What is an “office?” Is it a building off somewhere, or perhaps that spare bedroom? Or maybe it’s the spot on your coffee table where you sit with a laptop and pretend to work while you watch TV?

When I first started writing, my office was my bedroom. Specifically, it was the table where I set up my TRS-80 computer. I sat and wrote all day.

When I wasn’t writing fiction, I would code. I bounced back and forth. I suppose it’s dumb luck that I sold an article before I sold some little program I wrote.

The picture below (from this page here on the Wambooli web site) is from my office in my first apartment, located in El Cajon, California. It’s barely an office, but it’s where I wrote many, many things. Not one of them was published.

Barely an office back in 1982. I was working at a restaurant part time and buying pieces of the computer as I could afford them.

Two moves later, the office moved out into the living room. Then, when I upgraded to a two-bedroom apartment, the second, smaller bedroom became my office. It eventually became so packed with gear, that I was nearing the point of swapping to the master bedroom for the office. Then I moved again.

In the first home I rented, my office was a downstairs bedroom. It was cramped. I almost moved the office into the downstairs living room, but ended up moving out of the rental and into my first home.

Our first home had a granny apartment over the two-car garage. It had a nice big living room, kitchen, bath, and two bedrooms. The whole thing was my office, but I divided it into three parts.

The living room was my outer office, where I would entertain guests. No one ever showed up, of course. But there were some nice chairs to set in, an oak desk, plus lots of storage for office supplies.

The kitchen had coffee, of course, plus a small fridge that I would forget to stock with snacks and drinks. The microwave heated many a cup of coffee.

The northwest bedroom I used for storage. It was my computer boneyard. It also had tables with some PCs and a Mac set up. I had hired an assistant for a time, and she would work in that office. There was also a futon in that office, for those times I needed to take a nap. (And, no, I never did “mess” with my assistant.)

The main office was packed. It’s shown below, and you can read the full description here.

My office roughly 10 years ago. Lots of computers, lots going on. I do miss it, though it was cramped.

My office today? You’ll have to wait until Friday to read about it!