This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
People say writing is a solitary job, but not for me. I have Hulk, Captain America and Godzilla to keep me company. This is one of the perks I have by writing at my dining room table, I’m surrounded by my kid’s clutter, and realise I’m lucky to have time to write while they’re at school. Another perk is the table is conveniently close to the kitchen, which means it’s handy for coffee, and of course, chocolate when I’m in a bind about what to write next.
I do have an office, a proper space, with a desk and an ergonomic chair but it’s never felt right. For one, it’s too dark being at the front of the house, and it’s cold. Writing out there feels like a punishment, so I don’t. Instead I gravitate to the dining room where the sun streams through the back windows, and I can always snatch some more writing time when everyone is home, though usually I do the bulk of my writing during the day when everyone is out. (Except for the Avengers.)
Our big wooden table is long enough that I can spread out my gazillion post it notes. (Oh, to be organised one day.) My kids’ tubs of crayons are also within handy reaching distance, so most of my scribbles are usually done with those. (There are pens around here somewhere…)I do envisage myself being one of those orderly types one day with a white board full of reminders, and everything filed in cute little matching pink binders, but I’m a realist; that will never happen. After each book is finished, I swear I’m going to take a week off and become that person, but the characters from the next book start whispering to me and all is lost. I must sit down and begin their story.
I have a tendency to buy notebooks which I promise myself will be neatly written tomes featuring all the things I want to plot out, and ideas for coming books, but invariably they end up filled with stick figures when my sneaky kids get their little mitts on them.
Organised chaos is the best way to sum up where I write. Like the rest of our house, it’s lived in and it’s functional, and I don’t think that will ever change. I’m surrounded by books, our books and my children’s healthy collection which grows almost daily.
I write every day, usually for four or five hours at a time. When I have a break I walk a few steps to the lounge, grab a book and relax for a while. If I’m really in the zone, the words on the page will blur, I won’t be able to concentrate and I’ll be drawn back the laptop to keep going. Those kind of days are my favourite, where the words flow, and all is well with the world.
The days when the words are a struggle, I make a pact with myself to keep going, keep typing through the fog, and then I’ll reward myself with a few chapters of my book, and a piece of chocolate. (Okay a whole bar of chocolate.) I know if I push myself, the words will eventually come. And they do. Some days, it might only be a few hundred words, and other days, it will be thousands. I don’t get caught up in counting, I just focus on the fact that my manuscript is longer today than it was yesterday.
At around 2pm each day, I snap out of my writing haze and realise I only have an hour to clean the house before school pick-up. Then there’s the small matter of making dinner at some point. I shrug to myself, and say tomorrow is another day. Quite possibly that’ll be the day I turn into an organised writer, and a domestic goddess … you can’t rush these things. And until then, I chat happily away with my fictional friends, who understand time spent with them beats an orderly desk any day.
Christmas Wedding at the Gingerbread Cafe by Rebecca Raisin is out now.