Young Writers Society

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.

-:pirate3:

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.)

I have a specially constructed playlist which is blasting at blinding volumes, since I don't write in my room. I put it on iTunes, and the sound just comes through the door. I have this special notebook that I write everything in, and I cannot write unless there are four special pens. There's a light blue pen, a red pen, a brown marker, and a pink felt-tip. If I hae any drawings that accompany my stories, I ink them over in red.

If I'm on the computer, I have LeechBlock on, unless I'm bored out of my mind, in which case the TV tropes site that has been mentioned in Writing Tips is on the internet. If I'm writing on the computer, it's almost always in Times New Roman font size 12, single spacing, unless there are headers. In that case, it'd be Times New Roman font size 14, single spacing, bold.

Very particular, I know. I also need mints with me if I'm staying up late. They help me not fall asleep. Hm, that's all, I suppose.

I like it to be pretty much silent, so I typically write and night or when no one is home. It gets so annoying when I'm 'in the zone' and my mom comes over a disrupts it with something like 'what do you want for dinner' or 'is that homework, do your homework'.
I like to have food close by. Cookies and pretty much any baked goods are awesome.
I can't listen to music when I'm actually writing because it'll distract me. However, if there is a song I know kind of fits in with what I'm writing I may listen to it to get the right mood or whatever and then go back to writing a scene.

My one real requirement is that I need to be in a certain mood to write a specific storyline. That's my only real requirement.

Music and food. As well as AIM, so I can test ideas off of my friends. But I can't have people around me, like looking over my shoulders and breathing down my neck. It's just destracting. I also need my dog there. Love my dog. And I need a bad day, for inspiration.

I have to be in the right mood. I simply cannot write if I'm not in the right mood. Which is annoying, because my mood swings can be quite unpredictable.

I also tend to write quite late. Sometimes I find myself contemplating and procrastinating all day, then at midnight I decide to write some poetry. It messes up my sleeping pattern, but then I usually have difficulty sleeping anyway.

I always eat apples (specifically Pink Ladies) when I'm writing about anything vaguely romantic.

I like bright light. Soft music is fine, nothing fancy. (The one I'm listening to, "Gentle Hands," is good.)

Also, I find that I cannot focus my thoughts unless I write longhand. Mechanical pencil is best.

Oof. xD Writing requirements. I feel like such a brat, like those Hollywood jerks, by saying I have requirements, but...

1. My cell phone has to be next to me in case I have to call a friend and run an idea by them.
2. Tall glass of orange juice or a grape Fanta is necessary.
3. Oreos or grapes are sometimes necessary.
4. My door has to be shut and locked; it bugs me to know that someone could come up behind me and read over my shoulder. Ugh. I hate that.
5. Music is so necessary, but I find that because I know every single song on my iPod by heart, I can't focus because I'm too busy singing along to the songs. And there's no way for me to stop myself from singing along. It's a habit; if I know a song, I have to sing it. So, I tend to put it on for a little while when I'm starting, but then I turn it off when I'm getting serious.
6. My dog has to be laying in her bed next to mine. I don't know why, I just feel better knowing that she's with me and I know that she's safe. Not that she's not safe anywhere else in the house, but I feel better knowing where she is and what she's doing.
7. I have to write everything in my writing journal. I can only type it when I've finished the rough draft and it's time for the final. And my final draft absolutely, positively has to be typed.
8. My dictionary and thesaurus have to be within my reach, even though I've never used them.
9. I can't write at my desk. I have to be on my bed. Don't know why. I know have an awesome, supply-stocked desk for a reason, but my bed is just my comfort zone.
10. I have to have the book that I'm currently reading next to me as inspiration; almost as if by looking at it every so often, it's saying, "Your book will look like this some day." xD
11. Absolutely NO ONE can be in the room with me, or in any rooms that are near mine.
12. It has to be between midnight to four AM or I simply can't write anything worth anything.
13. I have to be wearing a tank-top and my lucky toe-socks. xD
14. I prefer mechanical pencils or extra fine point pens.
15. I have to be propped up with three pillows so I'm sitting up and not laying down, or I'll likely go to sleep, since I normally only write in those early hours of the morning.

lol. That's not even half of them. But, that's some of them.