My Writing Process

This week I thought I'd do something a little different. Many of you may be writers yourselves, or you may just be curious of a writers process. Well, this week, I'll be giving you a bit of an insight into mine!

WRITING SPACE:

I don’t exactly have a particular space I only go to write. My writing space is basically my space for just about everything, but just look at it:

This is the single, most comfortable armchair I’ve ever sat in, in my entire life. It is just brilliant and so cosy. I just sit back and relax while I go about my writing. This is probably one of the most important things when it comes to writing. Finding that spot you’re most comfortable in.

Some people need a room to themselves where they’re away from any distractions or noise, which, if you live with others or still with your parents, is most likely going to be your bedroom.

For me however, I’ve become so accustomed to the TV noise and my parents talking that it barely affects me anymore. I feel most comfortable and ready to write when I’m sitting in my armchair in my living room. The room can be full of noise or completely silent and I’ll be able to get the job done.

The problem occurs when my parents are watching something I’m interested in, this is where I get hugely distracted and end up spending an hour and a half watching the TV without realising. In this case, I usually put my headphones on and blast some music. This sends me right back into writing mode and I completely forget about the world around me.

Technically there is another place I write quite frequently. And if you don’t mind finding out a little too much about me I’ll tell you.

The bath. Yes, the bath.

I don’t know what it is about being in the bath that makes me suddenly so inspired to write but for some reason it does and you know what, I just go with it, because any time inspiration hits you, you should milk it for all it’s worth. It doesn’t come along very often.

NOTES:

Are you like me? Do you have five thousand word documents open at once while you write?

One thing I’ve been doing recently is hooking my monitor up to my laptop (and yes that’s Rocky wallpaper – I’ll get to that in a minute). I move all my notes onto the monitor screen so I can see everything at once without flicking through document after document to find the bit of information I need.

It is a good idea to have a system like this. Even if you just have something that you put sticky notes on (shout out to my friend Jess). It will make your life a hundred times easier while writing.

IDEAS THAT OCCUR WHEN I’M NOWHERE NEAR MY LAPTOP:

This used to present a problem for me, because I never had a decent enough phone to write and store things. At first I used to write my ideas in a text message and save it to my draft folder. Then I’d later write it up on my laptop.

Problem: By the time I was anywhere near my laptop, I’d completely forget I ever had an idea, and therefore my phone would collect around 30 draft text messages before I realised and would have to type them all up one by one.

These days though, I have a much better phone, which allows me to write a document and save it directly to the folder I want it in on Dropbox as a word document. There’s no messing about, no writing things up later, it is simple and so quick to do.

FUEL:

Most people generally go down the coffee or energy drink or alcohol route when they spend extensive amounts of time writing.

Me? I’m a little different. Tea is my fix.

Tea is a necessity. Tea is life. I cannot physically or mentally function without a cup of tea and this is why I constantly have a giant mug beside me while I write. This does usually mean a break every ten minutes to make a new cup, but it’s good to have breaks.

Whatever your fix is, make sure you have it on hand when writing. It will make your life incredibly easier.

P.s. Just don’t go down the Coleridge route. Opium (more commonly known as heroin) is going a little too far.

INSPIRATION:

On those days where nothing is going your way, or you feel like giving up writing altogether, I like to remind myself of my favourite quote to help me keep going.

This picture (as you saw earlier) is my desktop wallpaper, so it’s always there to remind me push through whatever writers block or troubles or worries I have at the time. I’m seriously considering getting this tattooed on my arm.

It’s always good to have a pick-me-up close by when you’re feeling down in the dumps. Every time I read this quote I immediately feel better and strive to push through the hard times.

I hope you enjoyed this post. As I said, it is a little different from what I've posted in the past. If you would like more posts like this, then don't hesitate to let me know.

Yours weekly,

Jennie Byrne

@mustbejlb (on Instagram and Twitter)

www.underthefable.com

Please comment below, all feedback and suggestions are welcome.