. 1. Pith helmet. Got it. So, will that also help me with my pithy comments? Because a double-duty helmet would be cool.

      2. Aw, shucks. You are too kind. 🙂 All I do is slather on SPF-5000 moisturizer with a trowel every day. (What? I burn easily.) Okay, actually it’s Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle cream, and the SPF is only 15. Alas, I suck at Photoshop. But I find it’s helpful not to let anyone near me with a super-high-megapixel camera. Those things can make a teenager look ready for the home. 😉

    1. Cool! We can turn Scrabble into a drinking game! High score for each round has to down another martini. Hey, it’ll even out the odds. 😉

    1. Aw. You are so sweet. 🙂

      You know it’s not a “sexy” shower picture when your husband doesn’t mind if you post on the web.

    1. Hi Tawna! Great minds, and all that. But I think yours is in better shape than ours. I keep thinking it’s time to get a new one, but it’s so comfortable my butt talks me out of it every time.

  18. I am so glad to know that someone else doesn’t write at their desk. I keep cleaning and moving mine around the room thinking to write at it, but I never do.
    Love all your writing spots. If your book contains dive-bombing birds we’ll know why.

  19. I have multiple places to write, too – I tend to work longhand at my desk – more room to spread out papers.

    So fun to see your house! Thanks for inviting us in!

    1. It’s amazing how a small shift in scenery will spark new thoughts, huh?

      I wish I could write longhand, but my writing gets totally illegible after a page or two. Plus, I’m rather addicted to the backspace key. I never get a sentence right the first time.

      1. One of my writing instructors does ALL his work longhand. Crazy.

        I use longhand when I’m figuring things out, or when I’m making notes. Most of the time I’m right there with you on the keyboard. You’d think I’d be putting out stuff at five times the rate of Dickens, but no.

  20. I love this post! Just put me on that deck and I’ll be fine.

    Applause for the marching band and the Chinese proverb, which I plan to borrow .

  21. That proverb is perfect!

    And emergency chocolate? As much as I think that’s a wonderful idea, I don’t think I could pull it off here in Florida. I think it would melt in the moments it took me to get from the house to the car! 🙂

    1. Hmm. That IS a dilemma. Perhaps you should stock up on emergency chocolate liqueur instead. It’s already liquid, thus can’t melt. Brilliant, yes? *grin*

  23. Love the blog and the photos (& the tags once I found them). Everyone else has already made the cool comments I would have, so my undying adoration for you will have to do.
    BTW, I did not leave the message from Elise on the 9th. How is it that I’ve gone through most of my life without meeting another Elise and you’ve managed to make friends with two of us?

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