David Van Horsen of Monrovia, California, retreats to an outbuilding his family calls "the shed" to write essays and short stories. "The isolation of this space is integral," says Van Horsen. "Because I'm married, with twins, it can be hard to find a place to get the writing down. This is pretty much the darkest and dankest hole on the property. Nobody wants to be here. So it is perfect for uninterrupted thought."
"Sometimes I get thirsty so I have the simple styrofoam cup," Van Horsen says of his single desk accessory. "And when the words don't come, I can stay occupied by breaking it up into little pieces." As for the pin-up on the computer screen? "Too much isolation can be bad, so the Linda the Mail Lady background keeps me perky!"