Inkabout L. Darby Gibbs

Science Fiction & Fantasy author

writer

5 Important ingredients to a writer’s office

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I’ve had my new office for about a month and a half. But my point about writers and offices doesn’t start there.

My first office was a folding table about 2 1/2 ft. by 18 in., an old TV stand with a shelf and my daughter’s dingy purple desk chair.

I would move the assemblage to the front of my living room near the window in spring and summer and to the back of the living room a few feet from the gas stove in fall and winter.

It had two positive qualities: portability and the shelf in the TV stand. I used this arrangement for four years along with a lengthy extension cord. I did not complain.

In August, we visited a consignment furniture store.

We’ve bought our china cabinet, two bedside tables and a dining room table at this store in the past. Walking through the shop is one of our favorite monthly activities.

I was walking one way, my husband the other when I heard him call my name. He waved me over.

Along one display wall stood a set of wall cabinets, solid wood, cherry finish, near new condition: five bottoms with doors and drawers, two uppers with shelves, one each with cubbies (aka wine bottle slots); let’s call them cubbies.

“This would make a great office for you.”

I’d given the pieces only a vague glance. Now I looked closer. He gave me my space, backing up and leaving me to my imagination.

It took me about two minutes to realize I was not leaving the store without them.

Then behind me, my name was whispered, a sense of urgency in the quiet word.

I turned. Instant, total, “I must have this!” sprang into my mind. If I had to choose — this piece was it.

Mounted on the wall across from those amazing cabinets was a miracle.

I had been telling my husband how much I wished I had a white board or a magnetic board or even a pin board to plan my novels on.

Eight feet of combined planning board spread open before me. On the inside of the doors, right and left, were fabric covered pin boards. Dead center: a magnetic white board. Above, a pull down screen. Below a tray for markers, eraser, pens and pins.

I wasn’t leaving without it. I would sacrifice the cabinets to have this somewhere in the house. I didn’t care where. There’s a huge blank wall in our downstairs bathroom.

Time to look at prices. All pieces were on their last week of sale — lowest price each was going to go.

It took two trips, but we got all ten pieces home.

My new office in the living room has three walls. One has six cabinets, three uppers, three lowers. The second wall has three lowers and the planning miracle. Third wall has three boxed kitchen floor-to-ceiling cabinets to give me privacy (temporary). My desk is a 4×2 folding table and is backed by a bookshelf facing the other way.


So what are the five essential ingredients to a writer’s office after 1 1/2 months:

  1. a flat surface sufficient to hold one laptop computer, an upright organizer, bottle of water, notepad, ipad and a cup with pens and other oddments. 
  2. the back side of a bookcase for sticky note to-do-list
  3. a planning board (with multiple planning modes)
  4. cubbies
  5. a writer

Please note: there was no mention of portability or a shelf.

Extras:  supplies for said planner board, books and various electronics neatly organized in drawers, cabinets and shelves.

My final advice. Find yourself a consignment shop. There is bound to be some fool willing to sell a miracle planning board.

#amwriting
#amplanning
#amcontent

When the mess of writing clutters the table, there is always a solution

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The bowl.

My husband and I used to tandem bicycle race. We traveled about quite a bit because tandem racing has never been a sport that takes place often nor was it held at numerous sites in close vicinity to each other.

We had a compact car, a Datson 210. My husband was a serious fanatic about keeping his bikes clean (still is), and a tandem (bicycle built for two people) is no small package. We had two choices: mount it on top of the car or mount it behind the car. Neither option ends up with a clean bike at the destination.

My husband had a better idea. Thus the incredible disappearing tandem carrier was invented. It amounted to the removal of both wheels and the turning of the handlebars completely around so they hung over the frame. Then the car’s rear seats were laid down and the frame laid on top the ridiculously tight flat space encroached on by the rear wheel wells.

