A ROOM OF ONE'S OWN

Is your writing space a pit? You can be honest. Youre talking to a woman who started her career in a closet. My family could always tell when I was writing because the cord of my electric typewriter trailed under the door.

Thats right. Electric typewriter. Not even a correcting feature. I still have that typewriter, because I figure the Smithsonian will want it.

Today, thirteen years later, I write in a ten-by-ten office, not huge by any measure, but certainly bigger than the average closet. My computer would type my manuscript in hieroglyphics if I asked it to. I control a stereo full of New Age compact discs with a flick of my remote control. Crystals dangle in my office window and spin rainbows around the room. Posters that reflect my personality cover the walls. Shelves of books important to me take up an inordinate amount of space, and bumper stickers decorate the casing of that powerful computer, reducing its ability to intimidate me. I love it here. I finally have what Virginia Woolf deemed essential to women writersa room of ones own.

But it took me a long timetoo long, really. I moved quickly out of the closet due to lack of windows and the smell of dirty socks. I appropriated a small (very small) corner of the master bedroom. After the sale of my second book, I decided we should remodel a storeroom adjacent to the carport. That was better, but not completely mine. One end of the storeroom still held my husbands workbench and the camping gear. To get there I had to go out the back door, through the open carport (which faced the street) and into my office, a journey best made fully dressed and in the light of day. I hung my plaque Cubicle, Sweet Cubicle and wrote twenty books in there.

Then my son moved out, and within twenty-four hours Id transferred my operation into his bedroom. Still I dared not totally claim it. The bed remained, the model airplanes still hung from the ceiling and the Little League team pictures marched along one wall.

Then, one glorious day, a local television station came to film me in my office. Out went the bed! Down came the airplanes! Banished were the team pictures! I wish Id done it earlier.

What I have now, thanks to Channel 9, is bliss. I attribute my renewed joy in my writing to this haven that is mine. (Okay, my sons baseball jacket is still in the closet, along with a box of toy army figures and plastic trucks. But not for long.) What I have now (as long as I dont open the closet doors) is ambiance. And its more important than I ever realized.

Perhaps you already have a nurturing space in which to create wonderful love stories. But if you recognize any part of this saga, let me make a half-dozen suggestions.

First, delineate the space as completely as possible. If you cant have a room of your own, look for folding screens. Use dressers or other furniture to define an area that is inviolably yours. I grew up sharing a room with a sister. In college I had roommates, and now I have a husband. Much as Ive loved all my roommates, I had no idea how hungry I was for a space that belonged to me and me alone.

Second, if a room in your home is available, stake a claim! Dont be mousy and allow the exercise equipment in. (Unless youre inspired by treadmills. In which case I really cant relate.)

Third, try music. Your music. For once nobody has to agree with your choices. I discovered music as a writing aid about two years ago. It launches me into that lovely alpha state that spurs creativity. If you cant blast it throughout your personal space, then earphones work just fine.

Fourth, choose artwork you love in whatever size will fit your space and whatever format fits your budget. Some believe that yellow stimulates creative instincts, but I believe any color you enjoy will do that. Paint the walls if you can, but if thats not possible then wonderful pictures will do the job.

Fifth, look for slogans that inspire you and make you laugh. Buy them ready-made or make your own. One thats been with me since the beginning is a quote from a man with the unremarkable name of Harold SmithObstacles are placed in our way to determine whether we truly wanted something or just thought we did.

And finally, surround yourself with as many bookshelves as possible. Youll need them for reference books, but also for favorite romances youve collectedand for your own published books, when they make their triumphant appearance.

Vicki Lewis Thompsons final book in her Harlequin Temptation Urban Cowboys trilogy, THE LAWMAN, is a November 95 release. Look for another Temptation in July 96 as part of Harlequins Mail-Order Man series, and HERO IN DISGUISE, part of Harlequins Return to Tyler series, due out in December 96.