I'm just getting back into writing. My best work seems to get done early in the morning at my desktop. I'm most productive before the rest of the house wakes up. Though I do enjoy going to my local pub with my laptop or journal in the afternoon. I find a cold pint helps get the words flowing.
On my laptop at home on our recliner (after the children are blessedly tucked away in their (our) beds. Or at work on my desktop when I'm not super busy. I mentally write in my head all night long which is becoming a bit of a problem where sleep is concerned ; )
Configure the input method for “handwriting”. Or use a dedicated note-taking program. Details depend on the brand and model of tablet (and OS) you are talking about. And get a stylus that’s properly ergonomic, rather than trying to write with the lolypop stick that it comes with. It can take a little practice to not rest your hand on the glass as you’re writing, but for the last 20 years or so the technology has been quite good.
5 places depending on when and where I am. 1) In the office during lunch hours 2) At home 3) Outside in a cafe for dedicated writing sprints 4) Outside in a writing group session (planned) 5) The bed when I'm trying to sleep - only writing ideas and notes though. Hope this helps
Typically, when I actually spend time writing, it's at our living room table. It's a big open space, room for notepads and other items of inspiration. I have also written on my machine at work and just emailed it all home to myself, and I also have a small desk in the utility room, but that's only for if I'm in dire need of quiet time away from everything.
I'm an early morning writer too. The man isn't a morning person so he's in the man cave watching news and I'm at my desk pounding out words (8348 as of this morning!) as the sun comes up, before I have to force myself to stop and switch over to work. Which I should be doing now instead of playing on this forum. lol. When I read "a cold pint helps ..." my first thought was, "Oh hell no, I can't possibly write while drinking!" But if I'm honest, my nonfiction column is a whole lot easier to write and funnier if I write it at happy hour instead of early morning. Maybe I should give that a try with the humorous parts of my manuscript!
Several of you have said you listen to music while you write. I don't know how you do. Words in the background is too much of a distraction for me and I find myself listening rather than writing. I'd love to have music playing, but even classical, with no lyrics, and I find the tone of what I'm writing starts to match the tone of the music. I've thought about trying to sort playlists by tone (upbeat, haunting, dramatic) but taking the time to do that seems a lot like avoiding putting words on paper. Safer just to write in silence. Aside from the dogs snoring under my desk ...
Most of the music I listen to I know by heart, So it's not like I need to pay much attention to them to focus on both. Usually it's metal/alt rock, But I also listen to alot of Classical Instrumental stuff often, especially for writing. Whatever fits the scene or mood, It helps me write down the mood I want often in the scene. Usually when I'm writing, after a point I'm getting so absorbed into it, It's like the music isn't even there anyways, It just helps me focus, and block out all the other noises. Like the three other voices in my head talking about Food, Video games or TV.
When the weather is nice -- 60s or above (F) I sit on our screened porch overlooking the lawn and bird feeders. Cooler weather I usually sit at the kitchen table. I have the recent privilege of staying home days, so I usually sit at the kitchen table. Coffee shops sometimes, but the time to get there and get settled is sometimes time lost. I've only recently discovered the combination of You Tube and bluetooth, so I've been using instrumental backgrounds, sometimes classical, sometimes new-agey stuff purportedly geared to creativity and relaxation. Lyrics tend to distract me, even familiar ones.
I have a high distractability level, and actually use noise cancelling headphones to eliminate even low level sounds like traffic on the road outside or a neighbour working on his lawn.
I find that I like to write either on the sofa with a laptop/typewriter - or when I'm moving. There's something that just allows my thoughts to flow freely when I'm moving (in the bus/car sense) as if running in a chronological order. Plus, it's never-ending inspiration while you're travelling, as there are always new sights to see.
At this moment I am in my living room, laptop in my lap, against one arm of our sofa -- the end farthest from the fireplace. Glass of red wine on the coffee table beside, a roaring fire in the fireplace. I thought this would be the ideal place for a cold November afternoon in the midwest. The fire is fascinating, as they always are, the crackle and pop and all that. Of course I spent a good 20 minutes getting it started and now I find I'd rather watch it than write. Maybe I should just call up a youtube fire and keep that on in the background as I type at the kitchen table, my usual late year haunt.
Sometimes a particular song or instrumental piece exactly fits the scene. In those specific cases, listening to that before writing helps. I’ve experimented with including music in the scene. If the characters are listening and reacting to music, then obviously the author benefits from it too. As for dogs, mine is barred, since she’s pooped in the room while being ignored.
I write mostly on my phone, either at work or in my room. Laptop is only for editing and posting. I know, I know, could I be any more millenial? I think it's more about laziness, though; I can't find the will to get off my ass anymore.
I'm glad you found something that works for you. Having raised three kids, I have the ability to tune out most everyday noises. The standing rule when they were growing up was, "If there's no bone protruding through skin and you're not on fire, don't bother me when I'm writing!" And they were pretty good about it, but they were still kids and still made noise - as did our pets, the neighbors, traffic, etc., so I had to learn to tune it out. Oddly, even the TV in the next room doesn't really bother me anymore. But I love music and will my brain will automatically focus on it. Lol! If I tried to bar my dogs, one would whine and one would bark, both at full volume, until allowed back in. I hadn't thought about listening to music that aligns with what I'm writing before writing. That's a great idea - thanks! I have included music in various scenes in the past. One scene that comes to mind is: "She twisted the top off the beer and dropped to the sofa, cracking her elbow on the remote lodged between the cushions. Damn it. She tugged it loose and clicked the power button, bringing the stereo to life. B.B. King was lamenting about the thrill being gone. He didn't know the half of it." But beyond little snippets like that, I haven't really included music in my writing. Which is odd. Hmmm, something to ponder ...
