I don't usually do blog awards, but because Girl Friday passed one along (thank you!), I've decided to share seven things related to my writing habits:
1. My best writing time is first thing in the morning, even though that's not always when I actually get to do any writing. Sometimes if I'm really intrigued in my project, I write in the evenings too.
2. I never write on Thursday nights if new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice are on.
3. Don't even think about what my desk looks like. I could never do one of those lovely interviews about my writing space unless I spent a couple of days (or weeks) tidying up.
4. My ideal readers are my notoriously hard-to-please daughters.
5. I have 20 notebooks full of snippets of my life and writing projects, ideas, and inspiration and information about writing. I'm working on my 21st.
6. My favourite day of the week for writing is Saturday, because I can usually write for a few hours without interruptions.
7. I used to write picture books, but after I had no luck getting any of them published, I decided to move on to middle grade novels (those ideal readers got older, too). Ironically, I'm now working on a picture book for a freelance project.
8. Okay, I said 7 but I thought of another one. You may have noticed that my blog doesn't have many (or any) pictures. That's because I used to have an older computer that seriously objected to loading up images. Of course, I've had a new computer for at least 6 months...but I imagine there are some readers out there who might have trouble loading up blogs that are heavy on visuals too.
Do you have any interesting writing-related habits? Do share!
I don't use a lot of visuals, mainly because they are a pain and I don't need any more pictures stored on my computer! I love early morning too.
ReplyDeleteWith each new project, I create a new playlist. I like to pick songs that describe my character or what sort of issues will happen throughout the story. Once the playlist is complete, I write listening to the songs while wearing ear buds. I have to have them in my ears - it's too distracting if I play the songs on my computer. I'll write any time as long as I have a block of a few hours. I can't write one hour today or one tomorrow. I need to know I can commit to the work for at least three hours.
ReplyDeleteI tend to play through various scenarios in my head before writing the one I like down. I usually do this before bed on the verge of sleep. I have to get myself up to jot something down so I don't forget it but that doesn’t' always happen.
ReplyDeleteI probably write best very late at night but I pay for it the next few days!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, I wish I'd thought to do writing related answers!
ReplyDeleteRecently I wrote an idea I'd had for a picture book on Twitter, as a joke, and an agent replied 'I would SO rep that' - unfortunately I have no idea how to write a picture book! Maybe you should do it instead ;)
I'm one for words rather than pictures, knowing that makes me out of step with most of the world. (I hate trying to figure out what button to push when they have only SYMBOLS on them instead of words.) So I try to be a moderate user of pictures.
ReplyDeleteLaura, you're right about the storage issue and pictures. I have enough trouble dealing with my own pictures.
ReplyDeleteKris, I've never tried making a playlist. Neat idea! I'm one of those people who needs silence to write.
Holly, I usually read books before I fall asleep to stop myself from obsessing!
Lydia K., I bet it's nice and quiet then. But I'd be too tired. As a teen, I used to be a nightowl, but I've switched to being a morning person.
Girl Friday, I'm sure you could do it if you tried! I like Anastasia Suen's book "Picture Writing" for learning about picture book structure. Aside from this project, I haven't thought about writing picture books for a long time.
Marcia, I have the same problem with those symbol buttons. I don't see how they can be universal.
I write best when the house is clean and I am alone. If the house needs cleaning you can bet that is what I will do instead of write :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I have any interesting habits, but I am also a Grey's fan and my desk/work area would also need days of cleaning to be presentable enough for a photo shoot! And I think I'm going the same way you did - having trouble in the picture book market and trying to write for an older audience, but totally struggling so far. Keep the great ABCs coming!
ReplyDelete