Tag Archives: writing desk

Another hotel room, another night of writing on the road

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You’d think I’d be used to writing in hotel rooms by now. Sadly, I’ve discovered that most hotel rooms are the exact opposite of conducive to decent writing time. It’s driving me nuts!

There are many advantages to writing in this golden age of the internet. It doesn’t matter that I’m sitting here at a strange desk, not when I can google any pieces of information I don’t have immediately to hand. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for those using a typewriter, reaching for a thesaurus and only finding a Gideons bible and some hotel headed notepaper.

Maybe a room service menu, if you were staying somewhere classy…

Several of the greatest authors of all time produced career-defining works whilst living in hotel rooms. But let’s face it, none of them were probably staying at a Holiday Inn…

If you want to get things done, you have to force yourself to do them. I’ve realised over the past year that I actually do my best work when surrounded by creature comforts: my inspirational artwork on the walls, the sofa in the office, the books lining the walls. A stack of pens and notepads within arm’s reach to jot ideas. This is the perfect place for me to write.

It’s also the place I’m not in nearly as much as I would like.

I’m now beginning a quest instead to beat this frustration. Instead of just getting annoyed by the reduced output, I’m going to find a way to make the most of the time on the road, no matter how luxurious or shoddy the hotel is. I’m going to become a writing road warrior.

For now my only piece of advice, to quote Ben Folds, is ‘do it anyway’. Which, although it is probably the singular most important thing, is trite and meaningless without working out how. I love a good mystery, so I’m going to get to the bottom of it. Tonight, I’m going to revise this terrible scene that is refusing to co-operate, regardless of where I am sitting when I look at it. Maybe fixing that will help me unlock the keys to making the whole thing work.

Wish me luck!

Notebook find of 2014: Field Notes

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As a writer, I constantly need to have a pen and some paper handy to capture ideas when they come to me. Honestly, my memory is absolutely terrible for things like that. Which is fine – I have a system so I can write things down and stop worrying about them, rather than trying to keep a gazillion things in my head at the same time.

This year on my travels I discovered Field Notes. I liked the idea of them at first, but was a bit uncertain as to whether they would actually work for me. So I’ve given a few a go…

fieldnotes

I think they are the kind of brand that you either love, or really don’t get what all the fuss is about. I love the appearance of them, but I had a few reservations about the practicality. At only 48 pages long, I get through one in about a month, sometimes a few weeks. It makes going back to find something you may have only written last Thursday tricky if it is in a separate notebook. But they are slim enough to fit in a back pocket or pretty much any bag without being too bulky. In my opinion, they look better too once they’ve got used and a bit battered.

I’ve found that working with the grid layout (available in the standard  books and some of the colors editions) is great for using with the bullet journal system. I have to share my personal/writing schedule with one other person and my work schedule with at least three others, so I’ve come to terms with the fact I won’t use the calendar element of the system anyway.

If you can get your hands on one, then I’d give them a go. They don’t sit nicely in the corporate world (with the possible exception of the latest Ambition Edition) but they are fun. Sometimes, having a tool that you want to use and try out is just the encouragement you need to get writing and thinking again after a dry spell.

They won’t be my only pocket notebook of choice for 2015, but they will be a nice break from a Moleskine or Leuchtturm in between.

A mini travel break…

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So, I have added up the numbers and I spent more time outside the country than I did inside it this year. That is quite the achievement. It also means that this year was the first one in a long time where my life has had such a huge impact on my writing, rather than the other way round.

I would love to say I have managed to achieve some kind of balance and that everything has been nice and simple. The reality, no matter what you read or how much you prepare, is that when you are on the road or anywhere outside the predictability of your own environment, then the world will most likely throw you a curveball. People who seem switched on all the time seldom really are. I certainly have never met anyone who is doing it all, all the time.

Now the holiday decorations are up and I have nearly a month of no travel. Even though it is a busy time of year with friends and family, it does mean I will be able – in theory – to establish some kind of routine again. I find myself disproportionately excited about this. I hope it will be a time of consistency and progress; something I sorely need if I am to start 2015 correctly on all fronts. Paying gigs have all been delivered on time and sometimes that has been at the cost of my own work that matters to me most.

This is a time for dreaming. Dream big and start small. I have a day booked for reviewing my business plan, setting my writing goals and looking forward to see how I can make the travel work better for me in 2015. I will lock myself away with a coffee and be brutally honest with how the year has been, its successes and failures. Then the tough work really begins.

After all, if you aren’t happy about something, change it.

