The Great Purge
.
No, I have not developed an eating disorder. My office, on the other hand, had become more overstuffed than the Thanksgiving turkey, or us after we have partaken (to use a seasonal analogy). It was overstuffed to the point that I was not spending a whole lot of time there, but was working on the dining table or in my comfy chair.
I decided this weekend was the time to reclaim my office. I don't have a before picture, because in all honesty I was appalled at the state of it, from the top of the desk to the stacks on the floor.
I started by sorting the totebags I use to organize various volunteer activities and moved on from there. At the end of yesterday, I had actually cleared the top of my desk.
The desk, by the way, was my grandmother's. She was ever so proud of it because she bought it new from a Sears catalog. I love it because it was hers, and because sometimes, when I look at it, I can still see the view she had from it of her porch and the road that curved down the hill.
Back at it again today. Finally, at the end of the day, I had sorted all I could and still be sane. This is now waiting to go to recycling next weekend.
Five, count 'em five (5) bags of paper. Sigh. *resolves not to let it accumulate like that ever again.*
At the end of today, the desktop was totally bare:
I do indeed have a desktop and a laptop. I need to make a decision about the desktop, which is getting on in years, but I need to back-up so much that is on it and that wasn't something I could do today. When it does vanish, I'll have even more surface space to spread out on.
After the clear-desk photo, I set everything up so that I can get to work on StT tomorrow, which was, after all, the goal.
You can see why I need surface space--the white binder contains the rough draft of StT, while the composition book is where I make notes. Right now, the notes are the outline of the rest of the revision--scenes that need to be inserted or moved and scenes that are already there. I also have a big calendar that tells me what happens on each day of the novel. It's a trick I've found useful over the years.
Last, but not least, I set up an area that I can look to for inspiration when I need it.
At the top are two of my dolls--Raggedy Ann, made by an aunt, and Jo March, made by my mother. Below, the T-shirt I won for halseanderson 's WFMAD this year, my killer (plot) bunny, a photo of the the inspiration for StT (Eddie Izzard, if you haven't been reading this blog long), and the drum I found in the attic during The Great Sorting.
Now I'm looking forward to holing up in my office and working for long stretches of time.
I did do some writing this weekend, because I've found I really don't want to skip a day of work on StT. Yesterday brought 500 words of a new scene. Today I'm going to try for the same.
No, I have not developed an eating disorder. My office, on the other hand, had become more overstuffed than the Thanksgiving turkey, or us after we have partaken (to use a seasonal analogy). It was overstuffed to the point that I was not spending a whole lot of time there, but was working on the dining table or in my comfy chair.
I decided this weekend was the time to reclaim my office. I don't have a before picture, because in all honesty I was appalled at the state of it, from the top of the desk to the stacks on the floor.
I started by sorting the totebags I use to organize various volunteer activities and moved on from there. At the end of yesterday, I had actually cleared the top of my desk.
The desk, by the way, was my grandmother's. She was ever so proud of it because she bought it new from a Sears catalog. I love it because it was hers, and because sometimes, when I look at it, I can still see the view she had from it of her porch and the road that curved down the hill.
Back at it again today. Finally, at the end of the day, I had sorted all I could and still be sane. This is now waiting to go to recycling next weekend.
Five, count 'em five (5) bags of paper. Sigh. *resolves not to let it accumulate like that ever again.*
At the end of today, the desktop was totally bare:
I do indeed have a desktop and a laptop. I need to make a decision about the desktop, which is getting on in years, but I need to back-up so much that is on it and that wasn't something I could do today. When it does vanish, I'll have even more surface space to spread out on.
After the clear-desk photo, I set everything up so that I can get to work on StT tomorrow, which was, after all, the goal.
You can see why I need surface space--the white binder contains the rough draft of StT, while the composition book is where I make notes. Right now, the notes are the outline of the rest of the revision--scenes that need to be inserted or moved and scenes that are already there. I also have a big calendar that tells me what happens on each day of the novel. It's a trick I've found useful over the years.
Last, but not least, I set up an area that I can look to for inspiration when I need it.
At the top are two of my dolls--Raggedy Ann, made by an aunt, and Jo March, made by my mother. Below, the T-shirt I won for halseanderson 's WFMAD this year, my killer (plot) bunny, a photo of the the inspiration for StT (Eddie Izzard, if you haven't been reading this blog long), and the drum I found in the attic during The Great Sorting.
Now I'm looking forward to holing up in my office and working for long stretches of time.
I did do some writing this weekend, because I've found I really don't want to skip a day of work on StT. Yesterday brought 500 words of a new scene. Today I'm going to try for the same.