The writer’s mind is an odd place.
It’s deep. And can be rather murky. And there are nooks and crannies where things hide away, sometimes never to be seen again. I liken my mind to a creaky old attic with generations of crap tossed in there along with some shiny new things and a couple of buzzing beehives.
Beehives in the attic. I like that.
I’ve been wondering what other writers need in order to get their work done.
A couple of weeks ago I tweeted a question to my fellow writers. I asked them what font they used when submitting their work. The results were varied and pretty interesting (at least to me) because the selection of fonts is such a personal one. (I like Calibri, size 11.)
When I’m writing on the computer I need my font. And I need it to be quiet.
I need to be able to concentrate, without distraction, for an unbroken amount of time.
I also need coffee. It also helps if I’ve eaten and showered.
My biggest problem is that I feel like I can only write in the morning, that it’s my only “good” time. Somehow I have convinced myself I am at my best – the most creative and smartest version of myself – in the hours before lunch and not at any other time. Therefore it is pointless to sit down and try to write something in the afternoon or heaven forbid, at night. I use my “off” hours to do website updates for clients and rote things that don’t require the power of language (and spellcheck).
I think this was a bad rut to fall into and I regret letting myself get to this point. Perhaps it has its beginnings in the days when I started to work from home when I was pregnant and nursing and had to give in to my body … napping at odd hours and eating when I was hungry as opposed to being on some kind of schedule.
Technically speaking my brain matter is all there, right? And always the same? It’s not like I’m using one brain and switching it for another in the afternoon. I shouldn’t believe that if I’ve been writing all morning I am spending any kind of quota. There is no limit on creativity. It’s really not like a well that runs dry, or a car that runs out of gas, or an insurmountable wall.
What do you think? How do you keep that tank filled up? Are you able to flip a switch and dive into work mode at any waking hour? What’s in your toolbox?
