Writer's Nook: Josin L. McQuien

Today I have Josin L. McQuien on A Dream of Books, as part of my Writer's Nook feature.  Josin's debut novel 'Arclight' was published by Electric Monkey on 5th August 2013.  You'll be able to read my review and find out what I thought of it very soon.

Writer's Nook explores a writer's space and the objects they like to have around them for inspiration, pleasure or just general enjoyment.

A writer’s nook is a great idea, in theory, but it’s the kind of thing that gets looked at more than it gets used. The closest thing I have is a kitchen table, where my (ancient and sticker-encrusted) desktop sits. My laptop’s on a plain glass desk in my bedroom, and the netbook lands where it lands.

This is going to sound so boring, but there’s really nothing special to the space, at all. No photos, no good luck charms, just the computer. I can’t stand having things around my hands while I’m working. I’ll make an exception for pages, if I’m editing, and maybe a bottle of water, but even that’s iffy. I’m too prone to spilling things on my keyboard. (I’m on my fourth one with the desktop.)

The actual most important thing in my writing space is the USB drive. That way, I can take my files and move to my laptop or netbook and get away from the kitchen table – which I do all the time. I’ll move from room to room, chair to chair, and even sit on the floor now and then.

I’m a “cocoon writer,” meaning that I can’t have noise, or even music while I’m writing. It interferes with me being to process my thoughts. My poor dogs are probably tired of being sent out of the room for trying to get my attention while I’m working.

However, if I were to build my own writer’s nook, it would probably be a separate building, like a garden shed, with dimmer-lights so I can control the amount of glare on my screen, and a door I can close to make sure everyone stays outside while I’m working. I’d have a fan for “white noise” to cut the distractions, and it would be cold. I live in Texas, where the summer heat will put you to sleep; I think better when it’s freezing. ABSOLUTELY NO INTERNET ACCESS. It’s a miracle any books ever get written with so much wi-fi swimming around to grab my attention without notice. It’s not exactly exotic or glamorous, but I’ll happily settle for functional.