I’ve tried writing a scene which is a musical — the whole thing describes musical performance. It’s rather experimental. The three songs featured are also meaningful in the novelmess-of-writing-exercises, either because they mean something to the characters, or from symbolism (or both). So the specific lyric is important, not just background. On a smaller scale, I’ve tried writing a scenelet where two people finish falling in love while dancing to a particular song. I just read The Medusa Chronicles and in a scene set in 1968 they have the MC listen to a specific song and also remark how it should have been a bigger hit in the US but for blah blah blah. Now in today’s connected rich-media world, reading on my tablet, I immediately pulled it up on YouTube before continuing to read, and read about the songs history on Wikipedia. That enriches the scene I read, since the song is fresh in my mind and the history he’s alluding to is also something I now know.
Well, not quite exciting as this, but I do have two Huskies constantly play fighting or howling at me to go out (Also one of them won't let me play videogames ) , and I usually have my cloths on though I like to have my feet bare. I write in my room, on my Laptop. With my PS4 tuned into Youtube watching random vidoes, then I realize that an hour has gone by and I haven't done anything yet for my book.
It's not where for me. I can write anywhere, but there is an accompanying need. For novel writing I need my hookah. It gives me a pause to re-read the sentences as I write them. For poetry I need music. The musical tempo of what I'm listening to affects the feel of the poem.
I feel I'm the exact opposite in regards to music, as others have said. I either listen to, music I know off by heart by one of the bands I could just listen to on repeat all the time (Disturbed for example, or Stereophonics), or I'll listen to something upbeat and fast that gets me riled up to write more, faster, such as hardcore dance music... if it was something I hadn't heard before, I'd stop and be all 'wow, this is a great tune' and get nothing done.... I also have a penchant for the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movie soundtracks. I find they always relax me but also put me in a creative mood, however that may be because I just start to think about the films, and dragons, and elves, orcs and hobbitses, something I love, and like to immerse myself in... Great, now I'm off to put the soundtrack on at work! ha.
I used to need it super quiet to write, but I realized that I was being unrealistic. I can turn off the TV, the radio, etc, but as soon as I settle down, yellow pad on my lap, here comes my cat, Bogie. You'd think he was a Siamese the way he talks at you! I ended up going to a local coffee/tea shop and curling up on their sofa to write. A huge mug of tea helps. I have used the place to wean me off of the need for silence. (The owner even shushed the staff one day, telling them I was writing. I was most amused by that!)
I can write with music or even the TV on, but I cannot write with another person around. The only way I can write with a person in the house is if they're off in their own corner, preferably far away from me, doing something extremely quiet such as reading or working just as intently at their own work. But still, it's too much of a distraction having another person around. As to music, I find it especially helpful when I'm trying to pace a scene. Or if I'm trying to capture the character's emotions and am having a hard time capturing it, I'll play a song the character might play at that moment.
This sort of thing probably depends on the size of the dwelling as well. My house is <1,000sf at the moment (we're renovating the basement), so if my wife and I are at opposite corners, maximum distance apart, we're maybe 40' apart. And it's open plan, so no doors to baffle sound. Did I mention my wife's hobby is singing? God bless her and I love her to pieces, but last week it was the same five notes for four hours, I wanted to drive a spike through my eye. Thus the investment in sound cancelling headphones, which help, but the technology just isn't perfect yet. There's only so much a microprocessor and foam cups can do versus 90dB of from-the-diaphragm gospel enthusiasm in a confined space. I read a book earlier this year (Daily Rituals: How Artists Work) that contained about a hundred successful/famous artists' descriptions of their creative environments, and deliberate isolation was a pretty consistent theme, to the point of being almost the rule. There were artists who lined their office walls, floor, and ceiling with soundproofing cork, or deliberately built sheds in their backyards. Or rented apartments, or hotel rooms, just to get a place to focus away from anybody else for significant blocks of time. I felt like I'd met my tribe, y'know?
I'll let you know someday when I get my 1920's manse with all its odd nooks and crannies...Been there, done that, with the open concept. Fortunately the ex was a songwriter, not a singer. I did enjoy listening when he'd get up in the middle of the night to write, though. (I always pretended to be asleep.) Hearing someone write music is like literally hearing someone's thoughts. The book sounds interesting. I can't write in total silence, so no cork walls for me. The main problem is knowing the other person in the house is probably doing something more interesting while I'm stuck on the same paragraph. (Cooking something yummy? Binge watching a show I'm not even mildly curious about? Giving the dog a bath???) I have written in hotel rooms and hotel cottages and casitas and highly recommend it. They're my favorite amount of ambient noise.
I once dated a daughter of a fairly well-known author (okay it was big in the '60s and a Disney movie) and visited her and the family in their cabin in the mountains. He showed me the small room at the top that was his writing retreat, isolated from below and with window views of pine and mountain. It didn't register much with me at the time because I was young and too busy to think about seriously writing (again, it was the '60/early '70s, okay?), but looking back it was very impressive. I wish I'd paid more attention to him and his craft then.
The only place I have room to write is at my computer desk. With bad eyesight, I need a large monitor to enable me to see the text. But at the same time I can glance through the window and see the world going by too. Plus a nice cuppa always adds to the luxury.
