Writing at Work

Flapdoodle · Jul 5, 2006

Ok,
I write during my lunch 30 minutes in the office, and usually get a lot done.

However, we have a lot of long and boring meetings, so I also tend to write in these. I've actually complete a short story in a meeting... Most of the stuff in the meetings isn't stuff that interests me, or is stuff I don't need to know or be involved in...

Just this week we've had two days of intensely boring garbage from head office in Japan, and I wrote the first two chapters of a novel that I dreamed up during the meeting... Funnily enough, I'm looking to move...

Does anyone else do this?

Shweta · Jul 5, 2006

I have never been able to. I tend to doodle, mostly stupid little pictures with messed-up anatomy, because I only have a pen to work with.

I wish I could write when other people were talking around me, but it stops me from hearing the story.

Flapdoodle · Jul 5, 2006

Shweta said:
I have never been able to. I tend to doodle, mostly stupid little pictures with messed-up anatomy, because I only have a pen to work with.

I wish I could write when other people were talking around me, but it stops me from hearing the story.

I doodle as well - but usually end up doodling characters from stories!

I seem to be very good as removing the background noise and scribbling away with a pen.

Shweta · Jul 5, 2006

I envy you

My doodles sometimes turn into story characters. Not nearly often enough, though.

Flapdoodle · Jul 5, 2006

Shweta said:
I envy you
My doodles sometimes turn into story characters. Not nearly often enough, though.

The last meeting we had, I doodled a manager being beheaded, stabbed and hung. People did comment about my sanity!

Shweta · Jul 5, 2006

Remind me never to be your manager!
Not that I ever would...

Snitchcat · Jul 5, 2006

Flapdoodle said:
Does anyone else do this?

I used to be able to get away with witing and lots of doodling (mainly story chrs) at work. But that was before I switched jobs. In the new job, I let the brain half-doze for the lunch hour.

However, I doodle cartoony characters to relax. Once in a while, these doodles turn out to be my characters or those in plot bunnies I've yet to develop.

These days, I write during the morning and evening commutes -- it's dead time -- and during weekends.

P.S. I agree with Shweta -- if I ever had the chance (a likelihood of 0%) I wouldn't want to be your manager. =^P

SpookyWriter · Jul 5, 2006

I don't have the luxury of writing at work because my job demands too much attention. Plus I'm fairly close to other people and they might notice.

Andre_Laurent · Jul 5, 2006

Guilty as charged.

I write on the company laptop every chance I get. I get bored writing program code and I take a little time to errr write other things. I also write when I am running programs and they are taking a while to crunch all that #$%^ data. And sometimes I just say, $%^& it and write a little.... then the laptop goes home with me and I really burn it up, lol.

Flapdoodle · Jul 5, 2006

SpookyWriter said:
I don't have the luxury of writing at work because my job demands too much attention. Plus I'm fairly close to other people and they might notice.

We're between projects at the moments, and even when we're not, I find the work very easy.

underthecity · Jul 5, 2006

In my last job, I had to attend a department meeting every couple weeks. The meetings lasted two hours and never had anything to do with me. In one of the last ones--back in December--I let my mind wander about a story that had been percolating in my head, and over the course of the two hours I plotted the entire thing (a children's story) and started writing it that day. I've been shopping it around since March.

Boring work meetings are great places to think about your stories.

allen

popmuze · Jul 5, 2006

Usually I find the fear of discovery too distracting. Writing to AW at work is dangerous enough.
But once at a meeting I found myself sitting right across from a gorgeous old fashioned jukebox newly added to the conference room decor. Needing a really good description of a 1950's style jukebox for my novel, I made specific notes on all the details while the meeting buzzed around me, and wound up using them all.

AdamH · Jul 5, 2006

Another one here.

I write during my breaks mostly. I can't seem to do it at lunch. Trying to balance a sandwich in one hand and writing with another without slopping whatever the contents of said sandwich onto the paper isn't a skill I haven't mastered yet.

ChunkyC · Jul 5, 2006

I try to write on my breaks at work. If I stay at the workplace for lunch, I'm jacked into the Internet, so I tend to come here and do AW stuff. If I really want to work on stories, I take my laptop and go to a nearby food court.

Sailor Kenshin · Jul 5, 2006

I had a pretty cool temp job a couple of years ago. Either I was so busy I needed six hands or there was nothing to do but write.

One of the managers walked by my desk and said, "I hope you brought a book to read."

I said, "No need. I'm writing one."

Serena Casey · Jul 5, 2006

I work for myself, so I write at work all the time.

I need more self-discipline, though: Get the work done first. When I'm writing, 3 or 4 hours can go by like nothing, so if I allow myself to open the file, it's all over!

CaroGirl · Jul 5, 2006

There are times when there isn't much to do at my job (which I'm not overly fond of anyway). I used to write in Word files and email them home to myself, but then I got paranoid that they could be traced and someone would find out that I was writing instead of working. Now I keep a notepad on my desk and write long-hand anything that comes to mind. Then I just stick the piece of paper into my bag and take it home to be transcribed that evening, or the next day.