Various bags, riding accouterments, and the bike wheels were wedged into place. A blanket was laid over it and then further soft items placed over that.  Riding buddies would remind us each time we arrived at a race site that we forgot to pack the bike.  Riders who didn’t know us would look strangely at us as my husband would nod and say, “We might as well unpack anyway and stay awhile.” Then our friends would gather for the great reveal. We could get that bike back together in about 59 seconds.

Now there is a glazed clay bowl on the center of my kitchen table. It’s squatty, round, about twenty inches in diameter with a variegation of colors: vibrant reds, pulsing oranges, mossy greens, and lots of browns.  Several years ago I was visiting my mother and she offered me the bowl.  She didn’t want it any more, and I was afraid to say no about taking it, worried she would take it as a condemnation of her decorative style. But then again she didn’t want it any more and what did that say? But I did take it. It sat beneath the open island in my kitchen and became the catch all for plastic bags from the grocery store until we could recycle them. A rather ignominious use for it.

Then we bought a table. A really beautiful inlaid wood dining room table. All my writing stuff: index cards, computer, chargers, resource books, pens, ear phones, pictures, mouse pad and the list goes on, just could not be moved from the old butcher block table to this lovely piece of furniture. Yet I still needed to work there.

I moved everything to a basket in another room. I would retrieve my computer from a shelf when I wanted to use it and then put it back. Every night the same schlepping back and forth. When I needed a pen, my phone charger, phone, e-reader, my ever present index cards, highlighter, calculator, whiteout, soft screen cloth, I would have to trudge to the basket in the other room. And then take it back when I was done. The table looked wonderfully neat, but I was finding the whole carting process annoying. Things began to get left behind on the table for later schlepping. A poor solution.

There were numerous options:

  • Move myself to my neglected desk in the back room.
  • use my lap desk on the spare bed
  • use the couch in the living room and clutter the end table with my things.
  • throw a table cloth on the table and stack everything back where it was within easy reach like before. Seriously, not a chance.

I walked by the island and bent down to scoop up a snarl of loose dog hair and saw that bowl. Hmm.

The plastic bags all fit quite nicely into one bag, squished free of air and tied up. I set them back under the island and carried the bowl to the table.

You know, that bowl can hide a two-inch thick, trade-size writing journal, and all my other creative odds and ends. It looks nice and is the right height to make it difficult to look straight inside it when you eat, but not so tall that you can’t reach in and find something by feel when you need it.

It will not hide a tandem bicycle. But then it doesn’t need to.

How do you hide your writerly stuff?

#storage
#writing

8 Ways to Strengthen Your Writer Posture

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Every writer needs a strong posture.

I recently watched a TED talks video, Amy Cuddy’s “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.” As a teacher, I understand the dynamics of body language. I read my students’ body language all the time and modify my approach to match or alter their attitudes so the class runs smoothly and achieves my intended goals for learning.

Watching this video brought to mind that this approach to body language relates to writers and how we do what we do.

The obvious connection is how our characters respond to given situations. The postures we describe our characters holding tells a lot to our readers about how the character is feeling about the situation. Do they expect to win or lose? Are they going to fight or run? Do they like the people they are with? Which ones more than others? How is the day going so far?

When that described posture is combined with narrative evaluation or internal dialogue, we end up with contrast, support, and definition.

Every writer makes use of body language.

But what about the writer as writer? How does a writer adjust his/her posture for power and confidence, raise testosterone and lower cortisol in the other aspects of being a writer?

I have read numerous descriptions of writers as shy, quiet, non-social, and insecure people. We present big, but in actuality lack confidence in being writers. I don’t know if that is true since fifty years back the typical writer was often viewed as a heavy drinking, loud, drug taking, know it all. Were they faking it?  Were they, to paraphrase Cuddy, faking it until they became it? Everybody is “coming out,” so perhaps authors are too, and maybe we really are totally insecure. I know I am a shy person who has a teaching persona my students often describe as demanding. Being a demanding person would not work for me as a writer. And I am not interested in following the drinking, loud, drug taking, know-it-all approach to ensure my “writing persona” is strong. So how can we use Cuddy’s ideas to present a strong writer posture in our writing endeavors?

