Where I Write: Rachael Herron

Take a peek inside the spaces where some of today's authors write, ponder, and procrastinate. This week: A Life In Stitches author Rachael Herron's cluttered desk, which inspires her to be creative.

As much as I hate to admit it, I lead a cluttered life. In my ideal world, I would write at a small desk overlooking an ocean shore, nothing on the table but my laptop, a lamp, an antique fountain pen, and a Moleskine.

In reality, I write surrounded by "things"-yarn, gallery, sweaters still on the knitting needles, a loom. On top of my desk is my beloved MacBook Air which is raised to ideal eye-height by my mother's old writing box. I write using the Post-it system (every stray thought collected onto a small colored square), and when each Post-it problem is solved, I stick it inside the wooden box. Someday I expect I'll have so many I'll have to decide what to do about them, but with five books written, there's still some room left.


On the strip of wall between the windows is the first piece of physical fan mail I ever received, along with a map of Venice and a postcard of Oakland, my two favorite cities in the world.

The blue plaque to the right of my desk is a sign that says "Mrs. Rachael Herron, Published Author," given to me by a friend before I was, indeed, published. The fan helps me stay at the desk when it's warm. The stack of books to the left of the desk are every version (so far) of my books. When I'm stuck, I like to look up and think, "I wrote those. Keep going, for cripe's sake."

To the far left, surrounded by the pictures hung so crookedly (it's the wall, I swear) is where I stand when I can't (or shouldn't) sit any longer. To the right, perched on a box of books, is my accordion. I've never had a lesson, and I don't play that well, but I can make pretty sounds, and late on Thursday nights, I like to put away the words, have a glass of wine, and sing along with my own joyful accompaniment.


Behind my computer is one of my most prized possessions: an African violet I found in my old bedroom, the room where my mother had done her writing. Six months after her death, it was almost completely gone; just one last slightly green leaf remained. I nursed it back to health, and now it blooms almost year round. Mom didn't live to see a published book of mine, but I like to think that she knows that I'm caring for her plant as it rests near the bound copies of my work. She'd approve. She didn't mind a little clutter, either.


Rachael Herron is the creator of Yarnagogo.com, which receives over 90,000 hits a month, and the author of the novel How to Knit a Love Song. She lives with her better half in Oakland, California.