Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Ha! This is a great question, and the comments are so fun. Nice post, writersink.

I write in my head. I realize that I have to have written almost the entire outline in my head, or I shouldn't even bother to sit down to write, because I'll have no idea what to say.


I also need it very quiet, other than the wind in the trees, or I can't concentrate. Music especially will drive me nuts. It's sad, because I love the image of a writer in a coffee shop, but it doesn't work for me.

I have to have music going, earbuds jammed in and the volume up so it drowns out the distractions that are EVERYWHERE at my house. Especially now that it's summer and the kids are home all day.
I write best late at night, but I'm useless to my family the next day, so I make do with late evening. I can't write on the computer (it's another distraction). I have found that the old school method of pen and paper work best for me. Something about the end of the pen flowing across the page that is just so satisfying. It has to be a really good pen too - one that glide very smoothly.
I have had some pretty good success writing at the mall too, but the chairs aren't that comfortable so after an hour or so, I have to quit.

I forget a lot of stuff which is a good and a bad thing. Sometimes I start an essay and I find two files with the same name already in my computer and each one is 2/3 done. That is a good thing I suppose because it must a be a good idea if I already wrote about the topic. When I was revising my book I'd go to edit a section and discover that I already did the edits, but then I'd remember that my editor and I decided that I should just leave that part out. In that case it would have been ok to forget to edit because I didn't need to edit in the first place.

Damn. No wonder why it took me so long to finish my book.

I'm forgetting to do something important right now so I'd better leave.

Here's an essay on the benefits of Forgetting if you have some time to kill...... http://thechinproject.wordpress.com/200 ... /#more-735

Hmm. Well I was a fan of the "double space" method of the typewriter age for years, but as of late, I've been trying to come away from that since it's no longer considered proper or correct. I seriously thought it made typing look better and easier to read.

I'm a double spacer and I had to really work on getting that out of my daily typing. I'm sure there are places in my manuscript where I digressed and there are double spaces. My typing speed is about 90-95wpm and that double tap is so engrained in me, if I"m not conscious of it I'll put it in there.

Edit: Just did a find/replace to change double spaces to space. Yeah...character count went down over 7,000 LOL! I double space quite more often than I notice.

Mira wrote:Music especially will drive me nuts.

I'm the opposite. I can't work without noise in the background, as long as no one is directly talking to me. I NEED music otherwise I'll think of it as too quiet, and hence boring. Then, I simply won't write.

I don't like quite when writing either. I almost always listen to music when writing. The right songs make a big difference in getting me in the right mindset for the scene in question. When writing a bonfire dance scene I was listening to Polynesian drumbeats on loop endlessly

And of course, Cosmic Love fits my current trilogy perfectly.

I tend to write whenever I have time, sitting in bed with my laptop in my lap. Does that count as a weird habit? While writing my last book, when I had the day off, I usually went from about 8am to 6pm, with a break for lunch. On days I work my day job, it's more like a few hours in the evening.

MattLarkin wrote:
I tend to write whenever I have time, sitting in bed with my laptop in my lap. Does that count as a weird habit?

If you want it to! But if it is a weird habit, I much be REALLY weird, because I do that all the time!

I need privacy when I write. Not only am I paranoid about others reading over my shoulder, but I'm distracted by people. So coffee shops and libraries are a no-go.

I usually listen to music to drone out any background noise and get myself in the zone. I made a playlist of writing songs that usually remind me of my story in some way or another. I also listen to movie soundtracks.

I like to be by a window with natural light. I love writing on dark, rainy days. I feel very guilty staying in and writing on sunny/warm days, when I should be outside going for a run. Because of this, I tend to write either early in the morning or at night.

I carry a notepad in my purse to jot down ideas on the go. During slow periods at work (I work at a cafe) I handwrite my story in script format, skipping most of the description and focusing on dialogue.

I glug a lot of tea while I write. Something about hot tea settles me down and puts me in the mood to be musey.

I dunno how weird these habits are, but here goes...

1. I've come up with a fair amount of material while running. I don't listen to music when I run, so after the first mile or so of complaining, I can kind of zone out and get creative. For awhile (before the IT band injury, go figure) I'd go out for a run after work, and by the time I was done I'd have the next scene outlined in my head and ready for the laptop. Plus, I think it was a nice de-stresser. In general, I do better when there's a distinct transition from work -> writing, or from socializing -> writing, or from anything -> writing.

2. I like writing in coffee shops, but not if people are nearby, or especially if they're right behind me. Weird paranoia maybe?

, but not if people are nearby, or especially if they're right behind me.

I love that!

Mark.W.Carson wrote:::knock knock knock:: Summer... ::knock knock knock:: Summer...

I'm strangely proud of my neurosis now.

I have writing habits, but they tend to come and go in phases. For a long time, I was doing most of my writing at night in bed (which is a terrible idea, as the last thing a writer needs is a Pavlovian association between trying to write and falling asleep!), but lately mid-afternoon on the living room couch has been working better for me. I mostly write at home, but if I'm blocked on a particular section, I'll haul the laptop off to a coffee shop; the change of venue seems to help jar my brain loose. I'll go through stretches where I have to have music (I love making playlists for my WIPs), then I'll go through stretches where I have to have silence.

My only potentially "weird" habit is that I prefer to write in an old DOS-based word processor (Textra). I can write in anything from the latest version of Word to the notepad that's always in my back pocket, and I will if that's what's available at the time, but given the choice, it's Textra all the way. For me it's the software equivalent of a comfy chair. People mock, but it does everything I want and (perhaps more importantly) nothing I don't.

writersink wrote:

, but not if people are nearby, or especially if they're right behind me.

I love that!

Haha, yes, me too. And I also have the same problem. I can't write if someone is close enough to read, even if they aren't reading. It's just... what if? And whether I'm writing Nano-crap, a paper for school and something creative, I CANNOT do it if someone reads, so that's a big no-no. I don't think it's all that weird, though. Most of my writer-friend have the same problem. Then again, perhaps we're all weird. (wait. No perhaps. We ARE all weird)

Claudie wrote:Then again, perhaps we're all weird. (wait. No perhaps. We ARE all weird)

Absolutely. No question - we are all very, very weird. (And I like us like that.)