Here are 8 ways to use Cuddy’s ideas to strengthen our writing posture.

  1. Before you start writing, take that power pose — hands on your hips, feet shoulder-width apart and chin just a bit above parallel with the ground (called the Wonder Woman for a reason.) You should hear the theme: “Wonder Writer, Wonder Writer” playing in the background. Do this before you sit down to write that post, chapter, poem, etc. 
  2. Unless, of course, you are trying to write a downcast character and you are one of those writers that act out your characters as you write — so a low confidence pose would be good to start with: shoulders curled in, arms down and held close to the body clutching the torso or neck protectively — gather a sense of what that feels like and then power up and sit down.
  3. Going for an interview: written, audio, video, in person — first stand up, raise your hands in the air and shout (or whisper very loud) “I’m being interviewed” like it is an Emmy award you’re receiving. Now go show them your stuff.
  4. How about that important phone call: Power pose it. By the way, according to Cuddy you have to hold this pose for two minutes. Now pick up the phone and make the call.
  5. About to upload your formatted eBook:  Walk around larger than life, take a stand in the middle of the room, power pose. Now go upload that baby. It’s ready to face the world.
  6. Putting together a proposal to an agent? Feeling daunted by the task? Time to power pose. You got this. Now write that proposal.
  7. About to edit your fully drafted novel? Definitely time for a power pose. This is the second most common time for low confidence in the writer. (For me, number 4 is the number one low confidence time.) You’ve put in all this work and now you’re saying it is done and ready for clean up. 
  8. Did somebody just say, “I hear that you write”? Get big, take up space — chest out, arms a little away from the body, chin up a bit or go for the power pose. Remember that’s hands on hips, feet apart, chin up. “Damn straight, I’m a writer.” Yeah, that’s asking a bit much for me, too. But it would give me a rush of confidence, enough to say. “Yes, yes, I am.”

It’s been nice having this little chat. Consider following me, tweeting this post, checking by again. I do occasionally …. can you give me a couple minutes….  Okay, I’m ready now. So you enjoyed this post. Follow me, Tweet my post, come by each week and you’ll find something valuable in my  writings to take away with you. I challenge you to check out my earlier posts. Yeah, power posture.

#powerposture
#writing
#confidence

Reading the Heinlein Biography, part 2: the writer’s personhood

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My previous post on William H. Patterson, Jr.’s, Heinlein biography focused on what I learned about the writing business.  But that wasn’t all I gained from the reading.  In many ways, Heinlein’s life provided general rules to live by as a writer and a person.