SC Harrison · Jul 5, 2006

This is not directed at any folks here, it is merely an anecdote from a previous writing site I was a member of: a writer (female) worked in an office and spent a great deal of time there either working on her ms or posting on the messageboard. Whenever these "I hate my job" threads came up, she would gush about how she had the perfect job, she could write all day, etc. She even stated that coworkers knew how she spent her time, and were very supportive (wait for it). This site did not have PM capabilities, and I decided to refrain from advising her to cut back on her activities. When she posted her "I can't believe they fired me!" thread, I seemed to be the only person who was not surprised by this turn of events.

pconsidine · Jul 5, 2006

I have a hard time writing at work because I'm one of those writers that needs to be totally immersed in the world of the story to be really productive. That's one of the reasons it takes so long for me to finish things - I'm constantly getting pulled out of my story to go to work in the first place.

As far as writing in meetings goes, I'm usually leading the meetings that I have to attend, so if I'm not paying attention, things tend to get very quiet very quickly. That being said, I can sometimes work on outlining or something like that at work. I have a red spiral bound notebook expressly for that purpose. Which reminds me - it's almost full. Yay!

Billytwice · Jul 5, 2006

Flapdoodle said:
The last meeting we had, I doodled a manager being beheaded, stabbed and hung. People did comment about my sanity!

Why?

Managers only get to be managers as they are no good at doing their subordinates work. I wish I had a £ for every manager I've seen promoted into management posts following some awful cock-up on their part.

Here's one of my favourite manager type quotes:
'Last week, I couldn't even spell manager - now I is one!'

This guy was also something big in the local chapel and was tasked with making a group of Vietnamese 'boat people' welcome when they were shipped to our town.
These people had spent weeks or months even, cramped together on a tiny boat dodging sharks, pirates and awful storms at sea.

So what did he do?

He took them to a seaside resort and tried to get them to go an a boat ride around the bay!

The poor suckers lay down, sobbing on the beach thinking he was trying to deport them...

MidnightMuse · Jul 5, 2006

My job has a lot of long spats of nothingness - I'm needed, but only when an emergency occurs. So I find myself with large gaps to fill, and I fill them with writing. I store nothing on the hard drive at work, though. My ms is always on a little memory stick that I carry with me wherever I go.

maestrowork · Jul 5, 2006

Billytwice said:
Managers only get to be managers as they are no good at doing their subordinates work.

That's a gross generalization. I have had great managers who were both knowledgeable and hands-on. They got to be managers because they were genuine good and had leadership quality. Grunt work is overrated. These people know how to work smart. I've been a manager myself; although I didn't know what exactly my staff thought of me, I really doubt that they thought I was an idiot. I could do everything they could do, maybe better. Good management skills are nothing to sneer at -- it takes talents to be good leaders.

Sure, there are bad managers. There are bad subordinates, too. We don't think we should paint everything with a broad stroke.

Sailor Kenshin · Jul 5, 2006

maestrowork said:
That's a gross generalization. I have had great managers who were both knowledgeable and hands-on. They got to be managers because they were genuine good and had leadership quality. Grunt work is overrated. These people know how to work smart. I've been a manager myself; although I didn't know what exactly my staff thought of me, I really doubt that they thought I was an idiot. I could do everything they could do, maybe better. Good management skills are nothing to sneer at -- it takes talents to be good leaders.

Sure, there are bad managers. There are bad subordinates, too. We don't think we should paint everything with a broad stroke.

(Insert applause smilie here!)

SC Harrison · Jul 5, 2006

maestrowork said:
That's a gross generalization. I have had great managers who were both knowledgeable and hands-on. They got to be managers because they were genuine good and had leadership quality. Grunt work is overrated. These people know how to work smart. I've been a manager myself; although I didn't know what exactly my staff thought of me, I really doubt that they thought I was an idiot. I could do everything they could do, maybe better. Good management skills are nothing to sneer at -- it takes talents to be good leaders.

Thanks, Ray. I worked my butt off to get where I am today, including two years on 2nd shift and three years on 3rd. Managing the right way is incredibly complex and exhaustive, but is worth every ounce of effort.

pconsidine · Jul 5, 2006

After a number of years actually doing the work, I've finally gotten out of the trenches and into the wonderful world of Project Management. The other day, I received the highest compliment I think is possible for anyone in my position:

One of the most senior production people told me he thought I should be managing every project we do.

As far as the whole Peter Principle ("people are promoted to the highest level of their incompetence"), there's still a long-standing tradition of promoting from the trenches without regard for whether the person has the necessary managerial skills to succeed in the new position. Truth be told, I'm not sure that I have them, but so far no one has noticed if I don't, so keep your fingers crossed.

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