Preparing to write

[SFG75]

So what "conditions" have to be necessary for you to write? Do you have to have ingested massive amounts of caffeine first? Get away from all distractions? Perhaps a sensory deprivation thing like some artists do? Just curious if there is some routine or if necessary things have to be right in order for you to start? I don't know about anyone else, but I have to have things are certain way before I can even start-kind of like a pattern.

Any thoughts?

 

[mehastings]

I need averageness. I don't care for silence or being alone. I don't want a nice neat clean area to write. I also don't want relaxing music, white noise or anything like that. I probably get my best work done sitting on my couch with my laptop with someone else sitting on the other couch watching TV or playing video games.

 

[Shaun]

No conditions, I just write whenever I get the time - and that time frame seems to get smaller and smaller as other things demand their slice of the clock.

 

[wilderness]

depends what im writing. I write poems and parts of short stories on the school bus ont he way to school, with everyone around me yelling and moving around.
Usually at home, I'm either in bed or at my desk with my laptop, and i need to be listening to my relaxing music (have a special folder for writing music) and yer. i prefer writing in silence, but people is alright.
for my novella which im currently writing, i need to be alone in my room with music and no distractions.

lani

 

[sirmyk]

Sometimes I just have to bang my head against a wall. And when I come to I am full of ideas.

 

[Mari]

An empty fridge is a great motivator.

 

[sirmyk]

An empty fridge is a great motivator.

Yeah, but then you find yourself filling that fridge to buy some time.

 

[leckert]

Yeah, but then you find yourself filling that fridge to buy some time.

I end up climbing in to see if the light goes off. Then the door closes. I need to remember not to do that when I am home alone.

I like silence. I usually wait until my wife and daughter go to bed. My 10-y/o says the tapping helps her go to sleep.

 

[sirmyk]

I have to handwrite everything. My fingers type anywhere from 75 - 125 words a minute, so my fingers are often times moving faster than my brain, which is somewhat damaged from the head banging. If I sit at a laptop/computer I tend to "research" too much and end up surfing the 'Net; If I sit with a pen and paper... then there's not much else to do besides something creative.

 

[leckert]

I have to handwrite everything. My fingers type anywhere from 75 - 125 words a minute, so my fingers are often times moving faster than my brain, which is somewhat damaged from the head banging. If I sit at a laptop/computer I tend to "research" too much and end up surfing the 'Net; If I sit with a pen and paper... then there's not much else to do besides something creative.

We type at about the same speed, Myk. I like being able to get the thought out before my hand cramps up. I have a laptop with nothing on it but Windows and Word. That is where I do most of my writing.

I do some on a yellow legal pad outside, too, though.

 

[Mari]

What I meant was that having no money to buy food has been known to motivate this particular writer quite effectively.



Having no money to buy books, even more so.

 

[sirmyk]

What I meant was that having no money to buy food has been known to motivate this particular writer quite effectively.

Having no money to buy books, even more so.

My problem is that I keep my fridge filled with books.

 

[Mari]

Yum!





And I mean that.

 

[Gem]

my fridge is full of food and my books are stacked alongside it - strategic placement

don't really have any conditions for writing, when it flows it pours if you know what i mean. I do have to turn off my internet modem though. otherwise end up doing too much ah hem 'research'.

 

[novella]

I'm always working primarily on a very long work. It's not a linear process for me, so I just pick a bit that I want to work on and do that. If I feel less than inspired, I write short pieces or poems or stupid stuff (as evidenced on TBF) just to limber up and have fun or get into a certain mood or mindset or character's perspective. If I ever feel really blank, I just start writing nonsense, which usually turns into something.

Sort of like a pianist doing scales or improv before working on a long recital piece.

Here's a fun thing to do. Just hit a bunch of keys with your eyes closed . . .


akbioemkckgskrigjtrheiljsmc a gejeiinb


Then turn it into something . . .

He was known for his work on biological emergencies, but his present job was to check on the king's container ship to make sure a seismic shift had not occurred. A young girl watched him as he worked, imagining that he could smother her with one hand.

These two things are related in my mind, believe it or not. But the part of this I would expand into a story is the man with very large hands and the young girl who watched him work. Maybe they are on a ship. He is Russian and his hands are nine inches long from the base of the palm to the tip of his middle finger and the fingers are as fat as hotdogs.

I'm pathetic like that.

 

[leckert]

I'm always working primarily on a very long work. It's not a linear process for me, so I just pick a bit that I want to work on and do that. If I feel less than inspired, I write short pieces or poems or stupid stuff (as evidenced on TBF) just to limber up and have fun or get into a certain mood or mindset or character's perspective. If I ever feel really blank, I just start writing nonsense, which usually turns into something.

Sort of like a pianist doing scales or improv before working on a long recital piece.

