The Catholic Writers Guild

“Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up.” — Jane Yolen

Do you write each day? I try to write a thousand words a day. For a long time I was disappointing myself. I had thoughts in my head about work I wanted to do, but I would get caught up in family issues, phone calls, or other people’s needs. I concluded that because I was writing at the kitchen table, no one took what I was doing — writing — seriously. Why would they? The fact that I was content to write at the table showed that I didn’t even take myself too seriously. There were many days when I didn’t get a chance to write a word. So how did I make sure that I could write  every day? I created an office.

I found out that people only took my writing as seriously as I took it. It was important to think of myself as a working professional. A professional has a workplace. Since you have to work someplace, why not make that space as uplifting and positive as you can? It will make all the difference in not only the amount of  writing you do, but in how you feel about yourself.

“Every day I go to my study and sit at my desk and put the computer on. At that moment, I have to open the door. It’s a big, heavy door. You have to go into the Other Room. Metaphorically, of course. And you have to come back to this side of the room. And you have to shut the door.” — Haruki Murakami

My office is my place, my inspiration. When I dream about my writing, I dream about my office. I created it in a loft. A spot that is only mine. I have my childhood desk there, a Spanish-style desk both ugly and bulky: a dark brown affair with upper shelves that used to hold my library books and artwork, and all the trinkets and dreams of childhood. Now those shelves hold my writing awards and reference books and all the little knickknacks and mugs that tell me I’m a writer.

My walls are lined with storyboards. Books to be written, books that are half-written, and books that are still dreams. I also have books that have been published framed and forgotten like grown children who have left the nest. Why? To remind me of the joy I found in them, the characters I loved (some of which I had to kill off), and the memories of stories that made me laugh or cry — or sometimes both. 

I can’t imagine writing anywhere but in my office. Here is a bookcase with all my favorite books, books from childhood, signed books written by friends, and books I want to read. 

For my office is more than a spot for writing. I spend as much time reading here as writing. It is my place among other writers, for I get to know them from their work. It is my silent space where I can travel to distant lands and meet interesting people who have never seen New Jersey. It is even my spot to find myself. It is my place for believing.

“The easiest way of making others believe in you is by believing in yourself.” ― Pooja Agnihotri

Having an office set my work to the side. It wasn’t part of cooking lunch, playing ball with Darby (my dog), or answering my husband’s questions. Letting my writing become important enough to have its own space told everyone, especially me, that I was a real writer. 

It helped me to change the tapes in my head. Oh, you know the tapes — the ones that tell you that you’re not educated or talented enough, the tapes that tell you that you’ll never get published or be a success. Each morning, I grab my first cup of coffee, go to my office and sit looking around at my desk, my laptop, my storyboards, and all the books that I framed and hung on the wall. After taking it all in, I never forget to do the most important thing

“Know that the Creator lives and moves and breathes within you. So those dreams? Risk them. Those words? Write them. Those hopes? Believe them.” — Elora Nicole Ramirez

I have a special place in my office where I do my morning prayers. I call it “having coffee with God.” I say a short prayer turning my life and my writing over to Him. Then I just sit and listen to what He has to say. It is what centers me in doing His Will. I am great and very practiced at self-will. I like to have control. With my morning meditation I try to remember that I’m not God. I remind myself that while I might think I know everything, I do not. God is in charge and He knows the future and why He created me.

Yes, He made me a writer and I have to do my part. I need to show up. I need a place (an office) to write what He inspires me to write. So you see, it isn’t selfish at all to have an office. It is a testimony to doing God’s will.

So create an office. One that will inspire and motivate you. Go there each day. Pray, read, and write there. It may surprise you to find out what a writer you are!

Copyright 2021 Karen Kelly Boyce

Karen Boyce

Karen Kelly Boyce lives on a farm in N.J. with her retired husband. She is a mother and grandmother. She is the author of “The Sisters of the Last Straw” series published by Tan Books. You can see her work and learn more about her on her website: www,kkboyce.com