  • Take care of your mortality: physical health, mental health, diet and process of aging.  Heinlein had numerous health problems. And he was immediate about making change to improve his chances of continuing doing what he loved: writing.  So he changed his diet to deal with his many allergies, changed his diet again to deal with his heart health. He studied a variety of mental viewpoints to find a strong way to approach life positively and honestly (self-honesty in particular). He wanted to live a whole lot longer than he did, but considering what he had to battle, he lived a whole lot longer than expected.
  • Maintain and foster friendships inside and outside the field of writing.  Heinlein kept his Navy friends, childhood friends, and writer friends as part of his life no matter what changes were going on.  He moved every few years for various reasons and made close friendships with neighbors and maintained those from his previous residences.  I noticed that Heinlein was also slow to let go of a troubling friendship.  He wanted to be certain that he was taking the friendship as it came, not molding it into some prerequisite construct.  He seemed to dislike a great deal having to cut off a friendship and was willing to reassess if it appeared the person had changed.
  • Travel: He was interested in other cultures and enjoyed experiencing new viewpoints and lifestyles. I got the impression he did not want to get his information from books.  He wanted to see it for himself, talk to people, see the worst and the best in their countries.  I haven’t been too many places: Mexico, Canada and Sweden, but each offered me different outlooks on life that I came to embrace.  I have been all over the US, which has offered quite a bit of
    difference in diet, interpersonal communication between sexes and
    personal philosophy. Travel and exposure to variety is a growing experience as a person and a writer.
  • Stand up for yourself.  Heinlein had to deal with plagiarism in writing, TV and movie production.  There were times he had to fight for his rights (The Puppet Masters) and times he had to clarify a point, less the legal applications (The Rolling Stones vs. Star Trek’s “Trouble with Tribbles”).
  • Work to aid humanity. Aside from his political endeavors and his efforts to encourage education in the sciences in his juvenile (YA) books, I think Heinlein was most pleased with the work he did in blood drives, especially as it related to rare bloods.  I had not been aware of all his work in this area and was much impressed with his effort to improve participation and increase availability of rare blood. There is a platform for each of us, small or large that can bring positive change.
  • Make friends with your agent, editors, etc.  Much of his communications in the biography came from his interactions and friendships with those involved in the publication of his novels, stories and essays.  I think often we think of the publishing world as a necessary enemy.  Heinlein built lifelong friendships with many of his contacts.
  • Keep family close and value them.  Heinlein was not a “I remember you when” kind of writer.  His friends prior to writing and his family were important to him.  Sometimes it seems that the writer is assumed to separate him or herself from the family as if such contact will ruin the muse.  Stay close.  It is from family that we grow into who we are and gain our greatest strengths.
  • Be responsible for your self and your family.  When Heinlein’s mother needed to go into a nursing home, it occurred when he had the money to maintain her care.  His sister had been the main caretaker for many years, and he was ready when the responsibility needed to be moved. He volunteered to be the main provider taking the financial burden off his siblings when it was a struggle for them, and he was able to carry it.
  • Recognize your own belief system and be tolerant of others. Heinlein had strong beliefs, , but he seemed to be willing to accept a variety of differences as a natural right. He did draw the line at love of country,  patriotism.
  • Use your medium to teach and challenge your readers.  Heinlein advocated patriotism, blood drives, right to bear arms, education, sexual equality (but give him some latitude, he was born in 1907), racial equality, and a variety of political viewpoints.  As with everyone, as he aged, his beliefs evolved, some growing stronger, others altering based on society, new experiences, research and personal evaluation.  He had an agenda, two main ones: make his readers think and entertain them.

What author has helped your grow as a person?  What about them strengthens your resolve, provides focus or motivation?

If you would like to follow or subscribe to my blog, I have provided a variety of ways.

#Heinlein
#Writers

Even standing in the crawl space of what will be my office is enough to inspire me

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foundations for a writing office

I’ve been tweeting about the lovely little getaway house my husband and I have been building for the last three months. I am pleased it’s coming along, but what I really care about and am excited about is my office.  Sure the house is going to have bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, two baths, but I am going to have my own office, and that is what’s important.  The room is about 10×9 at the back of the house off the kitchen and dining room, but it’s an open floor plan, so I can look into the living room if I want or close the door.

I wouldn’t care if it was 6×6.  It is my space and will contain my things and has a door.  It is the only room in the house I will not have to consult or agree with my husband about if I don’t want to.  I have a few ideas.

  • A desk ~ probably my current old oak desk, though my husband talks of replacing it.  I don’t mind it.  The desk doesn’t write, I do.
  • My desk will be right in front of the window with the amazing view of the lake through the trees.
  • One whole wall will be blank, though in the plans it shows a window.  My room ~ no window needed on that wall.  We’re talking 10×9 here.  What do I need with three windows?  Two are fine.  That wall is my story organizer whether I use sticky notes or a white board or printed sheets of paper taped together.  It will make it possible for me to see and alter the arc of each of my stories.
  • Behind me is a storage cabinet running wall to wall, hopefully built in with a counter for the printer, shelving above and cabinet doors below.  
  • To the right is the wall with the door as tight to the cabinet wall as I can make it.  So there will be a small wall immediately to my right when I am at the desk.  Pictures, plagues and such will go there.  I can start with all those diplomas I have so it does not begin blank.  I’ll shift them out as I go.  Somewhere in this lot will sit a file cabinet.  We actually own three cabinets but only one is dedicated to my writing.  The other two can go begging for space elsewhere.  Files not writing related will not be welcome.

