Last October, with NaNo bearing down on me, I thought I'd take charge of my desk and put it in order, once and for all. This article from Zen Habits seemed appealing, so I decided to start there. I started out with the best of intentions. I sorted all my stuff into three piles and got rid of the bits of novel notes and weird little maps I hadn't used since the middle of November of 2005. It really did help keep my mind clear. I could find exactly what I wanted when I wanted it. Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.
Stuff started to creep up over time, in small increments. I think it started in earnest when I grabbed a piece of scrap paper to work out a math problem, and then wrote a phone number on it, then wrote "e-mail Emily" or something on it. Then I realized I needed a separate piece of scrap paper to keep notes about the novel I was working on at the time. Then I left my watch on my desk with the idea of using my nice clean(ish) desk as a vanity and putting it on the next morning. The watch disappeared under a pile of papers and I couldn't find it the next morning. I haven't been on time in months.
The final death knell was Christmas. First I thought it'd be okay to leave a few gifts I needed to wrap on my desk until I could get to them. Most of them made their way to their intended recipients, but one (a stamp with a robot saying 'Hi' on it) I decided would be happier with me. Then I left some gifts that I'd gotten on my desk. It's February and they're still there.
It's only gone downhill from there. I started leaving books on my desk and now it's just one big pile of novels. I also installed Windows Seven (I know, I know, but it's working so far), so all my CD-ROMs are everywhere. And there's an envelope with nothing inside of it and the words "Secret Agent Velocioraptor" written on the outside. I have no idea what it's for, but I'm terrified to throw it away in case Secret Agent Velocioraptor comes to collect. My desk is worse than ever before.
Such is life.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
The sad thing is that I can clearly visualize your desk, sympathize with all the problems it brings you, and yet the main point I got out of this was:
You got rid of Vista. Finally.
It's funny about the disorganized mind of writers. For me, it was never difficult keeping track of research info. for my award-winning novel Deadly Choices. And for my other three books, as of yet non-published, I've bestowed upon each its own magazine folder. Research,synopsis, pics, descriptions, etc. go inside, easy to pluck out when needed.
My tax paperwork, too, is in neat little boxes just waiting to be scoured over.
But basically all other paperwork in my life is scattered throughout my house like snowflakes on a light snow day. While real snowflakes melt away, however, my paperwork just grows and grows.
For some reason I like have an unorganized desk. I think what I really like is getting it organized again. I ended up buying a pretty "in box" bin at Target, now everything's piled up in there.
I, too, suffer the disastous effects of being a slob. It's so easy to say "I'll get to it later", especially during NaNo, when all focus is on the novel and everything else can wait until December. Eventually, it gets to the point where even I can't work in such a distractingly messy environment.
I don't know how much this will help you, but when I finally decided to clean my room yesterday, I hauled out a pile of Stuff to the living room. Then I picked up things one-by-one to put somewhere. Perhaps the chaos in my room is what discourages me, but I found that yesterday's approach helped immensely. I now have one clear spot. :) Maybe you could take a similar approach?
Best luck with the cleaning, writing, and publishing!
Miri: I'm never getting rid of an operating system ever again. I almost lost all my photos, music, and bookmarks. It's been a harrowing couple of days, and I'd almost rather not have a computer than go through it again.
On the plus side, Windows 7 has Mahjong.
Jennie: it's funny how different novels require different amounts of notes, isn't it? I had only about four pages of notes for my first book and next to none for my second book or my series, but for my most recent book, I have an ornate map, ten pages of notebook paper, and another ten pages or so on the computer.
Lisa: That same thing happened to me! I made my mom an inbox to help her get organized, but the papers in the inbox just grew and grew and she still can't find anything. I kind of like a messy desk, though--it feels more organic.
Deidra: Nice idea! It looks like I'll be snowed in for awhile, so maybe now would be a good time to get some cleaning done.
Rene: I think the mail-subscribe feature is at the very bottom of the page. I'm not exactly sure how to mail-subscribe, though.
Thanks for the link. I'll check it out.
Post a Comment