Preparing to write

[Mari]

Well, I've been thinking about how to offer a serious answer to this question, and I've been observing my habits and how I get into a writing session. What I've come up with is this:

I have a designated writing space, and I think it's become Pavlovian--when I sit there, I just start right in. I think the separate space that signals writing time is the key.

The other thing is that I get a running start into each writing session by reviewing earlier work. When I get to where I left off, I am warmed up and can keep going with new material.

Hope that helps.

 

[leckert]

Well, I've been thinking about how to offer a serious answer to this question, and I've been observing my habits and how I get into a writing session. What I've come up with is this:

I have a designated writing space, and I think it's become Pavlovian--when I sit there, I just start right in. I think the separate space that signals writing time is the key.

The other thing is that I get a running start into each writing session by reviewing earlier work. When I get to where I left off, I am warmed up and can keep going with new material.

Hope that helps.

Thanks, Mari. It does help.

I'm not really new to this, I have just had a lot of changes in my life, lately, and have had challenges with reestablishing habits.

The "place to write" is kind of a pisser right now. It is being worked on, though. I agree that having a place where you can "shut the door" and work is important (to me, at least). Right now, I'm working on the kitchen table, which is okay, but not 'private' enough, and interruptions are inevitable.

 

[sirmyk]

When I write it's like a three-year-old with a full box of candy bars: eat eat eat eat eat run around run around jump kick swing hop skip eat scream run around... and then I fall asleep. I anticipate writing so much (3-4 days of wanting those candy bars) and brainstorm ideas like a mah'fah... and then "ptthhhhh" it all explodes from my fingertips, via pen to paper, and in a single night I write maybe 5000-8000 words. And then I'm back to that full box of candy bars again, and I don't write a single word for days. If I try to force myself to write, I can usually put out a thousand words or more, but it's usually crap (sometimes it takes an hour to write a single paragraph). When I'm in that period of "not writing" though, I fill the void with research, ink drawings, poems, drawing pathetic stick figure comics, and posting crap on these types of forums... as I anticipate that new box of candy bars.

 

[Mari]

Just to clarify: I probably shouldn't have used the word "separate." Maybe I should have said something like "dedicated." The reason is, we live in a one-room apartment, so we can't "shut the door," as you say.

My husband and I have to work out all kinds of ways to cope with that. We work at the same time, for example, so neither of us is puttering around the room while the other is working. On the other hand, we collaborate sometimes, so that's not a problem; or one of us needs the other's input, so that person's project takes priority for that session.

Does any of that sound complicated? I may not have a perspective on that because we both have ADHD, and we have to use little tricks to get anything done anyway. On the other hand, when hyper-focussing kicks in, it's great.

 

[G4G]

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.

The right frame of mind. Wanting to express or explore something. Diet Coke supply. Lined A4 paper. Pens. Ink. No good straight to computer. paper>typewriter>computer.
Meds.