As I said, I tend to spend most of my writing time in public places such as cafes and libraries. But when I'm home on the weekends, the reading and especially the research end of this operation continues apace... and that means a but of a writing nest.
At some point, I fell out of the habit of writing at a desk. The large horizontal surfaces leant themselves to stacking. And stacking is the enemy of organization (I think I read that somewhere.)
My preferred spot is a well-lit chair with a bookshelf nearby loaded with the books I need to be able to reference on a whim. Since we turned one room into a properhome library, I've plunked my chair into that room and arranged my most frequently used reference books and style manuals nearby.
With NaNoWriMo starting tomorrow, I felt it was imperative that I have everything arranged and ready to go so that I can sit down and start to really generate some pages without the necessity of stopping to hunt down a reference book.
Speed-noveling aside, this is generally a good writing habit to be encouraged anyway.
(Incidentally, the only reason there are empty shelves in the photo is because the rest of my father's library has not yet arrived. I recently doubled my shelfspace to accomodate them.)
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Work Habits (Writing nests redux)
Labels:
NaNoWriMo,
Writing Environment,
Writing Tips
As I said, I tend to spend most of my writing time in public places such as cafes and libraries. But when I'm home on the weekends, the reading and especially the research end of this operation continues apace... and that means a but of a writing nest.
At some point, I fell out of the habit of writing at a desk. The large horizontal surfaces leant themselves to stacking. And stacking is the enemy of organization (I think I read that somewhere.)
My preferred spot is a well-lit chair with a bookshelf nearby loaded with the books I need to be able to reference on a whim. Since we turned one room into a properhome library, I've plunked my chair into that room and arranged my most frequently used reference books and style manuals nearby.
With NaNoWriMo starting tomorrow, I felt it was imperative that I have everything arranged and ready to go so that I can sit down and start to really generate some pages without the necessity of stopping to hunt down a reference book.
Speed-noveling aside, this is generally a good writing habit to be encouraged anyway.
(Incidentally, the only reason there are empty shelves in the photo is because the rest of my father's library has not yet arrived. I recently doubled my shelfspace to accomodate them.)
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I've never had a proper place to write, never had an office dedicated to that kind of work. I write at work, in the living room, and now on my sewing table which is where in most apartments this size you'd expect to find a dining table or breakfast nook. All the books are nearby, though, or online. This apartment really is that small :-) I seriously envy you your space.
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