Suzanne reveals The Big Three

I’ve discovered that I’m in good company. In the newspaper this morning I read that J. K. Rowling has announced she’ll be writing the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series in 2006 AND plans to clean up her messy office. (Well, her exact words were: "Muck out my study.")

I visited Jenny Crusie’s blog last night and not only has she declared in writing that she’s really truly going to deal with the clutter in her office, BUT she actually provides the "before" photos. (Trust me, it wasn’t a pretty sight.)

Recently I stopped by romance author Shirley Jump’s house (we live in the same town) and she proudly showed me her new office, complete with boxes piled to the ceiling. (In Shirley’s defense she’d just moved into the space the week before.)

Yep, it is definitely that time of year. People are resolving to eat less, exercise more, AND clear out the clutter.

I’m way ahead of the crowd. I cleaned up my office this past summer. (Okay, I did away with the knee-deep "Stella stacks" — named in honor of that inimitable Quill pictured at the top of this page.)

I had to. It was a life/limb situation. I once tried to sprint across my office to answer the phone, inadvertently stepped into a manuscript box, went sliding across the floor, jammed my foot into a file cabinet, and ended up breaking my big toe. (It wasn’t a pretty sight — for weeks.)

So imagine my horror when I walked into my office this morning and realized that between me and the phone were four large boxes of supplies delivered yesterday by Office Depot, a stack of research books (including, ironically, The Way of the Traveler and The Book of the Dead), a mound of tax receipts for 2005, AND an open manuscript box.

I’ll tell you I went a little weak at the knees.

So, I know what my Big Three are for 2006. Eat less. Exercise more. And clean up the clutter . . . AGAIN.

Inquiring minds want to know: Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? If so, what are your Big Three?

Cheers!
Suzanne
P. S. Oh, and I asked the other three Quills about the current state of their offices. Here, in their own words – even in their own candid snapshots — is how each replied:

STELLA: "Yes, I’m going to clean up my office this year because it currently looks like Filene’s Basement." (Of course, not being a world-class shopper like some of the Quills, I then had to ask Stella what Filene’s Basement was. Apparently it’s a big store in Boston that has "stuff" everywhere and no dressing rooms.)

JAYNE: "It’s always organized chaos around here. I will never again have an office without a door to close. Biggest design mistake I made. Seemed like such a good idea at the time. . . Let’s just say that I was not cut out for the open loft architectural concept."

ELIZABETH: "When I start a book, my office is pristine. In the middle of a book, things have oozed onto the desks. At the end of a book, my office looks like the end of T2 (Terminator 2), except the hand disappearing in the goo has a middle finger rather than a thumb up. Then I turn the book in, clean up my office, and repeat."