what conditions do you find it best to write in.

[Vargev]

I've started this thread, as i have a propensity to write only when certain conditions are correct. This is usually after a good sci-fi film or book, that gets my imagination flowing. However when i do get down to writing it has to be in complete silence, no music on in the background, no t.v. and absolutely no distractions. (well except for the odd cup of tea.) this way i can concentrate on the story and on what i'm writing to the exclusion of everything else.

I wonder if anyone else has their own certain conditions that facilitate their writing?

 

[Sapheron]

Not to be a party pooper, but this thread comes up at least once a month. That said, I'll answer now.

Alone, in my room. Music must be playing, and it must be appropriate to the mood of whatever I am trying to write. The place must be a complete dump or I feel like a fish out of water. The window must be firmly shut, however hot it may be and even if the central heating is on at an odd time on a summer afternoon (it's less awkward than you'd think). The computer must have finished any and all updates to stop the computer lagging as I type. There must, or at least should, be copious quantities of Jaegermeister, Irn-Bru or some form of energy drink to hand, preferably with in excess of a days ration of caffein in a single can. I then don't drink these on the grounds that if I do they'll be done and I can seldom afford replacements.

It is also imperative that the guy who lives above me is out, or his footsteps and whatever else annoy me. At the same time, it's imperative that the woman next door is also out, or my music/singing/screaming/expletives annoy her. The person who lives to the other side is fine; we have a gentlemans agreement to leave one another alone. Across the hall is likewise fine; although the walls between rooms are thin, those between the rooms and the hall are curiously resistant to anything we poor residents have found to throw at them (sound, shoes, golf balls, drunk person's face and so on).

 

[Pride]

I write best usually at night. I think about whatever I'm working on sub-consciously all day and if I'm inspired enough, I'll sit down to write it later in the day.

 

[Boneman]

Weirdly, cutting the grass or swimming! I get more ideas during mindless activities than if I sit with the right music, the right light, the right wine, the right silence, the right book. I'm getting quite fit.....

 

[Professor 0110]

I work in my room with a lush, green forest surrounding me. My desk is covered with my maps for my fantasy series, and my floor is littered with plot points and various scenes I want to integrate into my epic tale.

If I listen to music as I write, it must be something like the soundtrack of the Lord of the Rings movies. Anything with words just distracts me.

 

[The Judge]

Crammed in one corner of the settee with my legs scrunched up underneath me and the laptop precariously poised on top of a couple of cushions on the arm of the settee to bring it to the right height. In the winter I'm often joined by a couple of cats, one on my feet, one on my lap. Notebooks, lists, ideas, corrections, scraps of paper and assorted photos of people/places/clothing strewn around within arm's reach (on the windowsill, settee, a couple of coffee tables) together with one large dictionary and the various parts of an old thesaurus which has falen to pieces through excessive use. A cup of tea and homemade biscuits to hand on a regular basis, no one else in the room permanently (cats excepted) and no music other than something like Finzi in the evening.

J

 

[chopper]

at the moment, lunchtime at work: netbook out, ignoring all extaneous conversations (can be hard). results in 3-400 words per day.