Work Space Week -Taking Your Element With You.

By Jay Stringer

When Bryon suggested we steal -I mean honour- Murderati's work space idea, I thought it sounded great.

My mind came alive with ideas. I could talk about my routine, and the reasons I chose my work space. I could talk about the way I had to have the pens all lined up in a certain way, and the desk had to be facing the midlands at all times. Furthermore, I could pretend that the lay out of my work space offered some great insight into my writing process.

There was just one problem.

I didn't have a work space.

Okay, I have one by default. I mean, wherever I lay my hat, right? My 'workspace' is really just my macbook. The rest is optional. I've tried, don't get me wrong. When we moved into our current flat, I claimed a spot in the kitchen and set up a writing desk. I bought a printer to put on the desk, and a little metal container to fill with pens. I spent a summer trying to use it as my office, and settled into a routine of sitting there for a couple of hours every night to write.

The result was a very cluttered desk, piled high with plates, half-read novels and re-read comic books. And lots of coffee. But writing? Not so much.

I have friends who go through the same ritual; a new home is a chance to plan out a new writing space. It works for them, but not for me. I found that time spent thinking about these things was time that I could have spent writing.

The protagonist of Jim Dodge's Not Fade Away liked to say that he was never in our out of his element- he took his element with him. And I've found that's me and writing. My workspace is wherever I am. My first book was written on the floor, in the bedroom and on long train journeys. My second was written mostly on the sofa that i'm sitting on right now.

The third? Who knows.

The only time I really complain about my dyslexia is when it limits this mobility. To be really productive I need my laptop. Sure, I've always been a scribbler, I always have one of my notebooks on me, but their use is limited. I can make brief notes. The odd line of dialogue, or a character name, maybe half a paragraph. Anything more than that is a waste of time and ink, because I won't be able to read it later. For that reason i'm thinking I might sell my soul for an ipad, because it might give me even more options.

Work Space Week II: The Revenge

House-keeping note: Technical glitches kept BQ's post down for almost the entire day yesterday. Since it is kicking off our "Steal Murderati's Idea" Where I Write Week we figured we'll just leave his post up for Monday and bump Weddle's to next Monday, to close up the WHERE I WRITE week.

By Bryon Quertermous

I tend to be short of good ideas in my own life so when I see one from someone else I'm all over it to swipe it and claim the glory for myself. And one of the coolest ideas I've seen recently was over at Murderati where they all posted pictures of their work spaces then wrote a few words about how or why they chose that place. So when I ran the idea by the DSD brain trust they all were more than happy to jump gleefully into my thieving boat. Now, without further introduction, we present Do Some Damage Work Space Week. We start, of course, with my own workspace.

Prior to having kids, I loved writing in coffee shops. Starbucks are my favorite because (until recently at least) they didn't have free wireless internet access. I like everything about coffee shops, the subtle noise, the soothing cafe music, and low pressure purchasing environment. When I lived in Ann Arbor, before I was married, I did almost all of my writing at coffee shops. Once I had kids though, my process had to change. It's hard to justify leaving Becky alone with the kids while I go write every night, but if I wait until after they go to bed, it's almost 10pm and the places around here all shut down at 11. So Friday's I usually try to get out when they're open until midnight, but during the week, I'm doing my business at home. This also gives me more time to spend with Becky as well, and that's a swell prospect.

At home I have two writing stations. The first is the unofficial home office where our main computer, printer, scanner, and such is setup. This is where I handle the business of writing. I also like to use this computer for editing, because scrolling through a manuscript with a full mouse is better than with my laptop track pad. I also tend to write more out here in the winter because it's warmer than the room with the TV.



This office also serves to hold all of my professional mementos on those bookshelves. I have copies of the anthologies I've appeared in, pictures of me with authors I admire, and my bookshelf of reference books. That leg up there is from a Chuck Palahniuk signing I went to which is one of the coolest literary experiences I've had so far. There are also other writing trinkets and such that serve as inspiration.



