My boyfriend has a pretty nice desktop set-up as his personal computer. More than once, he’s told me he doesn’t understand why I don’t want the same, and I instead rely on my laptop. When I first got my own laptop in 2004, I thought it was the coolest possible way to write. I didn’t even get wireless in my house for another four years. (Late to the game, I know.) At first I was just writing essays for school (and the occasional creative work, of course), but when I became a freelance writer, I’d go the extra step of going online with my desktop with its wired Internet connection, getting assignments and going back to my laptop to write. Why? Because I like to be comfy when I write!
Over time, my “office” set up evolved. Despite loving the portability of my laptop, I actually didn’t like keeping it on my lap. I missed my mouse. (“Why be so stubborn and keep using the laptop?” the boyfriend asks.) So once I finally got wireless connectivity, I turned to something aimed at college students: a small laptop desk, which I’ve upgraded from ugly plain plastic to faux wood over the years. It allows me to angle the laptop (a must, since I prefer to type at an angle) and there’s space for a mouse, too. I work on a futon bed (half folded up to provide back support) every day and it’s pretty sweet! (This is not where I sleep, by the way. Who sleeps in their “office”? Ha.)
I do have a crude desk and a nice desk chair (the latter courtesy of the boyfriend, trying to tempt me to a traditional desktop set-up, perhaps) I use for a bit a few times a week when I feel like a change. I also once tried to type at a desk on my porch, but I couldn’t see the screen too well with the bright outdoor light. (I’m not much of an outdoorswoman anyway!) I’ve also done some work on my boyfriend’s netbook at a Starbucks a few times and even once at a McDonald’s (the latter of which was incredibly icky…) out of necessity while on the go, although I don’t recommend it. Personally, I prefer being alone when I work. And I love listening to music (mostly film, TV show and video game soundtracks–I can’t listen to songs with lyrics when I work or I stop working and start singing!), not hearing the “Whirrr….” of coffee being made. Of course, in college, I worked in the library a few times, but I borrowed the school’s laptops to do so; I’ve always been strangely protective of my laptop and refuse to bring it anywhere outside of the home. (What if it breaks?! I wouldn’t even bring a laptop on my vacations until I had a new one and could bring the older model. It’s heavier, but at least I wouldn’t be crushed if it broke or got lost.)
My cat loves my strange “office” set-up, too! She sometimes sits on my legs and other times curls under the desk, blocking me from stretching out my legs. (Just kick her out? Never!)
Where do you write? Does the environment in which you write affect your concentration? Do you like listening to anything when you write?
Amy McNulty 
I have a ‘work station’ for most writing tasks. But I often take my notebook with me. Writing is a portable occupation, don’t you think?
Definitely! One time I tried writing in a notebook (don’t know if you mean a paper notebook or a laptop notebook–confusing tech terms!) while on the go, but I wasn’t feeling it. I think typing has been too ingrained in me!
I hide in the spare bedroom in our walk-out basement. It has a big window facing the lake. I write on a paint-spattered architect table that my daughter left behind when she moved out and I sit on a hard old wooden chair. When I get going, I forget the hard chair and the lake and just let the old brain go wherever the characters will take me.
It is very quiet and bright in my little writing cave. I wish I was there right now.
Sounds wonderful! I love how every writer has their own favorite creative place.
I’m very boring–I write at my desk! Sometimes I’ll write while in bed, but I find that to grow quickly uncomfortable. I have written outside, but I can’t see the screen due to the glare, which forces me to wait to do any editing until I’m back inside. But the majority of my novels are born where I’m sitting right now–at my desk, in my bedroom. I don’t mind it at all, though. Once I get in my zone, I can just sit and write for hours!
That’s not boring~ It’s probably better for your back, too! Does it bother you not to have the keyboard at an angled or lower position, though? When I use my laptop at my flat desk, it strains my wrists a bit.
Knock on wood, but typing on a laptop has never hurt my wrists! Using a mouse on the desktop used to cause me pain, which is why I was so happy to give up the mouse when I converted to a laptop! ^^