Recently, I was asked where do I write? And I thought, what a great question! So here it is…pictures included (no Jaspers were hurt during the making of this post!).

I write at home mostly, which means when my kids (twin 5-year-olds) aren’t at school, on a play date, or out with their dad, I write around them. So basically, I wear ear plugs. A lot. And I relocate from chair to chair and room to room. A lot. I’m kind of like a writing vagabond, moving around the house carrying my lap top, charging cord, coffee, muffin, phone, pens, highlighter, story outline, and ear plugs looking for the quietest place to write.

I drop stuff. A lot.

I don’t really have an office or a desk because I use my laptop as an actual (gasp!) laptop. Any comfy chair can become a work station for me. But I do have a recliner in my bedroom that I’ve had for years and years. The kids call it mommy’s writing chair. I’ve added a little bookshelf and drawer unit beside it, and I can put things on the dresser like my big, desktop calendar. By far the best thing about this set up is that I can practically roll right into bed when I feel a nap coming on!

 

 

Oh yeah. And that’s Jasper. He likes my chair too, and when I vacate it, he takes up residence. I’d like to say he gives it up willingly when I come back to write, but he likes to do THIS when I start working again:

 

One of my favorite places to write is the big, comfy recliner in my kids’ bedroom. It’s a cheerful room with a good vibe and lots of light. Sometimes. Other times it’s covered in filth. OK, maybe not filth, but there’s so much crap on the dresser—clothes, toys, books—I can barely see the top of it. Also, Jasper follows me wherever I go, and he spends the whole time snuffling the floor, beds, and dresser for errant food, tissues, and terrified stuffies to eat. It drives me batty.

Alas I have no photo of the kids’ room. I swear it was nice and clean the night before I took pictures…

The other place I write is my living room. No recliner in here, but I do have 2 comfy leather armchairs. I can multitask from this spot—neighborhood watch and romance novelist at work! At Christmas it’s nice because the tree goes right where the glass table is and I can bask in the twinkling, colorful lights, while writing about Highland lasses dancing with their lairds…and other stuff.

The other good thing about the living room is that Jasper is not allowed in, so no snuffling, trying to curl up on my lap, or putting his nose on my keyboard. The bad thing about the living room is that Jasper is not allowed in. So he stands, sits, or lies right at the do-not-cross line watching me. For hours.

Creep.

I also write outside the house. Sometimes in a coffee shop, but most often…in my car! The reason I started doing this was because of the munchkins. When they were in preschool, I would have 2.5 hours, 2 – 3 times a week of alone time, with no internet and no household distractions. It was perfect!! Now I use it when I take the kids to their after-school activities: ballet, gymnastics, music lessons, etc. I drop them off, push back the passenger seat, open my laptop and start typing. Sometimes I’ll even message friends and we’ll do a 45 minute writing sprint together.

And since we all know what a car looks like (boring), here’s a picture of my van…with Jasper inside…wearing a purple scarf. Much better.

Isn’t he a handsome boy?

Sometimes I dream about having my own office—a little cottage on our property, far enough away from the house and kids that I’m not distracted during writing time. I’d put a really cool desk in there, with book shelves, a comfy couch for napping, and probably my old writing chair. And a dog bed for Jasper. This would be perfect:

Or even better! (Because who doesn’t want to live in a Hobbit house?)

But until then, I’ll just be on the lookout for a soft chair in a quiet corner.

Take care,

Alyson

**This blog was originally published on the Night Owl Romance blog on February 12, 2018.