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Post by The Voice on Apr 9, 2016 9:12:04 GMT -6
Most writers I know have certain items, rituals or locations that they prefer to help put them in the right frame of mind to write. What about you? What do you need to get in "the zone"? I'm a morning person (don't hate ) so I like to get up early (about 6:30), make coffee and sit at the kitchen table with my laptop and just let the energy flow. I'm the only one up at that hour so the house is nice and quiet. The sun is peaking up over the horizon, birds are starting their day and my cats have not yet felt the urge to puke on the floor or meow at me incessantly. My biggest challenge is letting go of the moment and changing gears. I could sit there all day tap tap tapping away on my keyboard, sharing my thoughts but stupid life seems to demand other things of my time. I'd love to know what makes your writing clock tick. ~V
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Post by Yinglan on Apr 25, 2016 11:47:10 GMT -6
I'm the opposite. My brain and imagination are most active at night, before I head to bed. If I can get myself in the zone, I can feel incredibly awake in the wee hours. It happened to me a few times and before I knew it, it's almost 2 am and I've written some 2000 words.
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Post by The Voice on Apr 25, 2016 15:54:18 GMT -6
LOL... if you're going to be up, might was well be productive. I've had late night spurts of energy like that, but it's not a regular thing.
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Post by Joy Pixley on May 2, 2016 8:37:10 GMT -6
Heh, you call yourself a morning person and you don't get up until 6:30? That's sleeping in for me! No seriously, it really is. And yes, I've had spurts of late-night energy before, but it's not the norm for me. (I seem to remember a lot of all-nighters in college, but boy, that was a long time ago.) If I'm up late, it's because I'm enjoying the company of friends, probably with dancing involved. No, mornings and early afternoons are my best writing times. Unfortunately they're also my best working times. By the time I get to the evening, my brain is fried and I just want to veg out. So wait, why am I spending my precious morning time on posting here? (Slaps forehead!) Note to self: post on writing blogs in evenings, not mornings. Did I mention yet that I'm terrible at time management?
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Post by Joy Pixley on May 2, 2016 8:39:27 GMT -6
To clarify the 'best working times' statement: "work" is my job, although it does involve a lot of writing, it's all of the scientific research type. Writing fiction isn't work. It's fun.
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Post by Felicia Hf on May 2, 2016 9:07:07 GMT -6
I'm quite the opposite of you... I tend to only be able to write starting in the afternoon and then all the way into the night. For whatever reason I am more awake and creative at that time!
Apart from the time, I need music playing in the background to get me "in the zone". I just can't write if there's complete and utter silence, and I prefer music to conversation, because then I find myself starting to listen... However, even music with lyrics distracted me when I was writing my novel, so I started listening to the soundtrack of the Lord of the Rings (I was writing a fantasy novel, and the dramatic parts of the songs always moved my plot forwards!).
Do any of you like listening to music? Or do you prefer silence?
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Post by The Voice on May 2, 2016 10:17:53 GMT -6
Heh, you call yourself a morning person and you don't get up until 6:30? That's sleeping in for me! Yeah, there was a time when 6:30 was late for me too, but fortunately my mornings aren't as demanding as they used to be. I'm just glad you're posting here, whatever time it is...lol. And time management is a challenge for me too. I just implemented a new schedule for myself to TRY to get more organized. We'll see how that goes.
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Post by The Voice on May 2, 2016 10:20:00 GMT -6
I'm quite the opposite of you... I tend to only be able to write starting in the afternoon and then all the way into the night. For whatever reason I am more awake and creative at that time! Apart from the time, I need music playing in the background to get me "in the zone". I just can't write if there's complete and utter silence, and I prefer music to conversation, because then I find myself starting to listen... However, even music with lyrics distracted me when I was writing my novel, so I started listening to the soundtrack of the Lord of the Rings (I was writing a fantasy novel, and the dramatic parts of the songs always moved my plot forwards!). Do any of you like listening to music? Or do you prefer silence? I usually prefer silence while I write, although jazz, classical or other non-lyrical music in the background is ok sometimes if it's quiet. Once in a while though, music will inspire me. I'm writing a story right now based on a song from Metal Church called Badlands. (Heavy metal is normally not the best music to write to...lol)
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Post by Joy Pixley on May 2, 2016 12:00:47 GMT -6
It's not that my mornings are demanding. Although my cat can be. If I don't wake up naturally by 5:00 or 5:30, she comes to check on me. Good luck getting organized!
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Post by Joy Pixley on May 2, 2016 12:03:34 GMT -6
Do any of you like listening to music? Or do you prefer silence? Silence for me. I get too distracted by music. Even instrumental music. It's funny, I used to have music on constantly when I was younger; I don't know whether I'm worse at concentrating now or just didn't realize how badly I was concentrating then.
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Post by angietrafford on May 2, 2016 12:45:49 GMT -6
Do any of you like listening to music? Or do you prefer silence? I need music... Any music to get me writing as then I shut out pesky reality!
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Post by Felicia Hf on May 3, 2016 3:51:15 GMT -6
I need music... Any music to get me writing as then I shut out pesky reality! I prefer music to absolute silence when shutting out reality, because it usually gives me more inspiration. Though sometimes, if I'm inspired enough and writing non-stop, I'll turn it down or switch it off entirely, because then it just becomes a nuisance instead of a help!
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Post by angietrafford on May 4, 2016 9:17:47 GMT -6
I prefer music to absolute silence when shutting out reality, because it usually gives me more inspiration. Though sometimes, if I'm inspired enough and writing non-stop, I'll turn it down or switch it off entirely, because then it just becomes a nuisance instead of a help! I use Spotify and I have found that there are some really good playlists that have only instrumental tracks. The two that I use on a regular basis are music for concentration and deep focus.
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Post by Felicia Hf on May 4, 2016 11:52:14 GMT -6
I use Spotify and I have found that there are some really good playlists that have only instrumental tracks. The two that I use on a regular basis are music for concentration and deep focus. I'll check those out! I haven't really been using Spotify, but I was thinking about it, since there's many different playlists of songs that I don't know and therefore might distract me less.
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