I blog about things that inspire me both here and over at Book View Cafe. Feel free to respond either here or there!

This post is going to deal with places and things that make me write.

To start with, here’a picture of my writing nook:

This is upstairs, in my bedroom. I have a stand for my laptop, as well as a separate keyboard, so I’m not always hunched over when I’m working there.

My writing nook is a quiet place, with the perfect lamp overhead, and a small table for holding my coffee or chocolate.

I love writing in this space. It’s tucked away from everything, quiet and serene.

Here’s the view from my writing nook:

Just beyond those trees is the rooftop of an apartment complex. I get the full moon through that window at night, as well as bright sunlight during the early morning. While I might get a quiet wash of traffic (there’s a busy-ish street just beyond the apartment complex) I also get a plethora of birdsong. Sometimes it gets so loud I joke about my aviary.

And yes, being in my nook, looking out on the trees and rooftops, puts me in the frame of mind to write, and write a lot. Nothing will disturb me there.

Another one of my favorite writing chairs:

Yes, this chair is as comfortable as it looks. It was a Craigslist find. I adore it. The cat adores it as well. She’ll frequently perch on the back of it, and thwacks my head with her tail until I reach up and pet her.

Just to the left of this chair is my fireplace. During the winter, I’ll get a fire going, curl up in this chair, and spin stories out through the night.

Since it’s summer, I thought I’d show you another place where I frequently write:

My entire backyard is very serene. It’s surrounded by trees and greenery, cut off from the rest of the world. I have a couple of bird feeders back there, as well as a bird bath, which all see frequent visitors.

I’ve created a portable standing desk (boxes and a stand) that I can use on the table in the backyard, so I can easily stand and write. (During the winter, I’ll frequently stand and write at the kitchen counter.)

Again, this is an incredibly peaceful environment, full of the sounds of nature, that I find very inspirational.

And one more inspirational piece of furniture:

I know some of you are going, “Huh? How can a filing cabinet be inspirational?”

The reason why I didn’t post for the last couple of Sundays was because I was in Lincoln City, OR, at a Master Publishing class.

As part of that experience, I started having a series of fascinating conversations with my inner writer, about what I could do to support her.

Her main complaint is that I haven’t been taking the writing and the publishing seriously enough.

For example, while my files concerning my story and novel contracts are kind of vaguely organized, they’re not very well organized. There are many things that I need to do better in terms of keeping better records.

So one of the first things I did when I came back was to buy a filing cabinet, just for keeping track of contracts, etc. for the fiction.

Why was this inspirational?

My inner writer is a cranky two year old. Sometimes she might have the maturity of a twelve year old, but rarely.

Her response to the filing cabinet was, “Challenge accepted.” She’s not sure how long it will take her, but it’s her burning desire to FILL that cabinet with fiction and contracts, and make me buy a new one.

Which is how that filing cabinet has, in very short order, become an incredibly inspirational piece of furniture in my house.

Do any of these inspire stories in you? What kind of furniture or furnishing inspire you to write more?