where and how do you write?

[hydroazuanacaine]

what is your space like? do you listen to music? a certain kind? lights on or off? pen, pencil, laptop, desktop, typewriter? do you like to have people in the room with you? a tv? is it for hours at a time or short bursts? are you naked? what time of the day? night? do you write drunk and edit sober? smoke cigarettes and drink coffee? or begin with a clear head only after you have had a well balanced breakfast and gone for your morning jog? or are you only hit by random waves of inspiration that require you to carry a notebook at all times?

 

[herbavore]

All of the above! (Well, not quite. No other people, no TV, no cigarettes) I have notebooks and pads of paper everywhere--in my purse, in my car, in my backpack, next to my bed and then there is my laptop, too. My favorite way to write is to go out to the cliffs by the ocean--there is something about looking out at that wide open expanse that frees me up. I do like to write in the bathtub; so naked, yes, until the water gets cold. Right now I write a lot in bed when I can't sleep.

I used to do a writing meditation group where the leader led us in a silent meditation and then gave us a writing prompt and we all just wrote for 20 minutes at a time after each prompt. You could share the writing or not after the prompt. It was a great way to get the juices flowing. Had to stop due to lack of money to pay for it but it was definitely helpful for creating the space for practice without worrying about outcome.

What do you do?

 

[hydroazuanacaine]

thanks for sharing. writing at the cliffs sure sounds nice.

right now i don't really write. the little i do is in my bed on my laptop, which is no good for me. since graduating, i've moved back into my parents house and become stagnant.

but i had a great system in my last apartment, a one bedroom i had to myself. in the living room i had a sectional of an old leather couch that used to be and still was pretty nice. i'd have a drink or two and a benzo to help lower my standards and avoid wasted time. i'd get high and put on one of a few old, foreign films that i've seen countless times. usually Pierrot le fou because i wanted its soft, pop-art tone to seep into my writing. i'd make myself a cup of coffee and start reading through what i had so far. and all the random, scribbled notes about what i had and what i wanted with the piece. after a while the coffee would be finished and my head would start to level and i'd begin writing on my laptop. nothing is actual until it is on my laptop. time would fly; i'd rarely realize the movie wanted to be restarted or replaced. go to the library the next day, print, read, carry with me, make notes, repeat.

edit:
and, for the most part, it has to be during the day. even better if it's the morning and i woke-up early specifically to write. i'm no good once the sun goes down.

 

[pk.]

I sit in my room, drink coffee and smoke cigarettes. Sometimes I'll play some music and light some incense candles. I'll write mainly in on the computer, but occasionally I'll write in a notepad.

 

[freddy47]

In my room usually on a computer or my notebook with a nice pen that glides over the paper. No pencil as that shit drags across the paper. I usually use the notebook to jot down notes and concepts for future story ideas, but sometimes I get caught up with what I'm writing and end up writing it all by hand. I've tried writing stoned but I find that I can't really write that well high on pot. My thoughts come out on paper all muddled and when I edit it later sober I think "WTF was I trying to say here?" No music (unless its Classical. I like other forms of music I just can't concentrate that well unless its classical.) or T.V. Maybe a glass of scotch or some opiates when I'm suffering from writers block. I usually write for hours at a time. Usually fully clothed lol. and most of the time at night. It wasn't uncommon for my former roommate to find me awake at 7 in the morning typing away on a short story.

If in the end I'm truly stuck I'll put in one of my favorite movies but I don't watch it I listen to the dialogue. I don't know why but that usually shakes me out of any creative road block I'm at.