a peek inside the fishbowl

1 | Kelly @ The Gouda Life

February 3rd, 2012 at 9:15 am

I love these, Andrea! Great list.

Mine isn’t as long, but there are a few things that need to be in place.
-I have to be in comfortable clothing
-Need to have a drink (usually tea or a glass of wine, depending on time)
-Room must be clean. This is a mandatory.

2 | Ross Brown

February 3rd, 2012 at 9:19 am

When I write, I always need music playing. Always.

When I write my fiction, I like to have a nice drink with me. A beer, a glass of wine or whisky, or even a cocktail (I love Manhattans). I have to be away from family or friends: I can’t have any distractions. That’s why I mostly do my fiction writing in pubs.

I can write my blog posts just about anywhere and in any situation (perhaps that shows). I use my blog as a release, my trains of thought rushing out of my head through my fingertips on the keyboard. For my blog, I often have a loose idea and just let it come out.

Cheers!

3 | Kerry Ann (aka vinobaby)

February 3rd, 2012 at 9:39 am

Great list.

When I write fiction I need:

~Silence. No music, TV, or voices.

~Comfy clothes. Yoga pants or loose skirts preferably.

~A pencil for notes. Pens are not allowed.

~A full belly. If I’m hungry, I obsess about food and what I can grab from the kitchen.

~Self-control. I must, MUST stay off the internet. Like now {sigh}

When I write blog posts I need:

~Nothing but a topic. I can write posts anytime, anywhere.

4 | andrea

February 3rd, 2012 at 9:46 am

Good point about blog posts. For me, the process of writing a blog post is very different than writing an article for publication. I take much more time with the latter and it requires a lot more thought and effort. The stuff I read here is not nearly as finely edited.

I’m really interested in what font people use for their writing but no one has mentioned that yet! Spill! Are you Times New Roman people or Comic Sans? :)

5 | Vicki Thomas

February 3rd, 2012 at 10:14 am

I spend my days writing so I’ve found that for me:
– I always need a mug of tea – helps with the words
– I like to sit at the kitchen table so I have a clear view of the backyard
– CBC Radio is on all day long
– coffee shops are good when I feel the pull of laundry and the dishwasher
– I work best in the morning and take an afternoon break to ride my bike
– Helvetica 12
– Pages or WordPress are my tools of choice

6 | Javamom

February 3rd, 2012 at 10:26 am

Most ‘sans’ are my style of font. Size 10 or 12, usually. I like narrow, clean looks.

The room I’m in must be clean and clutter free (relatively speaking) and I need natural light. That’s one reason I’m not keen on the office in the basement. Not because it doesn’t have natural light, but because of the current clutter in there.

If an office is to be used by more than one person, even if the other person only uses it sporadically, they need to have their own space. For my next house, a double desk or two desks pushed together, will be mandatory.

7 | jo(e)

February 3rd, 2012 at 10:48 am

Wow, your list is very similar to mine. Except that along with a hot beverage (always herbal tea), I like squares of chocolate.

The only other difference is font. I use Palatino for poetry and Times New Roman for prose.

8 | Lara

February 3rd, 2012 at 10:50 am

Total silence – with any noise at all, I can’t concentrate.

I like a cup of coffee – unfortunately that means I often drink too much of it.

I am generally barefoot and sitting cross legged.

If the cleanliness of the room were necessary I would never get a thing done.

I procrastinate procrastinate procrastinate and then write like a bullet train.

Anything that is more than a blog post gets proofed by someone else – I have a good group of willing editors.

I write mostly in google docs, in whatever font is the automatic one.

I really enjoyed this post :)

9 | Ross Brown

February 3rd, 2012 at 10:57 am

For my fiction, I write in Arial.

For my blog, Verdana.

10 | Adele

February 3rd, 2012 at 10:58 am

For school, I prefer Tahoma 10 or 11. Unfortunately, for some bizarre reason, I can make it go into italics, so I resort to Helvetica.

For non-school writing (but not blogging), I embrace courier/courier new.

I plan, chunk things out, and still end up racing to the finish, worried about meeting my deadlines (and sometimes missing them entirely).

I write well in public spaces wearing headphones to block out the ambient noise. Sometimes, I’m not even playing anything in them – just using them as earmuffs.

