A Room of My Own

As promised, I am posting pictures of my renovated Junk Room.  It is now my office/writing/reading space.  Remember this ghastly photo?

Before

After

Big improvement, n'est pas?  My desk is now auspiciously placed diagonally from the entrance.  I have a new, more comfy chair with cushioning, and I can spin in it until I'm dizzy.  The Hub built a bulletin board and tons of shelves.  I am surrounded by literary goodness: books, book posters, photos of readers, and writing tools galore.  

I used principles of Feng Shui to activate the "good vibes" of my work space.  Feng Shui masters use something called a Bagua map to divide a living space into eight different life areas.  These eight areas are: Self-Knowledge, Life Journey/Career, Helpful friends, Creativity, Relationships, Fame/Reputation, Wealth, Family/Health.  I "activated" each of these energy areas in my new space by strategically placing meaningful objects in them.  For instance, in my Fame sector, I put red fans on the wall over the windows.  Red attracts fame, and the fans are symbolic of the "fans" I want to enjoy my writing.  In my wealth area, I have coins and a plant.  On the creativity area on my desk, I have a ceramic toadstool - it's a symbol of the creative ideas that I want to "mushroom".  In my Helpful Friends area, I have my phones as well as an antique picture of the McGraw Hill and Scribner publishing buildings.  These are symbolic of the calls I want to receive saying someone wants to publish my novel.  Some may say that Feng Shui is just a bunch of hooey, but I say it helps you focus your intentions.  When you surround yourself daily with visions of what you want out of life, you are probably more likely to achieve it.  I can't say whether or not it works "like magic", but I can say it puts me in a good frame of mind - and that's where all positive energy originates.

More pics:

Reading Chair

 My husband offered to paint my room, and I considered it.  I collected a handful of paint chips from Home Depot and tried to decide which shades sounded most writerly.  There was a dull blue called Faded Ink, and a bright yellow called Pencil.  There was a boring beige called Fledgling, which is where I am in my writing career.  None of these shades inspired me.  To The Hub's great relief, I decided to leave the walls white, like a blank page, the symbol of literay potential.

You might note the abundance of space on my shelves.  It is my belief that one needs to leave openings for new things to come into one's life.  If the shelves were too full, it would be difficult for the Universe to put new books in my path.  That's part of the reason I like give books away (unless I know I'll reread them).

There is one final thing I have to do to complete my space, and I require your help, dear reader: my room needs a name.  Frederick Douglass called his space "the growlery", and Washinton Irving had his "snugglery".  What is an appropriate name for the Book Phantom's space?  Please leave suggestions in the comments. 



Small Shelf