WHAT'S ON YOUR DESK?

HOLLY SHUMAS

I've always been taken by those antique mahogany roll-top desks, the kind that weigh a ton and mean you'll forever need to hire a mover, the kind that say "Writer" with the capital W. More specifically, they say "Serious Writer," with a capital S and a capital W. Maybe that's why I've never actually invested in one. 

I'm a dedicated writer, but somehow, it doesn't feel serious. Oh, it feels like a job some days, but mostly, there's enjoyment in it. And roll-top mahogany isn't about enjoyment; it's about importance. Not to mention, those antique desks don't have holes in the back to snake all your computer wires, and a pull-out tray for your keyboard, and I can't write anything without my computer. If it's longhand, I'm lost.

So what I've got instead is one of those Ikea desks that takes up as little room as possible in a corner of my living room. It's oak veneer (or maybe particle board, what do I know), and it's got a top shelf with some writing guides that I've never used but they look good up there. 

The main surface has my computer monitor, my day planner open to today's date, and there are anywhere between one and five Post-Its with various reminders and ideas. I love that every time I incorporate one into that day's writing, I can throw it out. By the end of the day, they're all gone. It's a great feeling, seeing that smooth, clean oak veneer again (or maybe particle board).

Someday I'm going to upgrade that desk, but I have a feeling it'll just be to a computer desk with real wood, not the mahogany roll-top. That's the desk of another kind of writer with another kind of lifestyle, and the truth is, I like the one I've got. 

 Holly is the author of the best seller Five Things I Can’t Live Without. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist, practicing part-time in the San Francisco bay area, and hard at work on her second novel.

SAY WHAT? Misused Words

Apprehensive - uneasy; fearful.
      Naturally, we grew apprehensive at the sound of such evil. 

Hesitant – hesitation; lacking decisiveness.
      He seemed to find much food for thought in this, but his reply was slow and hesitant. 

MISERY
(1990)

Written by:
William Goldman
(based on the 1987 novel by
Stephen King)

Starring:
James Caan
Kathy Bates

A famous romance novelist is rescued from a car wreck by a 
deranged and obsessed reader. 

A MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF WRITING

In 1890, a young writer sailed into the harbor of an ancient fishing village. Sheer cliffs overlooked the harbor and the sea beyond. He was so impressed by the menacing aspects of the stone abbey and St. Mary’s Cathedral looming over the small town, that he used Whitby, England, in his novel.

While in Whitby, he stayed at a small inn on the river. In the evenings, pigeons would sit on his window ledge and tap at their reflections in the glass. What if ... his main character tapped long, sharp fingernails on his lover's window? Bats lived in the stable behind the inn. What if ... his main character had the ability to shape-shift into bats? And black dogs? And mist?

The author gave his main character the Hungarian name “Wampyr.” But while researching vampire lore in Whitby’s library, he came across An Account of the Principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia by William Wilkinson. In the book, Wilkinson mentions a Vlad Dracula who warred with the Turks. What if ...?

Dracula was published in 1897 to little acclaim. The novel became popular only after Hollywood filmed versions of it in the early 1900s, a few years after Bram Stoker’s death.

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