Monday, 27 July 2009
Writing Habits
What are your writing habits? Do you need to write in a specific place, on a laptop or paper? Do you require silence, or do you need a certain kind of noise?
When I am sitting down to write at home, I like to sit on my couch with a laptop or pen/paper. I like to drink coffee, and for the noise I usually have TV on. If the neighbour hood is silent then occasionally I might have silence, but generally I prefer to have noise of my own choosing than getting irritated by noise from surroundings. Music, I can’t work with. That just distracts me, but certain things on TV/DVD work great.
I also occasionally write in the library or in Starbucks, but that’s not a regular event. When I am writing outside, it’s usually due to inspirational bursts so nothing can distract me.
And I work much better in the evenings than in the mornings. Mornings just seem to whittle away, but as the day wears on, my productivity gets better.
Share all your quirky/normal habits…
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Excluding making notes in one of my many notepads (one per project), I do almost all my writing sat in front of my PC. I have written on paper in the past but I hate having to then transfer it to my PC afterwards.
ReplyDeleteI write better in the evening, but I also distract easier in the evening. ;-)
As for noise, I used to need silence to work, but through "training" I can now read and edit just as well with music playing. I can write too, but I still prefer silence for that. :-)
Adam
I have an office where I do the majority of my writing. It helps focus me on writing and away from the distractions that can provide an excuse not to write.
ReplyDeleteI usually have classical music playing in the background, but at the moment I'm listening to jazz.
I write story ideas in a notebook or on 3x5 cards. I use a desktop to write. My penmanship isn't that great, especially if I'm trying to get a complete idea down before I forget it.
As for when, I like to write in the afternoon. I workout in the morning and do other chores so I don't think about them when I write.
Adam/Jim,
ReplyDeleteYou are lucky, you have full-time writing life. I have to fit it around my job, but I am sure my habits will change *when* I can write full-time.
Out of necessity, I've learned to write just about anywhere. I steal snippets of time during my workday when I'm caught up, mostly in the late afternoon (because I'm just not awake enough to write anything in the morning). I write mainly at night, in my chair in the living room, with the TV on, hubby making comments, the dogs getting me up and down, etc.
ReplyDeleteI feel "left out" if I have to go somewhere alone to write - like I'm missing the ebb and flow of my little family around me. So I like to be in the middle of everything - that way I don't feel like I'm "sacrificing" other things to write. I prefer silence for most every other activity, but my desire to spend time with my hubby in the evenings overrides my need for quiet.
I do my major daily novel writing late at night - starting around 9 or 10pm. Before that, I work on short stories, my blog serial, editing, etc as it fits around everything else (dinner, chores, etc).
I do all my writing, plotting, outlining, etc on my netbook, or at work off my SD card using yWriter software. I edit on paper though, reading aloud when possible.
I can pretty much write poetry anywhere as long as I have a pencil and paper. Fiction, I definitely need my lap top, but I'm pretty flexible about where I use it.
ReplyDeleteHaving the television on doesn't bother me, but I find that music with lyrics distracts me.
Because I have school in the mornings, my writing time is mostly in the afternoon and sometimes in the evening, although on the weekends I prefer the morning when I have the most energy.