Writer Thoughts
what i *must* have to write, what i'm writing currently, & thoughts about writing
Checklist of a Writer
Coffee, copious amounts
Lappy toppy (laptop)
A Notebook System (one for my schedule, one for notes, one for notes but different notes than that other one, one for book ideas but a different notebook for each book)
Playlists for each project
Headphones to listen to said playlists
At least two books, to read as the coffee cools or while snacking on breakfast/lunch/snack before getting into ~ writing mode ~
Water bottle, because as much as i wish i could, i cannot live on coffee alone:(
Random little things: chapstick, solid lotion (bc its so damn dry here lol) hand sanitizer, mini trash journal, tape
Pencil case full of highlighters, tabs, and pens!!!
I can write with less, but these are the things I’ve accumulated to smooth the process into relative ease.
Writing, for me, needs some *trappings* ie. pretty journals, notebooks of various purposes, music, and coffee.
The ritual of it all is what is important, not the list above.
Writing is difficult.
Oftentimes it’s painful.
Other days it comes easily and words pour out.
By some miracle, the next day you read those words and are moved by some version of yourself who, for a brief moment, seems to have known how to articulate a particular emotion or sensation.
Those are golden days. When your mind and body agree to focus on extricating the story you’ve been thinking about for months.
At the moment, I’m in limbo.
I finished a project and edited it for months. Then I sent it away. An editor is looking over it right now and in the meantime I’m beginning to gather the building blocks of my next project.
There is progress at this stage, but it’s less easy to define. It’s difficult to explain to someone that I spent two hours at a coffee shop, wrote only 200 words (half a page), but came away with a deeper understanding of the main character of my next book.
It’s easier to tell people I wrote 2,000 words that day. That I’m now 2,000 words closer to the finish line. I love writing 2,000 words in a day!!! But if I sat down right now and forced out 2,000 words for this project, I’d just have a false start on my hands.
Not that it isn’t a bad exercise to sit down and write the first chapter, but you’d have to go into it knowing that that isn’t really your first chapter. That character’s pov may not show up at all actually, or you really should start earlier or later in the story.
in summation
writing is strange. identifying as a writer means you do the work of writing. there’s ways to write that i find helpful and ways to write that i find harmful. above i’ve identified some things that are part of my ritual of writing & i’d love to know about your unnecessary necessities:)