Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 1571
Location: Massachusetts
When and where do you do your best writing?
Ok, so out of curiosity, when and where do you find you do your best writing? Personally, my best writing seems to take place before coffee takes its full effect, but then I'm haunted by whatever I'm writing for the rest of the day. Imagine my surprise when I catch myself talking with clients in rhyme I find some of my best ideas float through my mind when in the shower or when driving. Neither is particularly conducive to pen and paper (well, I tried in the car to jot a few notes recently and nearly wrecked on a curve ) and my hormonally challenged memory has failed me more than once. Any thoughts or suggestions?
It just hits me...and if I can't write it then and there I will make a note of it then when I can I will write it out.
Ummm suggestion...pull over then jot your notes...would hate to hear about you on the news.
Eiregirl
Thu Aug 24, 2006 5:06 am
Roman
Joined: 24 Jun 2005
Posts: 3187
Sunny,
Unfortunatly, the only time I write is when I am in pain. When I have something to say. When I feel like my world is crashing...
Seems to be the only time I can write.
~ Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me ~
Tue Aug 29, 2006 11:17 am
Cavewoman
Joined: 06 Sep 2005
Posts: 2056
Location: nearby
ever try a voice activated recorder?
_______________________________________________________________
when? when it strikes or gels
where? anywhere _________________ " The sorcerers in life are created within each of us" --- Lynn V. Andrews
Wed Aug 30, 2006 12:06 pm
Xalia1 Moderators
Joined: 05 May 2004
Posts: 3702
Location: In love
Sunny,
I have poetry flowing through my head at odd hours as well, lol.
Driving down the street, at work, everywhere...
Does your phone have a feature that lets you record?
Or does it have the option in your voice mail that will let you send yourself a message? Both of those features have helped me a lot.
Ok.. now I'm admitting I send myself voice mails.. I'm done.
Hope it helps hun.
((((Sunny))))
Hugs,
Xalia _________________ Nobody said life would be easy...They just promised it would be worth it.
~♥♥~
~The words fail me.. because what I feel for you is beyond description...~
Wed Aug 30, 2006 1:27 pm
fortheloveofagood... Site Admin
Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 2216
Location: loves land of plenty
cool thread....
time, well i used to write only when if i didn't put something down, i was gonna explode, but now i write when i feel i have something to say, or want to try and convey something, time of day, any time, i used to write best alone, but doesn't matter now.
how, well sometimes it just has to be pen and pencil, other times only computer will do, i went through a phase where i only wrote in outlook express, so now i have a collection of poems there, all with a blue background and silver font!
i recently decided to carry a note book for poems and have been known to let tubes go by, forget getting to work before 9.30 or home before 7 as i scribble something down on my travels. I think i would look a bit mad recording into a voice recorder in public, but great idea for driving!
Looks at RomanNose....hmmmm just realized I spelled that wrong the first time I used it...hmmm good thing nobody noticed...or maybe they did...oh well pretend I did not even mention that.
RomanNose...I have seen very good happy writes by you so don't you go saying you only write when you are in pain or I will twist your arm behind your back and and and...do terrible things...yeah terrible things like ummm like well...no...she might like all those things hmmm...just let it be known terrible things will happen....
walks off all flustered...
hmmph
Eiregirl _________________ All poems and stories posted by Eiregirl are
Copyright 2005 - 2008 Aoibhegréine
These literary works are my property under copyright. If you wish to use my work for any purpose please ASK FIRST.
Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:15 pm
Sunny
Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 1571
Location: Massachusetts
Ah, yes the answers to this thread are becoming as wonderfully diverse as the members of Mels. Eire, I can assure you, I no longer write and drive. I do tend to jot notes as soon as I reach my destination though. I've got notes on gum wrappers and parking receipts, but I've got them. Cave, I like the idea of the recorder when I'm driving. Don't think I'll do it in public though....
And Xalia, oh, please do tell us about the voice mails you leave yourself.... I'm actually going to check my phones for those features though. I can leave myself steamy poetic thoughts to listen to after a long day God help my poor son if he checks the messages first I was at work the other day unable to access a phone, so I ended up using my Palm Pilot. Should have just used my palm though - I can't write on those things... I tried keeping a notebook with me, but it ends up all over the house, the office, the car and anywhere else I might wander - some of those places I'd prefer it not be left behind though...
Thelove, why do you think it is that you sometimes need the pen & paper and at other times the computer? Is there a correlation to the content of the poem you're writing? Hummm... I like to type, since I can't read my writing, but I love sitting outside at night by candlelight, pen in hand, or first thing in the morning catching a rising sun - such a great way to start the day, but then I don't want to put it down for more mundane activities like work. I also enjoy penning in my edits on typed drafts. I think it's some sort of left brain/right brain thing. Actually, last night, after hours of dealing with a whiney dog when I should have been sleeping, I crawled to my computer to try yet again to play with a poem I've been working on. It seemed to flow better than it had in days. Seems the brain did a disconnect and the heart let the words flow...hum, I'll have to reread it now that I'm awake...
And RomanNose , harumphhhhh. I total second Eire's note. I know it feels like the power of your pain is driving your writing at the moment and I believe you're right, but thinking back, I recall lovely writes of yours that weren't oozing in pain. Hang in there. I so look forward to days when you'll feel inspired to write of happier times
I'd love to hear any thoughts anyone might have on right/left brain writing, editing processes, computer vs. pen or anything else that jumps out at you. I suppose I'm just trying to get some ideas on how to get/keep the creative juices flowing and growing...
