I’m enamored with writers’ spaces, and I love to see the different things other writers surround themselves with to be productive and inspired. So today I thought I would give a little tour around my writing desk (where I sometimes actually write!).

10 things that live on my desk…

1. My laptop! (Obviously…) And, lately, the little stand to keep it more at eye level, even though I think it puts a greater strain on my wrists. But hey, ergonomics is a tricky thing.

2. Pens and highlighters. I’m forever refilling this little cup—I don’t know what it is about pens that makes them disappear all the time!

3. My writing calendar (that’s the three-ring binder on the bottom of the stack). I’m frequently scheduling events or Skype visits or checking deadlines, so this binder is never far from reach.

4. A spiral notebook. I jot notes to myself all the time—things to remember for the next book, or a line to add in a previous chapter, or don’t forget to do a search and replace for “shoulders” because holy cow my characters shrug a lot. I find it easier to switch to paper for these little notes than to switch between computer files.

5. A thesaurus. Stephen King once said that any word you need to look up in a thesaurus is the wrong word. Ignore him. I use mine all the time.

6. Cinder and Scarlet. I’m constantly checking things that happened in the previous books to make sure the series stays consistent.

7. A beverage. Usually water, but sometimes coffee or wine.

8. Fanart! Fanart from recent events usually ends up on this stand. Someday I want to have a whole wall of fanart! I adore this drawing that has all the main characters through Scarlet and little symbols for each one (a crown for Kai, tomatoes for Scarlet, and the Rampion for Iko… OHMYGOD so cute.)

9. A scented candle. I don’t burn it all the time, but sometimes you just need a little extra something to get in the writing mood.

10. My wand from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I’d like to say that looking at it fills me with inspiration and dedication to my craft because J.K. Rowling is such a friggin’ genius, but mostly I just like to twirl it around when I’m stuck, or attempt to cast “do something interesting” spells on my characters.

And that’s a peek into my little writing world. What do you keep in your space?