Writing through the pain

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This is going to be one of those old school type blog posts. You know the sort, the ones that started out on diaryland or livejournal and all about this random stream of consciousness thing, rather than taking the ‘how can I add value’ to my readers approach. It doesn’t matter though, because I’m certain that pretty much anyone who follows me and therefore is reading this, also has an interest in writing. Which I suppose what this is all about.

I’ve been burning the candle at both ends, so we all know how this picture looks when the paint starts to dry. My body is struggling to keep up with the demands being put upon it by a whole truckload of family commitments, friends requiring intensive support through times of true hardship and sorrow, then there are the mechanics of every day life and working a 40 hour week in a demanding job before a crazy set of commutes. Things could certainly be worse, so please don’t think I am complaining. But they are far from perfect.

All of this has led to a dramatic reduction in my writing hours and a permanent pain somewhere at the nape of my neck from just holding my head upright. It is one of those times when it would be very easy just to take a few weeks off. It is so tempting. In a few weeks though, I am going to be taking a short sabbatical to get my writing and my own business back into shape, so I know that if I take a break now, I will lose momentum entirely.

The only thing to do is write through the pain. Write through the tiredness. After spending time consoling some of my closest friends, I also have to write through the sorrow.

I needed to get that down on paper, or this screen, or anything to remind me that it can and should be done. Just keep writing through it.

Perhaps you need that reminder too. If so, then I’m happy to help. If not, then keep going with your bad self and enjoy every second of it, whatever your passion is.

Fixed Schedule Writing On A Fluid Travel Plan

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It’s no great secret that I don’t spend all day, every day in one place. Travel is my passion, my way of recharging, my way of getting the most out of my writing. I love the newness of it all.

I love the sun.

So whilst that makes me sound like the committed adventurer who lives some kind of scattered life, the one thing I value above all else is routine in my writing. These things, sadly, do not seem to mix very well.

Some days I’ll be writing from my home desk, other days it will be a hotel room. Increasingly I am finding myself fond of knocking out a few hundred words in a coffee shop by hand. Regardless, it means that some of the rigidity in my schedule that I require to actually 1) produce material, 2) stay sane, is becoming more difficult to maintain. My output, unfortunately, has drifted off a little and I need to find a way to get it back.

Solutions

A couple of things have started to help get this back on track:

Being honest about my energy: If travel commitments mean a late night and exhaustion one day, getting up an hour later should be allowed. This doesn’t always work for me though, so I’ve found that getting up and focussing on more routine tasks, like website maintenance and reading articles, is a better way to get those tasks off my list that I would usually do at the end of the day or weekends.

Write when I don’t feel like it: I prefer to do creative tasks first thing in the morning when everyone else is asleep. When that’s not possible, as above, it means either stuff doesn’t get written or I make myself do it later in the day. It’s still all about carving out time. As this isn’t my naturally creative time, that means spending more time in places that do add a spark of inspiration. Hence the increase in coffee shop exploits.

Becoming better at taking notes: If I’m on the road, with a mixed up schedule, ideas come to me at odd times. Flashes of inspiration or sentences that I know will one day become the start of something bigger. I’m trying to make sure that these always get captured in a notebook so I can dig them back out when the right time comes.

So that’s what I’m trying to achieve. Creating some kind of balance in a crazy world. I feel like I’m still grasping the basics of this, so I’m totally open to new ideas and suggestions if there is something working for you?

Lost in the world of writing…

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So I’ve been a bit quiet on this front, largely because I have been doing my best to settle into my new place and routine that will be my life for the next three months. I’m hoping to finish the first draft of my current novel in the next two weeks and I’m already half thinking about the next one most of the time. Pre-writing for that is at about 90%, so hopefully will be done finished in time.

Of course, it means that I’ve not been focusing on this blog, or the business side of things I need to do for a while, and that’s something I certainly need to work on. The writing is always the fun bit; this pile of paper on my desk that comprises a 100k draft that needs paring down is something else entirely. I keep looking at it, feeling guilty, then somehow never having time to deal with it. Whilst it’s true that I’m going down the Indie route with it and no-one but me has the deadline imposed anyway, if I want to get the traction I need this year then something is going to have to change. Pronto.

On the bright side, I don’t seem to be the only one struggling with this. Not that I wish it on other people, but sometimes its good not to feel so alone. Perhaps it is harder in the summer, when the lure of the outdoors is stronger than the writing desk? I’ve set up a reward system for the month for the first time, so hopefully the prospect of a new fountain pen (I’m thinking a Kaweco) and a new notepad might force me to swallow the bitter pill that is formatting and finally get on with it.

There goes my Friday evening…