Alone in a Room With the Rest of the World

Writers develop strange work habits. Maybe it's the isolation, all those hours alone with no structure to the work day apart from what you provide on your own. One of my eccentricities kicks in whenever I begin a new book: I can't get started until I've re-arranged my office space. Sometimes the change is minor -- clearing the surfaces, moving old reference material out to make room for the new stuff. This time it involved moving my desk to face a different direction and piling the desktop high with a bookcase and shelf. 

The re-decorating is all done, so it's time to write.