THE Group for Authors! discussion
Writer's Circle
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Where do you write?
In bed mostly. It's the most comfortable spot.
I am a writer/editor in my day job and work remotely, so I have a home office carved out of the corner of my room. My desk overlooks the valley behind our house so it's nice and relaxing. That said, I have written in the car on my laptop on long trips, on my iPhone while waiting to be selected for jury duty, and even at my local Starbucks when my power went out.
I go to Starbuck's every day to write on my Air, and I get in another 10-15 min sitting on the side of my bed at night. For "production" i.e. uploading, submitting, I work from the iMac on my office desk. I use the office mostly for things like e-mail.
I write all over the house -- just carry my laptop from room to room. Sometimes in the study, sometimes in the sun room, sometimes in the kitchen, and even in my office! Usually near a window so that I can look out and see nature when I'm woolgathering.
Belle wrote: "In bed mostly. It's the most comfortable spot."Me too! I have my lapdesk all set up and the other side of my bed is covered with books/notes/cookies....
Before I got off the truck (was a long haul truck driver until last week) I had to work in the sleeper berth or when we'd get hotels. Not very productive environments, but I could make it work sometimes. Right now I have the house to myself and I have a spot on the couch, with a laptop stand (to keep neck strain away) and a wireless keyboard. That is my best spot until the roommate moves out and I get to complete my Writing Cave - hubby says I can make the entire master suite into a retreat so I can keep away from distractions like the TV that he always has on.
Either at the table in my dining room or on the loveseat in my living room. I love have space where my cats can sit around me. Having them near me while I write is a great comfort.
In my home office with a Yankee Candle burning (usually black cherry) and two lava lamps. To escape distractions of home I go to my local public library. Interested in getting a standing desk so I can write like Hemingway.
I write in my upstairs guest bedroom on my desktop computer on which I can access flash drive research files stopping temporarily my writing of chapter scenes on an A-drive disc. Daytime TV is faintly hearable downstairs. But now it is summer. Heat rises.
All over the place. I write at work on slow nights, in my "Office" upstairs, on the couch during commercials while watching tv. I can write pretty much anywhere.I don't do the coffee house thing so many do, though. I'm horrifically allergic to coffee.
Just about anywhere. But, my usual space is in the living room at my own special table.
I have a workstation in my apartment, which is where I am to be found most of the day. Not just writing of course. I write a bit, flip to my browser and do some reading, more writing, do some art, etc.
I write in my loft at my writing desk/work station.
Our built in veranda has a small room to the side, which I commandeered as my writing room. I write best there. Oddly enough, I find it difficult to write elsewhere - guess I'm just a creature of habit! The door stays open so the cats come and go as they please, one often keeping me company. Have the music on low, computer revved up, Diet Coke on the desk, pen and paper - bliss!
I find a fixed, comfortable place most convenient to write. Having worked from home for decades I have a fully featured 'study' or workroom (whatever you want to call it) It helps me to establish regular 'writing hours' to get the required number of words out every day. But when the weather is nice I frequently cheat and sit in the shade on the terrace...
To be honest, it depends what I'm writing. If I'm writing an article for the Single Girl's Survival Blog, I love doing it in my bedroom, whereas if I'm writing for my Cattringham Times blog, I can write it in the front room with the telly blaring.And then if I'm writing my Armitage Black series, I do all of my first drafts my hand, and I absolutely LOVE going to one of my local Costa Coffees and scribbling away :D and then again, when I come to type it up onto my laptop... probably at home, in my bedroom or study. Anywhere that I won't get massively distracted by something shiny, really :P xx
If I'm using my laptop, I'll write basically anywhere, but for some reason I often end up at the kitchen table.
I'm all over the house writing but of late I have 2 main areas where I write. If I wind up on a trip, I'm writing wherever there is if I am working intently. I've managed to write a book in a week by "borrowing" an apartment my spouse was in for work at the time. That was a one week thing, and not my normal. My laptop goes with me, so writing is portable.
