Topic ID: 24470
|
View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
chocoholic
Give me the chocolate and nobody gets hurt
Master of the Forum
Gender: 
Age: 14
Joined: 31 May 2007
Posts: 1615
Reviews: 516
Country: Raxacoricofallapatorius
318 Points
|
 Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 5:51 am Post subject: Writing Requirements |
 |
|
We've all heard of big Hollywood stars needed certain things when staying in hotels, or on tour and stuff like that, but do writers act like that too?
Can you just not write without a deck of cards on you lap? Or mabe people are the worst thing to have ever walked this earth while you're writing. Perhaps you wish the world was never engulfed in the darkness we call night.
So wht are your habits or requirments?
Myself, I can't write in silence. Music is best, but being around people is fine. I can't have o much food or drink around. A bottle of water or bar of chocolate is fine.
I must have my dictionary and thesaurus near me, even if I don't use them, and a pad and pen, even if they just sit there the whole time. |
_________________
*Don't expect to see me around much in the next couple of weeks. School has started again, and it'll be a couple of weeks before I've settled in. If you've asked me for a critique, you will get it, but not for a little while. Sorry* |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
Firestarter
rear-admiral of the RED
Site Admin
Gender: 
Age: 20
Joined: 19 Nov 2004
Posts: 6291
Reviews: 986
Country: Albion
300 Points
|
| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 12:04 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| I need some music that inspires me, which totally depends on my mood and what I'm writing. I always have a hot drink, usually tea or hot chocolate, and some food to snack on so I don't have to move and disturb my flow. I'm also best in the early hours of the morning, from 1 to 4 am usually, but I can write whenever, as long as I'm alone and there's not too much disturbance. I can't have people around. |
_________________
and if you promise to stay conscious
i will try and do the same
yeah, we might die from medication
but we sure killed all the pain |
|
| Back to top |
|
Marionette
Junior Writer
Gender:
Age: 17
Joined: 06 Jan 2008
Posts: 18
Reviews: 9
300 Points
|
| Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:09 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Music is always a must, even if it flows from the kitchen. (Which is happening right now, from my sister's laptop.) Normally I have to construct specific playlists just because I get upset if one moment a dramatic piece of music is playing for a death scene but then "Save A Horse (Ride a Cowboy)" comes up and it ruins it for me.
But as for food and such I normally go with Fruit Loops (no milk) in a blue bowl. If can manage, a Pepsi to go with it. Something about the combination gets the creative juices flowing.
On colder days, I whip out my yukata robe my dad got for me as a Christmas present. It's comfortable, feels like I'm wise, and reminds me that my dad will always believe in me. |
_________________
"Put to rest all that's not life
Drink for beauty and fill my blank page..."
Cadence of Her Last Breath - Nightwish |
|
| Back to top |
|
Audy
Senior Writer
Gender:
Age: 18
Joined: 10 Nov 2007
Posts: 156
Reviews: 53
Country: USA
300 Points
|
| Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 1:39 am Post subject: |
|
|
Aw, thats so sweet Marionette. And it /does/ sound comforting...I need to go invest on a robe xP
For me, well I'm the opposite. I /have/ to write in complete silence. I can't write while music is playing because then I start singing along or else I'll start dancing to it and I can just never concentrate on what I need to.
When I write it needs to be cold or chilly--I can't stand it when it gets too hot, so I guess fall-winter time is the best time for me to write =P I can't write at all if there are people, unless it's my brother... I get paranoid that they are reading over my shoulder or something and I just can't have that. But my brother, he's awesome, he doesn't make too much noise and I can just randomly ask him a question like "What do you think of this line here?" and he'll think nothing of it and answer truthfully.
Oh yeah, and I definitely need a vault or something to drink. I usually just use thesaurus.com/dictionary.com open in a separate window. And I have a notepad, a pencil, and my sketchbook open cause there are some things I need to do on paper. |
_________________
"When writing a novel, that's pretty much entirely what life turns into: 'House burned down. Car stolen. Cat exploded. Did 1500 easy words, so all in all it was a pretty good day.'"
