I am now on Chapter 3 of the book up to page 72. This chapter covers setting up an office space for writing. I wholeheartedly agree with Nancy about setting up your own private space.
Years ago I shared an office (in the same room) with my husband. Though we work in the same business we don't work in the same way. He needs lots of room to spread out and I like to have everything right at hand. My work area kept shrinking which I didn't appreciate. He didn't appreciate that I yell at my computer when I have a problem with it. We now have separate offices and a happy marriage.
Having your own office space is very important. If you want to be a professional writer, you need a place to organize your thoughts and projects. My office is very important to me. I have a "works in process board" on my wall, reference books on writing, copies of magazines to submit stories, and paper copies of past writing in a bookcase. I also have writing tips on my wall by the computer. My other tools include a fax/scanner and a separate printer.
Two suggestions she made are very relevant to me. The first is to have reference books on writing for grammar & punctuation. This can also be found on the internet, but it is nice to have at hand as well.The second suggestion is to email your stories to yourself. When you keep your writing in an email file (that you update daily as you write) it gives you a another back up if your hard drive or back up system crashes. My husband's computer crashed 2 weeks ago so I really appreciate having a back up system. Of course, you can also pay to have an online back up system that does it automatically for a fee.
It is easy for me email myself as I have 4 email addresses - one for business, one for friends, one for writing only, one for just everyday junk when I have to supply an email to access some info or enter some contest. This last one is what I use to send letters to congress and businesses when I have a complaint.
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