Since I am currently convalescing from surgery, I am writing my blog and finalizing the publishing of my second book, NICKI NICE's BULLY, which should be released this fall. I am also sending notices on my book signing of FAMILY SECRETS this month. The location of where I do all of my writing is on my laptop in the comfort of my bed especially in my current condition.
I actually have my "office" off my bedroom. Next to me sits a huge collections of transformers and I spend my time writing or fiddling with them as my go to fidget toys when I am thinking. It is largely secluded from the rest of the house and my oasis for creativity :)
It is natural that you have a private office, but sometimes an idea comes and you are in other place .are you stooping writing?
ريمة wrote: "It is natural that you have a private office, but sometimes an idea comes and you are in other place .are you stooping writing?"Ooohhh - I jot down ideas wherever I am. I even have a notepad and pen in the pocket on the car door for ideas that hit if I'm traveling long distances and know I'll probably forget by the time I get home.
ريمة wrote: "It is natural that you have a private office, but sometimes an idea comes and you are in other place .are you stooping writing?"Oh, don't I agree with you on that. I have a notebook that I jot everything down in wherever I am. I've been to friends houses, restaurants and even Wal-Mart and had to ask for a pen and paper because some nugget or notion popped to mind. I rarely stop writing, especially now as my second work is in pre production, plugging away on my third and most recently finished a short story I HOPE will be in an anthology that is forthcoming....fingers crossed. The thinking is more...in the moment stuff as I am writing when I want to correctly word the images in my head and be as methodical as possible. I'm quite thankful that I have never have writer's block....yet!!
Like Angela, I bet we all keep something to write with close because there is nothing worse than forgetting an idea....agreed everyone?
I was able to steal a small corner in my kitchen to set up my computer and other writing necessities, but as for writing itself, I always carry a notebook with me...I never know when something inspirational will pop into my head. I've been able to get some of my best writing done during my down time at work or in my car, parked alongside the road. (some of my best ideas start to flow while I'm driving, it seems. Or in the shower but I haven't yet figured out how to write in the shower, lol)
L.F. wrote: " Or in the shower but I haven't yet figured out how to write in the shower, lol) " Crayola has shower crayons and markers. :-) i got some people in one of my groups to start using them and it works great! (Amazon must have wondered what the heck was going on with the sudden spike in sales... And I'm sure a few water bills are going up)!
L.F. wrote: "I was able to steal a small corner in my kitchen to set up my computer and other writing necessities, but as for writing itself, I always carry a notebook with me...I never know when something ins..."Thanks, Lia! I'll have to give that a try :) I'll probably be running my showers a lot longer, lol.
Far as the shower goes, dry erase markers write on most shower tile. Just keep it out of the direct spray of water, and you're set.
Funnily enough, speaking of showers, its the perfect place I go when I write msyelf into a corner! For some reason having a shower helps get my thinking cap back on straight!
Angela wrote: "ريمة wrote: "It is natural that you have a private office, but sometimes an idea comes and you are in other place .are you stooping writing?"Ooohhh - I jot down ideas wherever I am. I even have..."
I totally agree with Dennis. I carry a notepad around and jot down ideas, impressions, random thoughts. Started doing so while I was travelling to be able to reconstruct my journey afterwards.
Robert wrote: "Angela wrote: "ريمة wrote: "It is natural that you have a private office, but sometimes an idea comes and you are in other place .are you stooping writing?"Ooohhh - I jot down ideas wherever I ..."
EXACTLY....all the bits come together!
It is a beautiful and pleasant feelingthank you all
I write anywhere I can really. Since I have a full-time job, I try to get in as much writing as I can when I can.
I have two desks in my room, one is actually a crate I painted and the other I made out of a palette. I have the computer on the crate and I do any long hand stuff, sometimes I draw something, on the big desk. I can listen to music without headphones and I don't have to wear pants. I have a pretty good set-up, but I also have to work,so, sometimes I write stuff on receipt paper. I always bring a notebook, everywhere too, but a lot of times I use the memo feature in my phone. I have actually written quite a bit at the bar. I know this off the subject, but is there anyone here, other than me, that doesn't have a smart phone and doesn't want one?
