Okay, writers....

[DragonFaerie]

... tell me about how and where you write.  Computer?  Long-hand?  Sitting at a desk?  Laptop on the couch?  Notebooks at the dining room table?  What's your preferred method?

[Happy]

Computer at my desk mostly. sometimes at a chair in my bedroom--laptop. From time to time, out somewhere-Starbucks, the lake, etc.

 

I did a stint writing by hand a few years ago--actually pretty productive.

 

The big thing to do is write--anywhere, anytime, good or bad, WRITE.

[Critterfixer]

Long hand with a mechanical pencil using yellow legal pads. Anywhere and everywhere. I carry whatever I'm working on at the time everywhere I go.

[DragonFaerie]

The big thing to do is write--anywhere, anytime, good or bad, WRITE.

 

Yeah, this is where I get bogged down.  I tend to feel like I'm not really writing unless I'm sitting at my desk in my office/study.  The problem is, that's where we do homeschool, and my college work, and my paid work. The last thing I want to do at the end of the day is sit there some more to write.

 

Long hand with a mechanical pencil using yellow legal pads. Anywhere and everywhere. I carry whatever I'm working on at the time everywhere I go.

 

Thanks for posting this.  I'd much prefer to write with pen and spiral notebook, but that doesn't seem like "real writing," in my crazy, mixed-up, procrastinating head. :D

[elegantlion]

Computer at my desk in my bedroom, generally with the dog sitting on the bed staring over my shoulder. 

 

I carry a planner and write random stuff in there, I also have a writing notebook for ideas and such. I feel out of sorts if I go somewhere without something to write on - not necessarily stories. 

[Chris in VA]

Not really a "writer," but I use a notebook. Actually, I use any notebook--I have several spirals laying around and I pick whatever is closest.

I write a lot in bed.

 

I'm not a disciplined, "real" writer, but someday I'd like to be.

[Critterfixer]

Spirals bother me. I prefer to flip over the top, and to have it bound at the top. That's why I'm a legal pad person.

The yellow paper is less annoying to look at than white. Less glare I guess.

 

I work often at my desk in my room, but I'm just as likely to write standing at the kitchen counter while I'm cooking. Or at the kitchen table. I've been known to take a bath, throw a plank over the top of the tub and write in there. I take my notepad to work with me, take it to the library and write while the kids look for books. Just anywhere counts.

 

Only after I've hashed things out on paper will I sit down with the laptop and start typing things in. Most of the time when I write I don't always know what I'm going to get or whether I'll use it, and for some reason, I don't care if I do this on paper, but if I've typed it in it feels more permanent. And that's really crazy! :laugh:

[Seasider]

My preferred method is at a desk or table where I can spread out my notes, writing on my laptop.

 

I also have file folders full of scribbled on paper napkins with ideas and snippets of dialogue that get worked into my stories. Paper napkins are especially handy in coffee shops. I don't purposely eavesdrop on conversations but every now and then I'll hear a phrase or make an observation that's a keeper. I don't hear their whole story, but sometimes a clever or intriguing turn of speech will set my imagination whirring.

 

I also have a plot journal that I've kept for 25 years now. Some stories have come to fruition, most not, but it's a good idea storage spot. Sometimes separate ideas eventually weave together into a single story.

 

My biggest challenge is that I like to write in long uninterrupted stretches. That's a real challenge when home schooling an only. When the older kids were home together, I could say, "Go play!" and they'd easily entertain themselves for an hour or two. Not so with this one. I get a couple of hours if she is off with friends. Otherwise, I stay up way past my bed time.

 

I go in spurts, alternating seasons of plotting and thinking with seasons of getting words on paper. I am looking forward to this spring as a current idea is maturing and I hope to carve out the writing time.

 

I used to always carry a notebook but now I use the memo feature of my smart phone for ideas that hit me on the run.

 

All that to say, I like to brainstorm on a yellow legal pad or paper scraps and actually compose on my laptop.

[Little Nyssa]

Longhand first, with a pen from our local bank (they make the best pens!), then revise onto the computer Pages program, then scriptwriting program. (I can't 'think' right on to the scriptwriting program.)

At home I can only write if the dishes are done, and usually only if nobody else is home, unless I am really on a roll. :) Laptop on my lap on the sofa, or sitting at the dining room table.

I also like to write at a coffee shop with the laptop, but that gets too expensive, so I also like a local public library.

Writing poetry or prose I write in a notebook, then revise onto Pages.

[Peach]

Computer at my table, or a laptop/chromebook in the bedroom our out and about. Usually, if I am writing while out, it's a planned writing outing. I do have a planner in my bag for writing down ideas when I am out running errands and such. This is important because no matter how sure I am that I'll recall the idea later, I won't unless I write it down :) I like music too, and I usually suit the music style to the scene I am writing at the time. I don't write longhand - I can't write fast enough to keep up with the flow of words in my head so typing is much faster for me. 

[DragonFaerie]

At home I can only write if the dishes are done, and usually only if nobody else is home, unless I am really on a roll. :)

 

I feel like this, too.  It's really weird, but I feel sort of silly writing with other people around, like I'm a kid playing 'writer' or something.