Writing Environment

I get asked a lot about what environment I write best in, so it's time I answered it in a post!

Overall, I don't consider myself that picky, but I've tried different things and do have my preferences.

When I write, I usually write at home. My bed is usually pretty comfortable if my back is in a good mood. Otherwise, our dining room chairs are pretty awesome. I've actually only taken my laptop to Starbucks once to get some writing done and it was a really great environment, except for the fact that I people watch. A lot. But that could be considered character research, right? 

One reason I like coffee shops for writing is because the temperature is always on the cool side. Even in the winter. I cannot work nearly as well when I'm warm! It completely slows down my brain. Why do I live in Texas, you ask? Because it's the ideal state except for the weather :(

I'm not one of those people who has to have a fuzzy blanket, socks, or certain pens to get some writing done. However, I'm much more likely to get a significant amount of writing accomplished if I get everything I might possibly need before I sit down to begin. Internet is almost always a must, though I can survive without it in small doses. Water, granola bar, chocolate, laptop, charger, notebook, pens, character sheets, earbuds, and any other resources particular to the project are called for on most occasions. Obviously, lots of space is also in order.

Speaking of earbuds ... I always thought I couldn't write with music (it still says so in my About Me page). I think the reason for that is I prefer to listen to music with beautiful lyrics and I absolutely cannot do this while writing! It's much too distracting. I'll end up typing lyrics, singing out loud, and researching the artist instead. Whoops. I got Spotify on my laptop several months back and it has been the best thing! I've rediscovered amazing wordless music and it can help me tune out other things that would be more distracting (like voices). If I am going to be working somewhere perfectly quiet, though, I don't always do music. Silence can also help me think.

When writing, I primarily use my laptop, Sir Percy. Laptops are not as aesthetic as notebooks, but I am a slow(er) writer by hand and my wrist gets tired very fast. So Sir Percy is used for most research, drafting, and all editing. Notebooks I reserve for brainstorming, random ideas, and developments I don't want to forget.

I think that sums it up!

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Be sure to visit my blog next Saturday, Jan 21, because I will be revealing my cover!!

What do you require for your writing environment?

2017 Goals

I still haven't wrapped my head around the fact that it's a new year. There's no telling how many months it will take me to write 2017 instead of 2016. But I have got to have some goals in print because January is running away with me!

You guys get to be my accountability partners ;) Ready?

That comes out to 3 a month, which sounds reasonable to me! I'll begin with the book of Proverbs and see how far that gets me :) I would love to memorize some poetry as well, but we'll see ...

I read 55/50 books last year and I intend to read 50 books again. It's a round number and hopefully more of the books I read will be on Goodreads this year! (That's the downside to being an editor.)

I will take suggestions. Of course I have a crazy TBR, but you never know what my library may have :)

I really didn't listen to much music outside of my favorite artists (basically Josh Groban) until 2016. The main difference was getting a Spotify account. Best. decision. ever. I have found some new artists and soundtracks that I adore and I listen to music almost every day now.  If you have anything you'd like to recommend, go for it!

Sierra Abrams inspired me with her Spotify playlist, where she adds a song for every day. I am not that adventurous. So my goal is one song for every week. For obvious reasons, there's only one song so far. But this is the one I've been humming and writing to all week :)

I would really like to commit to just writing a single draft of something. But I'm going to be more adventurous than that. Write two entire drafts (1 first draft, 2 projects). *dies* I am going to shoot myself for this later, I just know it. But with all the NaNo events, I think I can eke something extra out. Or maybe I'll just revise something in the works ... So many decisions!

I was "organizing" my bookshelf the other day and realized I have 4 beautiful, completely blank journals. And 2 composition notebooks. If I can ever think of a way to use them that will be worthy of their splendor, I will use them. I'm bad about buying journals and never using them in general, so here's to overcoming that flaw ;)

I attended one conference last year (the East Texas Writers Guild one in Tyler, Tx) and it was so fun! I really want to attend at least one this year. Preferably more than that, but we'll see. I'm really considering attending the Realm Makers conference this year if a local friend is going. It wasn't really my genre last year. But now? At least I've begun a Christian Dystopian NaNo novel. :P And Ted Dekker is the keynote speaker.

It would be super easy to say I want to publish just something. But with Martin Hospitality's release next month ... I need to go further. I chose the word "items" on purpose, though. I expect my second publication will be a guide, short story, or novella. I've obviously got options :P Decisions will have to be made once I get past publication #1!

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There you have it! 7 goals for 2017. (Seven is like my favorite number ever.) What are some of your goals?