I write in my office space, in a recliner that I love and hate in equal parts!
I have an upstairs office in my home that serves as my writing sanctuary. I spend hours,days & weeks there writing my stories in the Hard Whispers thriller series.
I write by hand on legal pads in the greatest comfort, curled up on a bed with a good wedge pillow behind me, or on a big armchair with an ottoman. I am terribly lazy and will do anything to avoid getting the books that live in my head down on paper—so writing in this manner turns a chore into a treat. After about ten pages, I slam the text onto the computer, doing a first edit as I go; and then it’s back to the bed or chair.
I literally write wherever I can. I would love to have a writer's retreat in the garden where I could lock myself away and not be disturbed - not actually having a garden is probably the main problem with that idea. I guess I mostly write at the kitchen table, when it's free, on my laptop, but I have written in coffee shops, restaurants, pubs, airports, YMCA's, in the car (this one is difficult, especially if you get travel sick), on buses - when i've got a project on the go i'm pretty strict about keeping to a 2000 a day word count - I have to be or i'll never get anything finished!
My one and only novel was written on the PC at the desk in my den. Since I live alone, the outlines, notes, and printed revisions could be left out and in-place for months at a time. Since it took me 14 months to produce a polished manuscript and an additional 2 months working with and learning from those assigned by the publisher to help convert the manuscript into a commercially viable book, the ability to leave the work-in-progress in place and undisturbed for prolonged periods of time was an immeasurable benefit.
I have a quirky little office in my house that serves me well for most of my writing. Once a week, I go write for four hours in a coffee shop on the end of a pier with a group of other writers. I probably get my best work done in the coffee shop because I can't worry about mundane things like getting laundry done.
I converted a mud room into a small office in my house with a window looking out into the garden in the backyard. Whether it's sunny or rainy, I find great inspriation opening the window and feeling the breeze. Just hearing the rush of the wind rustling through the chimes, plants, and trees takes me back to a peaceful place. My backyard is bordered by a dense thicket of trees as far as the eye can see and a lake on the south side of the property. It makes living in the suburbs of a major city almost feel like growing up out in the country in southwest Georgia.
Outdoors underneath the pine and oak trees, or in my living room.
My sanctuary is a lovely cafe with amazing lattes and lunches. I hide in the back, upstairs in a corner. The owner reserves me a seat after all these years and I cannot imagine a better place. Also my kids are nowhere near me, which is helpful!
Computer in the book room, normally while semi-watching tv.
Such variety!! My husband and I live and travel full-time in our RV -- so I write on my laptop which sits on my half of our (very small) dinette table. I use part of an overhead storage cabinet for the few books I carry. But the best part? The view out the window literally changes all the time! This past weekend "home" was along the Pacific Ocean. Today our view is of the Cabinet Mountains (and lots of smoke from wildfires) in NW Montana. The one downside? WAAAAYYY too much inspiration -- it can get overwhelming sometimes!
I use a part of my sitting room (living room) to write. I have a desk with my computer, printer, books for research and telephone. Once I sit in front of my computer, it is hard for me to move and do anything else but write, reply to emails and comments.Mind Process and Formulas: Principles, Techniques, Formulas, and Processes for Success
Ellen wrote: "Such variety!! My husband and I live and travel full-time in our RV -- so I write on my laptop which sits on my half of our (very small) dinette table. I use part of an overhead storage cabinet for..."Wow. This is my ideal retirement scenario. Have fun!
Another find. I suddenly have to travel quite long distances by train. I still had an old Samsung tablet (the 5x 11 inch model) lying around and decided to take it with me. I now use a stylus and manage to enter quite a lot of text during the journeys. I just send it off as an e-mail to myself and later cut and paste it into the manuscript. You won't believe how quick an otherwise boring journey goes by!
One follow-up question: where do people write? What physical space? If in your own house? Where? Do you have a specific "writing room," or at least your own space within a room set aside that nobody else dare trespass or pillage? At an office separate from your residence? Anywhere you happen to be at the time?