Where I Need to Be

[mific]

I'm finding it harder to overcome procrastination and resistance as I get older, so as to write. That means I need to be more careful about the environment I'm writing in - both external and internal.

I'm not someone who can write in the midst of distractions, so coffee shops aren't an option for me, not for writing. I need to be at home, comfortable, and with no background music or loud noise.

And I need to be in a reasonable place inside. Unlike some people I can't write if I'm upset, anxious, or down, or if I'm tired, or mentally below par. So not if I have a head cold, and, increasingly, not in the evening or at night - the Stephen King system of morning writing sessions works best for me these days.

Having figured that out, now all I need to do is actually sit down and write!

How about you? What kind of environment do you need, for writing?

Comments

[china_shop]

I usually write at my desktop, and I live alone (mostly), so I'm a lot like you. When I'm really into a story, I'll make notes or write longhand on paper when I'm AFK, and write on my phone in public spaces, using my Bluetooth keyboard, but that's pretty rare.

For the last year or two, I've been going to London Writers' Salon's Writers' Hours (sorry if that link is locked!), Monday to Friday. In NZ time, that's 8am in winter, 9am during the daylight savings transition, and 10am in summer. There's also evening ones. It's free, and it's just a bunch of people on mute in Zoom, all silently working away at their projects; I find the body-doubling aspect of it really motivating, and it's good to have an "appointment" to get me started in the mornings and a sense of accountability to not get distracted, especially when I don't have a hard deadline for a fic.

It's kind of the equivalent of signing up for a gym class if you want to get fit but aren't very good at otherwise getting yourself to the gym. :-)

[g_uava]

Writing together over Zoom sounds really neat, like virtual co-working. I tried something like that through doing 'word wars' on Discord, but it got stressful when I turned out blocked for that session and had no progress whatsoever to report.

'It's kind of the equivalent of signing up for a gym class' -- Would be great if writers can 'spot' each other too when writing difficult parts ;)

[china_shop]

I tried something like that through doing 'word wars' on Discord, but it got stressful when I turned out blocked for that session and had no progress whatsoever to report.

Oof, yeah, I'm not really into turning it into a competition.

LWS Writers' Hour is very low pressure. I just like it as a habit/practice/daily routine -- and then I can go into my day knowing that I've already written something, even if I didn't get as much done as I might have liked.

Would be great if writers can 'spot' each other too when writing difficult parts ;)

Heh. I think that would require a different format with more interaction. Maybe writing sprints with a friend? ;D

[mific]

I have a bunch of SGA friends who meet monthly and do this, but it's also a social catch up, so is more distracting. That LWS link seems to work ok, or at least it encourages me to sign up. Pity that the timing is earlier in winter when it's harder to get out of bed!

[china_shop]

Oh, interesting. I don't think it would work for me if it had a social component; I feel like the writing bit of my brain is very inward-looking.

If it helps, atm the UK hour is at 7pm NZ time. There's also 8am Pacific and 8am Eastern, if you're awake in the middle of the night. ;-)

[mxroboto]

this sounds lovely, tbh -- though I'm also in need of socialization with likeminded creative folk haha

[mific]

Aren't we all!

[g_uava]

I like writing in the mornings too, when the air and my mind is fresher. And when I have a project I'm excited about, I tend to get up earlier, sometimes even before my alarm rings.

I've got used to alternating between writing with computer and phone, and that gives me more flexibility for choosing writing environments. With my phone, I don't need a table or chair to write, and can work on stories on the go. If I really want to get my writing done, I limit the amount of space that I have, and that often leads to heading out to a cafe where I sit at a small table that's conducive for little else except writing (and reading). So being in a cafe is actually less distracting for me! At home with more room to spread tools and materials about, it takes a little more effort to solely focus on writing instead of other creative and fun activities.

[mific]

Yes, in the last few months I've started writing on my iPad using gdocs (before that I always used Word at my pc). It's been useful as I can start instantly rather than having to shift rooms and resettle myself.

[mxroboto]

eyyy I write better in the mornings too! Comes out a lot more loose and vibrant.

[g_uava]

Kind of ironic when vibrant prose is produced with a hazy, somewhat sleep-deprived mind 😂

[brumeier]

I'm always impressed by anyone who can write on their phone. I can barely manage texting. LOL!

[g_uava]

A bit tough on the wrist but at times more comfy for the neck since typing on the phone involves looking down instead of straight ahead!

[zenigotchas]

I write in the same place I study, my living room with a dish of snacks and some fun music in the background. This is cuz writing any fic for me is still practice and learning general techniques for the craft, so it's good to stay in that study mode.

[mific]

Yes, situational learning, good point!

[mxroboto]

I write both at home (on the couch, with headphones and cats) and at the library. I try to visit the library once a week because, when there, I am intensely focused. Home is home and thus very distracting. Cats need meds, partner and I chitchat, it's not as air-conditioned...