Here's a fun thing to do. Just hit a bunch of keys with your eyes closed . . .


akbioemkckgskrigjtrheiljsmc a gejeiinb


Then turn it into something . . .

He was known for his work on biological emergencies, but his present job was to check on the king's container ship to make sure a seismic shift had not occurred. A young girl watched him as he worked, imagining that he could smother her with one hand.

These two things are related in my mind, believe it or not. But the part of this I would expand into a story is the man with very large hands and the young girl who watched him work. Maybe they are on a ship. He is Russian and his hands are nine inches long from the base of the palm to the tip of his middle finger and the fingers are as fat as hotdogs.

I'm pathetic like that.

Novella,

Do you ever find that you have to force yourself to write?
Do you write each day?

Once I am writing, I am excited, and sweaty. I have a mindless grin riveted to my face, and I would rather be nowhere else. If I haven't written in a day or two, though, it is hard to get started again.

Am I retarded?

How do you motivate yourself to double-click the MS Word icon?

 

[novella]

Novella,

Do you ever find that you have to force yourself to write?
Do you write each day?

Once I am writing, I am excited, and sweaty. I have a mindless grin riveted to my face, and I would rather be nowhere else. If I haven't written in a day or two, though, it is hard to get started again.

Am I retarded?

How do you motivate yourself to double-click the MS Word icon?

No, I never have a problem with flow. Once in a while I'm working on something that I'm not particularly into. I find a good cure for that is to do some research on the area I have to write about. For me, almost everything is interesting once you look at it closely. There are just too many details. One of my problems is deciding what to leave out.

For instance, two years ago I wrote a profile of a guy who owns a vineyard. I interviewed him at length, but he was pretty dull and didn't give me much zing to work with. So I started reading all about running a vineyard, what's involved year-round. I found some guy's online daily diary of running a vineyard and read about six months worth of posts. It was great. He was really hands-on and funny and scared of losing his shirt. Then I interviewed the dull guy again and we had a way better conversation. He gave me some anecdotes and some insights. Of course in the end I had way too much.

I try to write 1000 words a day on my main work. In between doing that I write goofy stuff and e-mail poems to my brother, etc. I don't believe in writer's block. It's just another word for self-censorship. Everyone's thoughts are shaped in language. All you have to do is let them out.

 

[leckert]

No, I never have a problem with flow. Once in a while I'm working on something that I'm not particularly into. I find a good cure for that is to do some research on the area I have to write about. For me, almost everything is interesting once you look at it closely. There are just too many details. One of my problems is deciding what to leave out.

For instance, two years ago I wrote a profile of a guy who owns a vineyard. I interviewed him at length, but he was pretty dull and didn't give me much zing to work with. So I started reading all about running a vineyard, what's involved year-round. I found some guy's online daily diary of running a vineyard and read about six months worth of posts. It was great. He was really hands-on and funny and scared of losing his shirt. Then I interviewed the dull guy again and we had a way better conversation. He gave me some anecdotes and some insights. Of course in the end I had way too much.

I try to write 1000 words a day on my main work. In between doing that I write goofy stuff and e-mail poems to my brother, etc. I don't believe in writer's block. It's just another word for self-censorship. Everyone's thoughts are shaped in language. All you have to do is let them out.

Thanks, Novella.

I know we each have our own approach, but I appreciate some insight into how you operate.

I think I just need to apply a little more discipline and write every day. I know when I am in this mode, it is easy and fun. I fell out of it when I finished the bulk of my novel, and now I just need to fall back into it!

Thanks, again!

 

[novella]

leckert, do you give yourself a goal of a wordcount? I find that really helps me. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment, which is hard to come by on a daily basis as a writer.

Another thing that helps is to go lie down somewhere quiet and plan out what I'm going to write, instead of sitting at the keyboard the whole time. It feels more like a luxury to be able to relax and think things through for a while, like working out a scene or a bit of dialogue or a character's motivations, trying to get a clearer picture of who that person is and what they would do under various circumstances.

 

[leckert]

leckert, do you give yourself a goal of a wordcount? I find that really helps me. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment, which is hard to come by on a daily basis as a writer.

Another thing that helps is to go lie down somewhere quiet and plan out what I'm going to write, instead of sitting at the keyboard the whole time. It feels more like a luxury to be able to relax and think things through for a while, like working out a scene or a bit of dialogue or a character's motivations, trying to get a clearer picture of who that person is and what they would do under various circumstances.

I do not currently have a daily wordcount goal. Good idea. I think 1000 words a day is realistic.

I usually do all my "internal brain thinking" while sitting at the keyboard. Maybe a walk around the block, or a comfy sit before I start writing would be good. I rarely think of things like motivation or scenes. I usually just start typing and let the chips fall where they may.

Thanks for the advice. I will let you know how it works!