But the place I do most of my composing is in our family room where our reclining couch and big TV are. Becky sits with Holly on one end, I sit on the end closest to the bookshelf and have done much good work (and a whole lot of crap as well). I like writing here when the kids are playing because I can feel multi-productive. But, given the right set of opportunities to be able to write full-time, I'd love to have a dedicated home office for the business stuff, but I'd like to be able to spend the days at a Starbucks or even more preferably, a nice greasy diner, clacking away at my imaginary worlds.

Russel McLean at Murder by the Book

by
Scott D. Parker

It can be a little strange when you see a black and white photograph come to life in full color, but that's what happened last night in Houston. We writers here at Do Some Damage have been doing this group blog thing for a little over a year now. We've had lots of e-mail conversations, and, yet, most of us have yet to meet face to face. Thus, the only images we have of each other are the pictures over there on the left. Had you been a fly (or mosquito) on the wall yesterday, you would have been able to see me and Russel McLean give each other the quick once-over, making sure the living, moving person in front of us was who we thought it was.

An intimate, but exuberant crowd met Russel McLean on his first trip to Murder by the Book last night. This was the second official stop on Russel's Getting Lost in America Tour after Minneapolis on Thursday. He will be in Los Angeles for the weekend before jetting out to Poisoned Pen bookstore in Arizona, and then onto Bouchercon in San Francisco later next week.

Wearing a camel-colored blazer over black pants and a black shirt, Russel told me ahead of time the book signing that he feared no one would show up. I suspect that's the greatest panic for any author on his first book tour. Late in the evening, one of the folks getting their book signed asked him if he felt weird being on the other side of the signing table. For those of y'all not in the know, Russel's day job back home is as a bookseller. The joking and snarkiness completely left him when he said, in all honesty, that it was definitely a different feeling. Well, I think it's safe to write that if word gets out about how entertaining Russel is at book events, he should start getting used to being behind the table. Actually, come to think of it, he should book two gigs per city: a bookstore and comedy clubs.

Russel's Scottish accent was a fun topic with which to start the event. He joked that he had forgotten his translation cards back in Scotland, them being too big for his suitcase. Strangely enough, when he prompted the audience for a volunteer to come up to the front and translate his speech via interpretive dance, he had no takers. I couldn't do it. I didn't have the right footwear.

Without notes of any kind, Russel talked about his current town (city?) of Dundee and how it played a major role in the creation of his first two novels, The Good Son and The Lost Sister. After the first slip of foul language, Russel apologized, citing the numerous colorful words in his novels. That started a running gag about trying to see if certain groups of people (Citizens Against Foul Language, John Travolta Fans) would get incensed enough to get up and walk out. Hey, we're Houstonians. We hear that stuff in rush hour. Don't bother us none. Actually, when it comes to crisp language in books, Russel said that he knew he'd written a good book when his mother read the novel and it upset her.

As a bookseller--that being a person who sells physical books with paper and ink--Russel had the type of reaction anyone has when first entering Murder by the Book: awe. It's a fantastic store with fantastic folks working there. And Russel's passion for books is palpable. He name-dropped numerous authors he likes and talks up back home, not the least of whom was fellow author (and current agent) Allan Guthrie. The audience last night wasn't shy so there was a lot of back and forth among us. It's one of the best things about attending book signing: we all love books and don't need to spend time talking about something. You can just hear Russel say that classic American crime fiction like Chandler and Ross MacDonald were major influences and the rest of us nod in agreement.

Bouchercon is in San Francisco next week. Having attended more than one Bouchercon, Russel said that SF called to him. He had to answer the call. In a surprise revelation last night, he let us know that another SF used to call him. Science Fiction. Crime fiction is Russel's second genre in which he's written novels. Being a SF geek myself, I asked him how he came to crime fiction from SF. He had written a Doctor Who tie-in novel (rejected) and another SF novel (rejected) before his dad passed him an Elmore Leonard novel. Once Leonard got in his veins, Russel said, he made the obvious conclusion: how about I give crime fiction a go. We readers can count our blessings that he did.

It was a thrill to meet Russel last night and to join in a full celebration of his two novels, mystery fiction, and the joy of reading. I'm already looking forward to his next book...and tour.