Writing at home is a huge challenge, because I’m always distracted by something else that needs doing, or a child who needs me. Which means not a lot of writing gets done. :)

11 | Vanessa

February 3rd, 2012 at 12:11 pm

ambient lyric free music is ok but I appreciate the lack of distractions. Bare feet, tracksuit and half lotus seem fairly uniform but I’d also add window. I keep a notebook when I’m out, and like to work at my kitchen table, its usually the hub, the most sociable room in my flat and has a good vibe. I no longer punctuate my work with cigarettes and find a full ashtray after several hours, wandering where the time has gone. Fresh air and a walk is usually a good break to find misplaced concentration even if it is tothe shops for another packet .:)

12 | Anne Rodrigues

February 3rd, 2012 at 12:17 pm

Sounds like a very “comfy” list. I’ve just started blogging, so I find I need complete quiet (not often obtainable around my house), comfy clothes and a coffee. Usually my dog, Shadie, is always by my side as well. I like Ross Browns’ comment of having a nice drink with him. I think I’ll take that into consideration next time I’m at the computer. Wine sounds good!

13 | kaitlin

February 3rd, 2012 at 2:54 pm

Hair up.
One leg curled under me.
Usually Times New Roman, but lately I’ve been feeling Garamond.
Something to drink.
Gum to chew, if it’s intense.

14 | Victoria

February 3rd, 2012 at 3:14 pm

I write in Word in either Cambria 11 or Georgia 12. Then I copy/paste my text and add photos & graphics using WordPress. I love a coffee or an ice-cold glass of water while writing. Quiet is optimal but hey, I’ll take what I can get when the muse strikes.

15 | Natalie

February 4th, 2012 at 9:14 am

Inspiration usually strikes me in the bath, shower or on a run, but I need absolute silence to actually sit and write. If the kids are around, I have to use noise-cancelling headphones and I shut the door to the office and pretend I can’t see the laundry waiting for me. I mostly use boring old Times New Roman 12 – pretty much all I write is academic stuff. But for other projects I default to Helvetica 10 or 11. I interrupt my work for kitchen breaks. The sound of the kettle whistling always seems to clear my mind and reset my thoughts.

16 | Carrie

February 4th, 2012 at 5:05 pm

Love your list! I am a list lover myself.
I used to follow you from my old blog http://ommamashanti.blogspot.com/
which I have neglected for the past couple of years and have just begun writing again at my other long neglected blog http://andabowloforangestoo.blogspot.com/

When I am writing songs, I need to be alone and usually cleaning the house! It is while puttering around with a glass of wine in the evening or a cup of tea in the day that the inspiration often hits me. I then have to stop the housework and write it down in a journal.

When blogging, I need to have tea and a tidy workspace.
I use trebuchet 12 as my prefered font for blogging and I have a fondness for using colour as well!

17 | Kathleen

February 4th, 2012 at 6:58 pm

Love this post! Times New Roman all the way. I like a clutter free space to work in and enjoy a bit of cleaning to get into the writing mood. Hot showers, walking home from dropping the kids off at school and lying beside my sleeping kids, listening to them breath after I’ve put them to bed are the times I have my best ideas. Email is distracting but is also an important part of my writing work. So I need to decide when and how much email I’m going to do during work hours.

It’s amazing how easily the words flow when the whole family goes to bed and I know they are upstairs sleeping away in our quiet house. Sometimes I reread what I’ve written and I’m amazed that I even wrote it because it’s clear and precise and just sings. That doesn’t happen all the time of course. But when it does, it’s magic.

Fun to hear about everyone else’s writing spots and spaces.

18 | James

February 7th, 2012 at 9:23 am

I love our fascination/obsession with fonts. I’m so old that I remember the days when you had to hunt down alternate balls for your IBM Selectric II so you could use the font you wanted.

Another writer obsession I’m proud to share with the great Gay Talese is that I used to re-type articles that I liked when I was starting out, just to get the feel of the words and syntax under your fingers. Musicians do the same with transcriptions. It’s also a great exercise if you need inspiration some time.

19 | Katy

February 9th, 2012 at 12:17 pm

I wish I was so organized. I’m a bit all over the place an that seeps into my writing..

I write when I’m at home, at work or in between. There is always something going on in the background, whether it’s the chatter of clients huddling around the reception desk (where I work), the beep of the turnstiles not letting someone in or the hissing sound of water hitting the element because I’ve let my potatoes boil over.

I don’t have a favourite font, I don’t have a favourite place to write but I must always have my Mom proof read before it goes live. With her approval others can read when I’ve written.