A while back I wrote a post about finding the perfect spot for writing. Writers write wherever they can. I touched on that in the other post. There is something special about having a consistent workspace, and something wonderful about having a spot that makes you genuinely happy.

Over the course of the past couple of years, I undertook an endeavor that seemed at times far too big for me, but I knew in the end it would be worth it. I bought an Amish-built shed—excellent quality and perfect design—and placed it about a hundred feet from the house, out by the field pictured above. The process was long and pricey (no, I won’t say how much I put into it). First, I needed a base to set the thing on, so I hired a guy to haul in crushed stone and layer it to make a solid and beautiful foundation. Once the shed was delivered, I had an electrician come out and run electricity and wire the building. Then I went to work insulating it, then hired a pair of professionals to drywall the whole thing. I painted it myself, hung the light fixtures, laid the flooring, and started moving in all my writing gear.

The shed has now become my office, and that’s how we refer to it. No one says shed around the house anymore. Now it’s “going to the office” every day, and that’s much akin to going to work. It makes feel professional. A pair of corner desks sit at one end of the 12×16 ft space and above them hang white boards and the world map I create for my future fantasy novels. Behind one desk is a large bookshelf that holds books on the writing life, the craft of writing, collections of poetry, and materials I might need to have at hand. The other walls are lined with bookshelves and those shelves are filled with books. That’s right, one end is designed for productivity and the other for study. This is indeed the writing life I’ve searched for and worked toward!

Why am I telling you this? To boast? A little maybe, but more than that I want to always be encouraging to other writers. Writing is lonely and arduous work. We writers spend early mornings alone, long days alone, late nights alone, working to craft something wonderful out of our minds with only words. How do we get those words out of our heads and onto paper? We write. It’s that simple. Whether on paper or a screen, we put words down. But where do we do that writing? Hopefully in a special place that encourages productivity and creativity.

In the previous post I mentioned above, I finished by saying that the perfect environment is wherever the writing is happening. I still believe that’s true. Now that I’ve put together a special place for my own writing life and writing career, I find myself yearning to get out here in the morning, relishing a private space with no distractions where I can crank out work.

If you’ve read any of my stories and are looking forward to the novels I’m working on or the next couple of collections, I have good news. Thanks to the space I’ve created and the support I have from wonderful friends and family, it looks like this winter is gearing up to be especially productive.