So we have been building.  My husband is a do-it-yourselfer, and this includes my having very little to do with the placement of building materials in the form of a house.  I hold a nail in place, and he carefully avoids hitting my fingers with the hammer.  I locate the hammer when he misplaces it.  And a lot of the time I sit in a chair with my Kindle reading.  But I sit in my office, okay, for precision here, I sit beneath my office in the crawl space as the decking for the floor is not in yet.  Still, I cannot explain the absolute peace and satisfaction I feel sitting in the space, my space, my office-to-be.

When I am not sitting and reading or holding a nail, I stare off at that view, my elbows balanced on the ledgerboard mounted on the stem wall.  I am usually standing rather precariously on some concrete overflow from the stem wall pour as I am not quite tall enough to look out without the added inches it gives me.  But as I stand there, the book I am writing comes to me in splashes of scenes and dialogue.  I keep running them through my mind adding imagery, direction, character details. 

My office is already useful, already generating ideas.  Just standing in it is enough to make me want to write.  What will a floor bring?  Walls, a door, my chair at my desk?  So much to imagine and look forward to.

If you can design your office, what would it be like.  Is it just a little space of your own or a full blown library?  Does that desk need to be something special or is any flat space your computer or writing pad can lay enough? Will a window add or detract from your island muse?
#writing
#imagination
#inspiration
#officespace

The variety of the story beginning — 57 and counting

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start with something & keep writing

What better post to discuss beginnings on than In the beginning….  Where to start the story?

  1. Start with any word that comes to mind — the beginning is just that: a place to start.
  2. a character talking to another character
  3. the character talking to the reader
  4. the character talking to the self
  5. start when things went wrong
  6. start when things finally went right
  7. begin with the ending
  8. begin with an argument
  9. describe an image
  10. the main character meets someone new
  11. a favor is called in
  12. start with an article of clothing and have your character put it on
  13. describe what the main character sees
  14. describe a smell
  15. start with a cup of coffee, a glass of juice, a piece of toast
  16. have him place groceries down before the cashier
  17. describe everything but the visual in a scene
  18. start with a woman crying
  19. start with a man laughing
  20. a fretful child
  21. blow something up
  22. knock something over
  23. land a plane with difficulty
  24. have the car skidding out of control
  25. drive around the circle of a town’s central square looking for a parking spot
  26. stand up from being knocked down
  27. have the cat licking its paw seated next to a severed hand
  28. roll up a garden hose, water spraying everywhere
  29. wake up to the sound of a dog barking 
  30. have him pack his clothes into a grocery bag
  31. the family scrambles to exit a house when a car pulls into the driveway because it is not their house
  32. pull a ticket from beneath the windshield wiper
  33. a stack of papers on the desk,and an empty out-box
  34. run out of staples and cry about it
  35. the chair leg breaks
  36. pick at a sore
  37. dye her hair another color and put on clothes that don’t quite fit
  38. a pipe burst in freezing weather
  39. the car breaks down 500 feet from the entrance to the drive way
  40. the car loses power while your character is driving down the highway
  41. lock their keys in the car
  42. the character checks every day under the car for rattlesnakes.  One day one is coiled beneath.
  43. step in a mudpuddle
  44. step off the curb and be struck by a bicyclist
  45. set a stone in a cobbled walkway
  46. draw money from the bank
  47. the loan goes through
  48. go looking for a new car
  49. quit his job
  50. walk away
  51. run away from something dangerous
  52. run away from someone who loves her
  53. break a promise 
  54. bury a pet
  55. talk to God, tell him how things are going since last the two talked
  56. ask your character a question and write down what she answers
  57. have your character describe someone he doesn’t like