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The Three Desks of James Phelan.

With all this talk of writing spaces, we've heard a great deal about alternate writing desks (Kathy Charles and her pug, for example) hot-desking (Hot-Desking With Tom Cho) and now, multiple desks...

Do you have a different desk for each of your writing tasks?

James Phelan does. He is a novelist, PhD Lit candidate at Swinburne University of Technology, and fellow bibliophile. His novels include Fox Hunt (Hachette 2006), Patriot Act (2007), Blood Oil (2008), and Liquid Gold (2009), and I was one of the authors to feature in his first book Literati: Australian Contemporary Literary Figures Discuss Fear, Frustrations and Fame (John Wiley & Sons 2005). So with all this writing going on, just how many desks does one young, prolific author need?

Three.

'Ok, confession. I have three desks, for different parts of my writing life,' James explains.

#1. 'My PhD desk. I'm on 6 month leave at the moment to get my next novels done. I swear it's not normally that messy!' Note the white boards, filing cabinets and copious clutter, presently without enough space for even a laptop. Also featured are posters of his novel covers, erected to inspire further writing.

#2. 'My writing desk, where I do my novels and the occasional short story. That said, I start each morning at a local cafe where I type on the laptop or write up notes over a few strong coffees... so that's yet another desk. (Yep, he's a hot desker, too. And fellow caffeine addict.) Note the Vanity Fair magazine, multiple novels, pens, paper and small reading light. This area is without frills.

#3. 'My editing desk, aka the dining table. I like it because it's full of natural light, and I can really spread out.' James is one of those rare young authors to make plenteous hand-written notes. A sole plant placed in the centre of the table offers oxygen in times of intense editing.

Are you a multi-desker, or hot-desker? Do you rotate your writing areas like some rotate their linen, careful not to wear out any one spot? Or do you just have a different area for each of your writing tasks?

Tell us about it, and check back soon for I've Shown You Mine, Now Show Me Yours, Part XII.

Happy reading,
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