Writing companions…
Readers often want to know how authors write those books they love. It’s a common question in interviews. In my list of questions for interviewees, I approach the question sideways and treat it indirectly. As both a reader and writer, though, I’m interested in the answers if only because I want to compare myself to other authors.
So writers, do you sit in Starbucks with your laptop and sip on a bad cup of coffee to do your writing? Do you have classical or rock music playing in the background from some iTunes playlist you’ve constructed? Or do you need absolute silence?
There are probably as many writing companions as there are writers. Writing isn’t rocket science, but it I intense, and many of us, myself included, have developed techniques to help us focus. These include choices of place, food and drink, and people around us.
Many authors have one special place to write. They might take notes out and about in many places, but there’s that one special place where they do their best work. In his book On Writing, Stephen King talks about this, including how his desk is placed (that’s in the memoir part that you might not have read or remembered if you’re an author).
Food and drink? Maybe. I’m sure there are authors who have their Keurig in their study along with a bowl of pretzels, but I learned long ago that food and drink don’t play well with computers! For me, it’s my two morning mugs and then on to writing. So, be careful and backup your works in progress often if you need food and drink at hand.
People? Nowadays many stay-at-home moms and dads are internet commuters and rarely go into a physical workplace. Many consultants do this. It’s hard for stay-at-home writers to focus if they’re also chief cooks and babysitters—children must always take precedence, so if that’s your full-time day-job, your writing will be mostly limited to when the kids are in school or asleep.
Writing has always been a lonely job too. Maybe some writers need other humans around (a library comes to mind), but maybe others need absolute solitude. Each one of us has to choose what works best given the possibilities.
All these choices are our writing companions. It’s a wonder so many books are written because organizing a writing life isn’t easy. Each year, hundreds of thousands of books are published. Each one represents an author’s choice of writing companions—compromises, stolen moments, and so forth. I find that amazing.
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Comments are always welcome.
The Last Humans. Penny Castro is a forensic diver for the LA County Sheriff’s Department. She surfaces from a dive to find all her colleagues dead. She struggles to survive and then protect the family of other survivors she creates as gangs of feral humans and others threaten her. And then she helps a struggling US government. This post-apocalyptic thriller is coming soon from Black Opal Books.
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
