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…

5 comments:

  1. 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.

    I 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

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  2. 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.

    I 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.

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  3. Adam/Jim,

    You 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.

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  4. 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.

    I 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.

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  5. 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.

    Having 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.

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