Are you *sure* you want the world to know you have tiny drawers, Fen?

Oh, yes - and I really want everyone to know about the nice knobs, as well. (Sorry - probably comes from having grown up with British TV in the 70s.)

I use Word when I'm at home a notebook or tape recorder when I'm away from my desk. My desk is in the living room and I tend to do the bulk of my writing when hubby is at work. He works third shift. Other than a coffee cup and an ashtray, my desk has mail (bills for motivation) and Tums on it. I have a small desk it's one my father and I built when I was in elementary school. I put on my head phones and tune out the world. My friends no long expect me to answer the phone. For research I use a variety of books and the net. My books include: The Encyclopedia of Superstitions; 2107 Curious Word Origins, Sayings and Expressions; The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers; Psycho(the Ed Gein story); Ancient Inventions; Synonym Finder (the best thesaurus I've ever used); The Pessimists Guide to History; The Joy of Sex; Come Play with Me; The Pictorial Guide to the Kama Sutra; Hunting Humans; Predators; a slew of my college Philosophy books; nearly every one of my college Sociology books; S&M 101; The Ultimate Guide to Gay Sex; The A-Z Encyclopedia to Serial Killers; Sensual Massage; and, about six different English language manuals that never seem to agree on whatever rule I'm looking up. I know I'm skipping some there.

I picked up this wonderful book this weekend. It has a list of all the gay nightclubs, bars, cruises, hotels, etc. around the world, listed by country. It also includes local laws against homosexuality if any pertain.

I write on my IBM laptop. Usually on the sofa, sometimes in bed. I use Microsoft Word, but any word processing program would do. I don't bother with research until after the first draft, and then it is generally Internet-based, usually related to geography. I archive works in progress on my hard drive and have backups on CDRs. I don't bother with any kind of notebook or file for ideas. Ideas are just about the easiest part of writing. Recording and filing them seems almost like wasted effort to me. I don't plot before I write, so I don't do any kind of flowchart, storyboard thing. For me, that's a surefire recipe for writer's block. I start with an idea or a scene and then just write to see where it takes me. I then go back after the first draft to fine tune plot issues--cut & paste existing scenes, adding scenes, and just generally re-arranging things in the second draft.

It was called Spartacus. It's like a yearly magazine of such info. I found it in a Barnes n Noble in Baltimore.

No problemo

I too have a cluttered work space, to my husband's sha-grins. :oops: I use my PC, MSN, etc. I have used the interent, Yahoo, at times to make sure I have an intersection or directions correct... :shock: more exactly... with my last manuscript, I merely confirmed my memory was correct, as I thought it would be fun to put in some real places in my story. :P I am using my mind, my life, the things I have observed in life... there are many benefits of being a people watcher, a people person... helps me have a jumping off point for some of my characters. :lol: The coffee cups sit within arms distance on my desk. I make sure the coffee pot is in a different room (the kitchen) so I force myself out of my chair now and again! :oops: I do prefer the 20 inch deep desk we have now... it causes me to have a smig less mess around me. I am working on getting a cork board... one I am going to make myself as the one I have now is substandard in my eyes.... I will be making it so the bloody pins stick in it... which means I need to make it with double think cork etc. This I will use for pinning up things I want to keep track of. I have written a few outlines... it was so I could decied which storyline I wanted to write first. I will go back to them. But I never over look the old pen and paper method, in case I am away from a computer and the mood strikes me.