-- Neil Gaiman |
|
| Back to top |
|
Samantha Eliza
Senior Writer
Gender:
Age: 16
Joined: 11 Jan 2008
Posts: 112
Reviews: 25
Country: United States
300 Points
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 2:37 am Post subject: |
|
|
I don't really need anything, but music is preferable. Sometimes, though, music disrupts my flow, because I'll space out and start typing the words to the song. I have this one album on my computer called Amythystium (or something like that) whose music is the ONLY on that I can truly write to without spacing out and getting into the words. It's a new age-y kind of sound, like Enya, who also helps me write, but occasionally I'll write to rock music if I'm really in the mood.
Um, a pen and paper is also something good to have, so I can doodle when I'm thinking of ideas. (A side note: I don't doodle like normal people. I just write down words people say in cursive and sometimes they sound like poems.) And distraction SUCKS, but people LOVE to come in my room when I'm writing and scare the crap out of me, because usually my headphones are blasting and I'm turned away from the door.
Caffeine also helps, but since I'm taking a year off from soda/energy drinks/coffee, it really isn't much help to me unless it's in pill form. (Although, I took a caffeine pill once and it made me have a panic attack, so I don't think I'm ever going to do that again.) |
_________________
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
-Dr. Seuss |
|
| Back to top |
|
Teague
don't touch me, i'm nanoing
Master of the Forum
Gender:
Age: 16
Joined: 16 Oct 2006
Posts: 2035
Reviews: 483
Country: A ship! With me crew!
392 Points
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 2:43 am Post subject: |
|
|
I am so ritualistic when I write.
If I'm at home, it has to be night and I have to be completely alone (non-humans excepted). I open up all the windows, turn off all the lights, put on a bit of quiet music, arm myself with a bowl of munchies and a Coke, and attack it. If I'm starting something new, I have to put some kind of nothing on the page because I cannot stand a blank Word document. And if anyone comes and interrupts my groove, it's all over for the night. Or at least another hour, which is usually more time than I have.
If I'm at school, it has to be a class that I can easily detach myself from (Chemistry and Spanish, mostly) and one where I know I won't have to worry about being called on or taking notes or whatever. I totally tune out everything. And I have to be mostly surrounded by people that I have no emotional attachment to. Otherwise I feel like I'm being watched and it makes me mondo-uncomfortable.
Oh, and if my feet are cold, there's no way in heck anything's happening.
- |
_________________
"If you don't vote, you're a moron." - Craig Ferguson
"Thank you for choosing Saint Razorblade Stick Beatings, where we really stick it to you - with a stick!" -Mattster
"Begone, earth logic! You have no place here!" -Black Cat Sachiko |
|
| Back to top |
|
Meep
♥less
Master of the Forum
Gender:
Age: 19
Joined: 25 Oct 2006
Posts: 1851
Reviews: 209
Country: Nutopia
300 Points
|
| Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2008 3:12 am Post subject: |
|
|
It's changed a little, since I've started writing on the computer more than by hand, but I used to go through phases that I would want certain types of pens or paper. I was particularly fond of fountain pens and rough paper or awhile, and then Bic pens and smooth paper (always lined; I have miserable handwriting). I now use RSVP fine points on medium paper for note-taking, but I do most of my writing (papers, creative stuff, journaling) on the computer. I either use the Microsoft Word Notebook (for chaptered stories) or regular documents (Georgia, 11pt, double-spaced) for prose, but for some reason, I prefer Notepad or TextEdit for poems.
... and it's not a requirement, but I love Arizona Rx Stress Iced Tea (double bonus points if it's in a wine glass), and I usually like to listen to music but I don't need it. (& I love to do my papers outside, weather permitting.) |
_________________
「… the closer you get to the light // the greater your shadow becomes …」
» temporary hiatus while I go back to school and get settled in again
» enter the "fangirl project" competition & win fabulous(?) prizes! |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
