Day 8 Prompt: Post about your writing routines / rituals / habits or quirks.
One of the best ways I’ve found for me to be productive as a writer is to get up early in the morning, make a cup of coffee, and sit down at my kitchen table with a notebook first thing without allowing myself to go anywhere near my computer. As soon as I sit down at the computer, I can count on losing several hours of writing time.
If I really need to get something done in the afternoon, then a trip to the library or a coffee shop helps as well. Sometimes I just need to write in a different location.
I always bring my Smartphone and a notebook along when I go hiking because hanging out in the woods is sure to stir up some hidden emotion that must be immediately recorded. I often have to stop walking to send myself a text message containing a line of verse that came to me. A few steps later, I have to stop again to send myself the next line. When the hike is over, I will lay a blanket under a tree and plop down on it to scribble in my notebook.
Another good time for me to write is in the evening after my 7-year-old has gone to bed. I lay in bed with a notebook and pen and just scribble away. I am pretty sure all of my best scenes have been written in bed. The only problem with that ritual is the fact that I am usually so tired by the time I finally make my way to bed that it can be difficult to make the decision to write rather than reaching over and shutting my lamp off and going to sleep.
My current goal (which is likely to change by next week) is to write a full chapter every day. I try to get it out first thing in the morning so I can be done with it. If that doesn’t happen, then I’ll end up writing late into the night.
I do my best writing longhand because the simple act of using a keyboard seems to bring out my inner editor. I think pen and paper must irritate her. It’s too much work to edit something written in pen in a notebook. However, as soon as I sit down at the computer and start misspelling words in a Word document, there she is to point out all of my mistakes and make me fix them ASAP.
What’s one of your craziest writing quirks? Please share in the comments below.
NOTE: The 10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge is open until November 2013, so feel free to join in the fun. If you decide to answer this same prompt on your blog, I would love to read it. Please post a link to your blog post in the comments below.
Related articles
- Writing Blogger Challenge Day 10 (the-view-outside.com)
- Day 8 of Writing Challenge My Writing Routine (writingsbykrystol.wordpress.com)
- 10 Day Writing Blogger Challenge (magdalenavandenberg.com)
- Why Weird Writing Rituals Work (wow-womenonwriting.com)
- Stalking the Wild Muse: Writer Rituals & Habits (http://bookviewcafe.com)
Write on the World 
On the two days I get to write all day, I have to start the day in a coffee shop, because if I come home first, I end up doing the housework, stacking the dishwasher etc. I agree that writing first, before going anywhere near social media, is a must. The same is true of artwork: I started today redesigning my Facebook header, even though I hadn’t written my post (which I like to have done by 10am). Thankfully it didn’t take long, or there wouldn’t be a post today!
I used to have the problem with needing to write long hand. I still draft long hand – if I’m brainstorming ideas or shuffling my chapters. However I have the opposite thing with writing now: I have to type (or tap it out in text messages in my phone). Because I can touch-type, I find it’s the only way I can write fast enough to keep up with the ideas and not let my inner editor time to breathe. If I hand-write these days I become obsessed with my handwriting, or I get cramp, or I can’t read what I’ve written after twenty minutes!
I can type 80+ words per minute if I don’t care about errors. But the squiggly lines under all my misspelled words and bad grammar like to taunt me until I stop and fix them!
Yes, disabling spellchecker helps, or typing into something like notepad that doesn’t try to format as you type. I tend to fix spelling as I go, otherwise I have an endless job when I finish!