I am no clean desk diva.  As much as I’d love to sit down to write at a tidy, organized, dust-free desk—the perfect workspace for a romance novelist determined to throw herself with unrelenting passion into her creative endeavors– I am ashamed to say my desk looks like a tornado blasted through the room, swirled up a pile of papers, and plopped them down in a messy heap.

Argh.

Another shameful admission: it’s not just papers.  There’s my daily calendar smack dab on top of the pile, where I jot notes for my coming week, keep track of my daily word count on my current writing project, and put reminders of appointments.  Poking out from beneath the pile, as though gasping to escape from the weight of excessive disorganization, is my thesaurus—an invaluable writing tool that I’ve clearly neglected.  And I see amongst the chaos my files of notes for my Knight’s Series, bits of scrap paper, and a few crumpled chocolate wrappers that haven’t yet made it to the trash.

Double argh.

I guess you can call me a dirty desk delinquent?

I don’t consider myself a messy person.  However, there are weeks (like last week), when I have commitments every day and therefore when I am at my computer, I’m busy answering emails or taking care of writing-related matters, such as getting quotes for bookmarks for my May historical romance release, A Knight’s Persuasion, and doing PR for a February 13 book signing.  In the back of my mind, I remind myself to clean my desk, but the reminder sifts its way down through the list of my priorities until it settles somewhere near the bottom.

I will dust and tidy my desk this week.  I’ll sort through the papers, set my thesaurus back in its rightful place within easy reach, put the pens back in their holder, and finish my filing.  I have to wonder, though, if there’s a more systematic approach to desk organization than letting it become total chaos, and then plunging in to the rescue.  This dirty desk delinquent wants to know.

Do you have tricks to keeping your desk tidy?  How do you stay organized?

To read an excerpt from A Knight’s Persuasion, click here