The exotic name Feng Shui refers to the Chinese practice of trying to harmonize people with their surroundings. The Chinese believe your home life affects the other aspects of your life—a home/life connection. Feng Shui is based on each of us having the individual personal elements of fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. Each of these elements is distinguished by its characteristic shape, colors, and textures and is unique to you. You can use these elements to improve your interior environment which will, in turn, improve your life, which will—voila—ultimately improve your writing. Here are some tips from the Feng Shui experts:

• Eliminate clutter. If you haul away all that “unnecessary stuff” stacked here and there in your home office, you will feel a new “lightness”—besides, all that exercise might show when you weigh in on your bathroom scale and actually are lighter.

• Keep your toilet lid down. The typical Feng Shui view of toilets—they are drains that, when left lid-up—allow positive energy to flow out of your house. So, stop inviting a sewer into your home.

• Balance your bedroom by getting two nightstands. This will create a more supportive, balanced space for everyone who sleeps there. One nightstand feels “off-kilter” which sends a message that you don’t care about the comfort of another. Any item will suffice—a stool, a chair, a bench, even a card table.

• Try not to work with your back to your office door. By facing the door, you are in a more powerful position in your workspace. No can do? Then hang a mirror or reflective surface that will allow you see the door. Then no one can “sneak up on you.”

• Import some greenery. Plants are nature, growth, creativity and they take in your exhaled carbon dioxide and purify the air you breathe as well. If your office seems overloaded with whirring electronic gizmos, throw in one or two additional plants. Your surroundings will feel fresh and look lush and verdant.

• Fix what is broken. If your vehicle breaks down, you dash it off to the local repair shop. So, don’t ignore your office door’s wobbly handle, or the printer that squeaks in protest while printing, or the dust bunnies hiding under your chair. Your office is a reflection of you. And fixing things might embolden you to “fix” other things in your life.

• A round table is a must in the perfect Feng Shui room. Here we approach the fundamental principles of yin and yang. What is dynamic and mobile is yang, while what is static and stable is yin. Hence, round shapes are yang and square or rectangular shapes are yin. You decide what you want to pursue.

The good positioning of the your elements in your environment will improve your energy level and decrease your aggressive and grudge-holding tendencies. And the half of you that is good energy will be completed by the good Feng Shui that surrounds you.