The writing mood that is... get your head out of the gutter!
Of course, we all know that sometimes we have to write even when we're not in the mood. Otherwise, we would never get those WIPs finished! Kind of like romance, it's not always sunshine and rosebuds for our writing projects. And we just have to push through and do it anways.
But just for a moment pretend that it's one of those glorious times when your mind is overflowing with great ideas and you can barely type fast enough to keep up with the awesomeness pouring out of your artistic soul. How did you get to that place? What put you in the mood to create some awesome works of literature?
For me, typically it's when I've come up with a new idea or scene and it's been ruminating in my head for the whole day (or more), so that when I finally get to sit down and write it flows easily. Countless was actually the result of eight years of mulling, but no time to write with my son being so young, and working and taking classes. So when I finally graduated, I threw all the time I had been spending on classes into the book and the first draft was done pretty quickly.
If I want to get myself in the mood, I'll sometimes play some Vivaldi or drink a glass of wine. I write better when it's quiet (except for the classical music) and I'm not interrupted. I've heard of people that train themselves to get in the groove by always lighting a scented candle or listening to a certain song or sitting in a certain place.
How about you? What puts you in the mood?
My laptop unfortunately has a tendency to trigger bad behavior in me - blog hopping, facebooking, forum-posting, etc. - more often than not. I've heard writing can trigger things like smoking and drinking in other writers, too.
ReplyDeleteSo, yeah, I think it would be great to use that in the opposite - like lighting a candle or listening to a certain song as a trigger to open the laptop and WRITE! Then again, I'm definitely in the "need to plow through" part of my WIP right now, so that has a lot to do with it!
erica
I'm definitely a glass of wine and a super upbeat soundtrack kind of girl.
ReplyDeleteIf it's too quiet, I can't work, so I need a little background action. I work better in a coffee shop or book store than I do at home. Too many distractions!
Lately, what gets me in the mood is being in a coffeehouse listening to a playlist that I've designed for my characters. Words come so much more quickly!
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy but cleaning puts me in the mood to write. An uncluttered room is more of a turnon than most other things for me.
ReplyDeleteJai
Often times, I'll lay off the keyboard and do something that I wouldn't normally do . . . within reason, of course. Running up and down the stairs, doing a chore or organizing my bookshelf are among many different deterrents I've used. Jelly Bellys are a good incentive, too.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Alexia - words that writers always need to hear.
I don't think there's any set answer for me, but usually it's when I get 'the idea'. The kind of idea that says, 'Hello writer, I'm going to be an awesome story/novel and you'd better start writing me now'.
ReplyDeleteOf course, it does help if I happen to be on day off or on holiday. LOL.
Great post!
I've found, the more I read the more I tend to want to write. Something about enjoying another really well written book makes me want to churn out my own worthy words!
ReplyDeleteFor me, I need no unopened emails and a quick check of the forums I visit...then a song from my playlist, and I'm ready to go. Oh, and I have to go tho the bathroom first, ha ha.
ReplyDeleteHi Alexia: Nothing really special because I see writing as a regular job that I just do.
ReplyDeleteTo Linda K: I laughed at the go to the bathroom first.
Music usually does it for me - either listening or playing on my guitar.
ReplyDeleteI get in the writing mood when I read something I'm interested in, either in an article, or a book, or online, and then that leads me to read something else, and then an idea germinates, and then I think of something else, and then something from folklore or history will fit here in a historical fiction kind of way...and off we go. The hard part isn't the ideas, it's the time to do something with them. By the time all this happens, I'm foaming to write something, but house things, personal things, the job to pay the Man, they all get in the way and it can get very, very frustrating when I have all these ideas, but no time to write them.
ReplyDeleteI agree! When I have a great idea for a scene, I just want to sit and write and let the words flow! I also feel rejuvenated after a writing conference or writing group after talking with writerly folk!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I totally have to be in the mood. Right now i'm revising and editing my first draft, and I definitely not in the mood but I have to do it! It's not going to revise or edit itself! So that's a little slow going, but at night when everyone is asleep is my best time to write.
ReplyDeleteCoffee actually gets me in the mood. I only ever drink it while I'm writing, so the very taste sort of tells my brain it's time to get into writing mode.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I LOVE your new photo. :)
ReplyDeleteSecond, I can get in the mood to write a lot easier than the *other thing*. ;) Stuff is always going on in my head...good for the writing, less so for the *other thing*. But, music and wine work for both. ;)
Hugs,
Lola
Oh oh, and I'm with Jennifer, coffee for writing is a MUST. (but unlike her I drink it all the time)
ReplyDeleteQuiet mornings. Classical music. Coffee. My brain works best in the early morning. Late at night, the time when a lot of writers visit the muse, my brain has turned to mush from all of the craziness of the day.
ReplyDelete