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mmerriamOver on the Twin Cities Speculative Fiction Writers Network message board, someone posed these questions. I thought I'd post my answers here as well:
Where do you write? (Or write best?)
I work all over the house. We have a desktop and two laptops, so I work off of a thumb drive (backing up at the end of the day to the newest laptop's hard drive) and work wherever I feel like it. Many times I work in a notebook, composing long hand. I'm not very temperamental; I can work in the living room, at the kitchen table, in a coffee shop, on the patio. I do have an actual room to work in, which has the nicest chair and the most ergonomic setup, but I only work in that room periodically.
Do you keep a particular schedule?
I try to keep a Monday-Friday, Noon to 5pm writing schedule. If I can't do that for some reason, then I make up the hours in the early morning, from about 4am to 6 am. When I was working part-time, I wrote for 6 hours a day on my days off and in the early mornings on the weekend.
What gets you going and keeps you going? What do you do to recharge yourself when the words won't come?
The fact I know if I really want to create a career, I need to treat it like real work. This is one of the reason I keep a set schedule. I also usually work on projects I feel strongly about, so I want to write and work on them at every opportunity. To help recharge, I read and take walks. Walking helps me think.
How do you keep the faith at times when you feel you're getting nowhere as a writer?
I look at all the other writers I know who have built careers, sold their novels, and had the good things happen because they persevered! I can also fall back on my own track record. Having 40 short fiction sales can bolster one's morale in difficult times.
Do you have writing rituals, e.g. a lucky place, a special kind of pen, a shot of absinthe before you begin?
Not really. I make sure I've eaten and that I have something to drink close to hand before I start. I do admit that if I'm working longhand, I use a particular fountain pen and notebook (A Waterman Phileas with a broad nib and a Moleskine notebook), but that's because they are good, comfortable tools. I've written with a cheap Bic on a napkin in McDonalds, so I don't need the fancy pen and notebook.
Okay, now it's your turn! How would you answer these questions?
Where do you write? (Or write best?)
I work all over the house. We have a desktop and two laptops, so I work off of a thumb drive (backing up at the end of the day to the newest laptop's hard drive) and work wherever I feel like it. Many times I work in a notebook, composing long hand. I'm not very temperamental; I can work in the living room, at the kitchen table, in a coffee shop, on the patio. I do have an actual room to work in, which has the nicest chair and the most ergonomic setup, but I only work in that room periodically.
Do you keep a particular schedule?
I try to keep a Monday-Friday, Noon to 5pm writing schedule. If I can't do that for some reason, then I make up the hours in the early morning, from about 4am to 6 am. When I was working part-time, I wrote for 6 hours a day on my days off and in the early mornings on the weekend.
What gets you going and keeps you going? What do you do to recharge yourself when the words won't come?
The fact I know if I really want to create a career, I need to treat it like real work. This is one of the reason I keep a set schedule. I also usually work on projects I feel strongly about, so I want to write and work on them at every opportunity. To help recharge, I read and take walks. Walking helps me think.
How do you keep the faith at times when you feel you're getting nowhere as a writer?
I look at all the other writers I know who have built careers, sold their novels, and had the good things happen because they persevered! I can also fall back on my own track record. Having 40 short fiction sales can bolster one's morale in difficult times.
Do you have writing rituals, e.g. a lucky place, a special kind of pen, a shot of absinthe before you begin?
Not really. I make sure I've eaten and that I have something to drink close to hand before I start. I do admit that if I'm working longhand, I use a particular fountain pen and notebook (A Waterman Phileas with a broad nib and a Moleskine notebook), but that's because they are good, comfortable tools. I've written with a cheap Bic on a napkin in McDonalds, so I don't need the fancy pen and notebook.
Okay, now it's your turn! How would you answer these questions?
