Comfort when writing

Wow. I'm quite different than some of you. I crank up heavy metal, pour a nice glass of whiskey, and sit in my living room where the tv is on and the dogs are going nuts and my wife is preparing to cook dinner.

My one rule is do not interrupt me. Its funny, I can work in the middle of a hurricane as long as you don't ask me a question, or force me to take my focus away.

Wife-beater t-shirt
panties
no shoes
sitting in Recliner-O-Doom in dark basement
TV on either new age or XM chill (basically no lyrics)
Icy cold temp <60 degrees F
Laptop on inverted cushion thingy
Giant mug of Ice and water
Dogs sleeping on Futon or under inverted cushion thingy in my lap

That's pretty much how I spend my days anyway, whether I'm writing or not. I just sleep more if I'm not writing.

I don't like to be comfortable when I write. I like to get manic as hell and yell and scream. I like to dance with my wife and drink a few pints. I watch sad movies and I read beautiful poetry. I like to be in touch with my feelings when I write.

My first book, I wrote it with a heating pad duct taped to my back. The pain was excruciating. I wrote FU, an angry rant that would offend every man woman and animal on the planet. It was a masterpiece!

Then a doctor gave me a shot of morphine, and a scrip for some powerful pain killers, and my muse went away.

During that bout, I put my fist through a wall and took a hammer to an antique table.

And there was a chipmonk that came right up to me in the dark that night. Just sat right at my feet and stared at me. He wasn't afraid of me at all.

lisamarie84x said:

What makes you the most comfortable when writing?

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Darkness and silence.

My one rule is do not interrupt me. Its funny, I can work in the middle of a hurricane as long as you don't ask me a question, or force me to take my focus away.

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I agree with this. Time restrictions have forced me to write in all kinds of awkward places. I'm fine if I focus, whatever noise or distraction there is. If someone interrupts me by actually speaking to me though (in that insistent way where you mumble an answer and they come and stand beside you and shout in your ear and make it clear how rude you are -- ahhh parents), that's deadly.

Had I been WayneK's Significant Other, however, the hammer to the antique table would have likely resulted in a hammer to his head. Smash up ugly modern furniture, Bauhaus, anything from the 50s through the 80s.

I spent two days sanding and two hours painting that table. It needed to die.

Typing away in NotePad while sitting in my $100 office chair. Most expensive chair I've ever owned. I deserve it-my chair growing up was the ugliest green fuzz stool you'd ever see.

* Comfortable clothes (most critical of all: a comfy bra!)
* Freedom from distractions
* Availability of water or hot tea, preferably both
* A good place to sit, right now usually my big green lumpy chair.

As I currently don't have one: a desk (bedroom's too small).

I also like to write in cafes with headphones on and my music blaring. I've started bringing my laptop into work early and writing before my shift starts and during my lunch break, so I'm becoming attached to the kitchen table at work and the free--though not necessarily good--tea and coffee.

I mostly feel comfortable writing when I'm in a car. I just feel so comfortable. It helps when it rains too, or snows.

When I'm at home, I write better when it's really cold outside. My dad would light the fireplace and I would sit in front of it in one of our moonchairs. With my horsy blanket wrapped around me and a few of the cats or kittens on my lap. A cup of hot cocoa or coffee on a dinner tray beside me. Also, a bag of Andes. I fricken love those with their minty goodness. What tops it all off is the sound of rain. Or when it snows I can look out the window while writing. Man, now I want winter to hurry up.




~Sam