Do you have any environmental thing that is specifically for writing? I have a playlist that is filled with instrumental songs I only listen to when sitting down to write, and it kinda clicks things in gear a lot more easily for me.

[mific]

I'm a real homebody these days, esp. as it's midwinter here and cold (cold for Auckland, so damp and chilly). So I only write at home these days. I used to write in my computer room where my laptop is hooked up to various drives, but lately I write more in my favourite armchair in my living room. I live alone so don't need to shut myself away.

I tried using soft background music - instrumental, or ambient, but nope, I'm better with just the quiet neighbourhood sounds.

[mxroboto]

Man I am a little jelly on multiple counts, not just the weather, but for a quiet neighborhood!

[brumeier]

I write in my living room, in my chair, with my laptop on a lap desk. I often listen to music while I write, which doesn't distract me. The hardest part for me is keeping the TV off, because that will absolutely pull my focus away from the words.

There's not a particular time of the day that's better for me than another. If I sit down and keep the TV off, I can usually find words. Oddly, some of my favorite things I've written have happened while I was half asleep. Literally dozing off between sentences. LOL!

I feel like there are always words bursting to come out, but they get pushed back by TV, by games on my phone, by doomscrolling on FB, by my own feelings that a particular scene is too difficult or I just don't have the knowledge of a particular subject relevant to the story. As always, I'm usually my own worst creative block.

[mific]

You know, I've never had a laptop whose battery really did allow it to be fully portable - I always need to plug them in! I write in my main armchair too, but on iPad these days, on gdocs.

And yeah, there are always way too many other distractions!

[brumeier]

I can get about two hours out of my laptop battery if need be, but that sucker is almost always plugged in.

So many distractions! Especially if I'm having trouble with a scene or a bit of dialogue or something. ::grins::

[scytale]

And I need to be in a reasonable place inside. Unlike some people I can't write if I'm upset, anxious, or down, or if I'm tired, or mentally below par.

Oh! This made things click for me - I'm the same way, but I never quite put it together. I think sometimes I can write while tired or stressed... But it needs to be a particular kind where the stress or exhaustion are a little more distant?

At home on my sofa seems to work the best for me! I used to be more of a coffee shop writer, but I moved a year ago and the new coffee shop doesn't work for me.

The other best time: when I'm at work with a notebook and I should be working on something else. XD I feel like that's when all the ideas come!

Fandom events work really well for me, as well; I always get tons of writing done during 3 Sentence Ficathon for instance and during the discord-based 100 Minutes Challenge. It's easiest for me to write one-offs that don't become a project and which I'm not very invested in... The fic equivalent of doodling?

[lizvogel]

This feels very timely to me, as I'm currently re-reading Beach Read and what I'm responding to most strongly is not the hot romance or the personal drama or even the writing-process struggles, but the house with multiple tables and open spaces and views/not views where the MC can set up and write. I want that house!

Most of my writing these days gets done on the sofa, hunched over the coffee table. The horrible ergonomics don't actually bother me; the fact that I can't leave anything there but must re-set-up every time (it's household space for other things, and I can't leave spoilery notes where my housemate/alpha reader will see them) is becoming a higher obstacle than I need right now.

Coffeeshops, etc. sometimes work for me, but only if I'm there by myself. I've never gotten the write with other writers around thing; if I'm with other writers, I wanna talk writing!

[esteefee]

heh you can't spoil your own story for your alpha reader :D

[esteefee]

I write in my armchair on my laptop. Usually with dead silence or with Mischief (my brain twin) doing knitting on the other end of the line.

Lately I've been doing my own sprints using an interval timer (simple workout app on my phone that tells me to work out for 20 minutes then recover for 10). While I'm writing, I'm writing. All other applications are closed. If I have to research something, I put a () placeholder and come back to it later. During the recovery phase, I might research, doom scroll, play with my cat, or do household chores. I find it very useful to have a digital overlord telling me what to do.

[mific]

I like the digital overlord thing!

[switchbladeeyes]

I can pretty much write anywhere. I mostly do it in the evenings on the couch with my tablet listening to music. I also do 30-min writing/editing sprits with some other fan fic writers a few times per week, which helps.

Distractions in the background don't usually bother me. While I do most writing on my tablet, I will pull out Google docs on my phone if I'm not at home and it's convenient (e.g., waiting in line somewhere). I also write on my computer at times, and always do final edits and posting on the computer (the tablet is kind of rubbish for that).

[ibissal]

My options are limited less by what allows me to get in the right headspace and more by what my body allows! I'm bedbound, after a few years of gradual decline from "just" housebound, and recently have had another worsening stage in which I've had to leave my laptop behind for the majority of the time, as sitting upright and with that much light isn't tolerable to me, so I have therefore had to transition to using my phone 99% of the time. It's been a strange process, adjusting to this new approach, especially due to how my view of my writing screen affects my writing brain quite unusually (I think I may make a meta post around the topic) — but it's been working and allowing me to keep writing to some extent and that's more than good enough for me :D