I really appreciate aal of your feedback and having read work by all of you, feel fortunate to have input from so many wonderful, talented women. Thanks much. ((((((((All of you)))))))))
Joined: 17 Dec 2005
Posts: 2216
Location: loves land of plenty
quote:
Thelove, why do you think it is that you sometimes need the pen & paper and at other times the computer? Is there a correlation to the content of the poem you're writing?
i am not sure sunny, i happens with non-fiction too, sometimes when i need to really concentrate, get at something specific, pencil and paper is best... (not pens tho', lol!)
'don't hate your enemies, it clouds your judgement'
~peace comes from knowing only love is real~
Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:40 pm
Fernanda.F.Rocha
Joined: 17 Aug 2006
Posts: 1392
Location: Portugal
I started writing when I was in High school...I remember going with my school friends to a cafe to study and after 10 or 15 minutes of trying to study I was already in a different table writing ... I used to love to write in cafes
Used also to do some works at school in prose and got a few good results ... was because of it that a teacher offered me the white book...to keep writing there.
after school I stopped writing for few years...big changes.....
When restarted to write felt a certain "need" to write also in English... maybe because gf was English ...and still love to write in English....anyway...one of the places I like to do it is at the beach... its a magical place for me any time of the year. _________________ "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are" - Anais Nin.
Wed Sep 06, 2006 5:57 pm
DanceofSorrows
Joined: 29 Aug 2004
Posts: 2837
What a great thread Seasun
A hint about the voice mail...never leave a depressing poem on there, someone might call the cops haha
And lady, I loved to write in cafe's too growing up.
I had some peculiar ways, as we writers do. I use to write exclusively in yellow or white legal pads with using only a black or blue pen. Now I find that I am lazy and fair much better at the computer because of the quick access to the dictionary, spell check and whatever information I need at the click of keys. My desk area is my safe place to write. However I try to take off for the weekend once a year by myself to do photography and writing and in those times I revert and go back to yellow legal pads. I struggle with writing, spelling and editing are not my good points so I am always happy to find relief at the computer for fast access.
As far as when... well I think it has become a habit in all moods and at any time of the day since the motivation to write is to articulate the world inside and out. In some ways it is a form of self validation since I hold so much back verbally in normal conversation. I want to define and indentify things, I want to validate them and I need quiet and calm surroundings to do it... be it day or night. Anyhow, great thread and great responses.
Dance~
Thu Sep 07, 2006 6:49 pm
Sunny
Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 1571
Location: Massachusetts
Dance,
SO glad you're enjoying this thread. I too have delighted in discovering the uniqieness of others' approaches to writing. I was also remined that of a lot of the prose I wrote in undergrad was composed at cafes and coffeehouses. Thanks for the reminder Lady and Dance. I think I may try an afternoon at my favorite local coffeehouse and see what perks - yellow (not white) legal pad and black (not blue) pen (not pencil) in hand We all have our preferences...
Your comment about motivation to write has inspired a new thread...
Joined: 17 Sep 2006
Posts: 1025
Location: that tragic backwater, the gulf coast of florida
I can't really write by hand anymore, unless I resort to a chicken-scratch shorthand. My head goes too fast, and if my hands can't keep up, I lose stuff; it just drops off the sides and rolls into the culvert.
I used to appreciate the slowing effect of writing by hand, but I had a head injury, and forgetting is a constant threat. My language processing was scrambled up for a while, I stuttered, I blanked, I used the wrong words. I don't mean like saying BIG instead of HUGE; I mean that I would say YELLOW instead of FIREMAN, different parts of speech, completely disconnected concepts, just the next word in the chute dropped down, so often without me even noticing, not just in speech, but in text. I turned in a story once, on deadline, and literally minutes before it went to press, I got into the editing queue to change some minor detail and found, nearly at then end, about three paragraphs of dialogue out of a movie I'd seen the week before. Just disembodied conversation, utterly irrelevant to the content of the actual piece. It almost printed that way. It was a horror.
So I read myself, usually pretty carefully, because my head just cannot be trusted. Knowing that I will do that frees me up to write as fast as I want, or as slowly. Nothing is sacred. Nothing is necessarily truer the moment it comes out of my head than after i've reconsidered it a few times. There's nothing more authentic about an original ae moment, so that's pretty liberating. Sometimes I will churn out stuff fast and furious, purging, and I subject little to edit, but I ALWAYS proof.
This is probably not responsive to the question, Sun, but I think bashing my head actually made me a better writer in some ways. More responsible, perhaps, less prideful. I try never to be far from a computer, because I feel trapped if I cannot work, and I will write whenever I can, but I won't put anything on the street until I've made sure it's hair is combed and there is no toilet paper stuck to its shoe. _________________ -
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"...a soul that wakes up to find itself wandering, unwanted, between the spheres."
Sat Nov 25, 2006 8:12 am
ghost
Joined: 06 Nov 2005
Posts: 2828
Location: MIA
quote:Originally posted by ae:
... but I won't put anything on the street until I've made sure its hair is combed and there is no toilet paper stuck to its shoe.
lmao, ae, this is so good.
thank you for sharing your story with us, and yes it is relevant, as long as others benefit from it. which in this case i am sure they will.
happy writing!
regards
ghost _________________
MIA
Sun Nov 26, 2006 5:51 am
Sunny
Joined: 18 Jun 2006
Posts: 1571
Location: Massachusetts
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