Take a tour of Deb's writing studio

WELCOME to my studio! After writing my first novel at our kitchen table, and others in the bedroom and various corners of our living room, I'm delighted to finally have my very own office. I never minded having my desk in the hub of the house, and in fact, I once vowed that even if we lived in a mansion, I'd never move my little makeshift office out of our living room. Good thing it's a woman's prerogative to change her mind, because I love this sunny, colorful room and the painted farmhouse table that serves as my desk.

My Dad built this reference desk for me a few years ago, and I don't know how I ever wrote without it! It's so nice to have my dictionary, thesaurus, and other reference books within arm's reach and at just the right angle. There's also room for my printer on the top shelf, and some writing awards on the bottom shelf (to remind me what my priorities should be?)

Above the desk, a crowded bulletin board holds photos of my family—my husband and our four kids, our grandsons, parents, siblings, nieces, nephews and family friends. This bulletin board serves as my visual prayer list, and another reminder of where my priorities should be.

One corner of my office holds a cozy overstuffed chair complete with a fluffy pillow and a warm afghan—a great place to take an afternoon nap, or for my husband or our teenage daughter to plop for a visit after work or school. My husband's beautiful artwork is framed over my chair—and throughout our home.

I write on my trusty MacBook Pro laptop, so if I ever need a change of scenery, I can easily move my office out onto the front porch or...

...the sunny back deck.

My flowerpots are a tempting distraction in the spring, but I love writing outdoors with my kitties—all three of them—snoozing beside me and the wind chimes making breezy music.

Inside or out, I love my office spaces. A room of my own, and a room with a view. It just doesn't get much better than this.




I always have an IdeaBoard tacked up near my desk with photos of my characters and where they live, along with other things that remind me of the themes of my novel.



For three years now, I've had my own dedicated office—and I love it. My office is where my writing day begins every weekday morning.
But more and more, I find myself bringing my laptop out to our sunny kitchen mid-morning. I like being in the hub of the house. Writing from my tall bar stool at the counter I can see out the window to watch for the mail carrier or the UPS and Fed-Ex guys. I can keep an eye on the weather, and enjoy our front porch cat as she observes the world from her perch on the window sill. I'm close to the coffee maker and (sadly) the refrigerator.

My first novel was written at our kitchen table, but where we lived then it was our only table, meaning before we could eat supper each evening, I had to fold up my timeline graph and put away all my research books and notepads so we could fit our family of six around the dinner table. Now, I feel like I've come full circle—back to the kitchen again.











H Go back to www.deborahraney.com