Well, I'm succumbing to the urge. This week I turn the blog over to random writing thoughts. These are observations I've written down the past few weeks while staring at my keyboard.
Does this mean I'm already jumping the blog shark? (Please ignore that last statement. It was not an approved random thought.)
1) Cookie Butter. This belongs squarely at the top of my list. Each productive writing session must contain at least one bite of Cookie Butter from Trader Joe's. I'm addicted.
2) Writing Music. ABSOLUTION'S CURSE was written mostly to a soundtrack of "30 Seconds to Mars", "Default", and "Lifehouse" with the occasional "Tears for Fears" thrown in. Since then I've moved to solo piano, mostly David Nevue. For some reason I have a hard time writing when I hear voices outside my head. I think the inner voices get jealous. Now when I hear pianos I have a Pavlovian urge to bang on a keyboard.
3) Playing cards. When I write I have to have a deck of cards to shuffle. When one bends or splits, I throw the offending card away. By the end of a manuscript my stack of cards is almost half the original size. This means I rarely write with a full deck.
4) Writing Distractions. I get distracted by PC games (Civ V, Football Manager, OOTP, Sim City) and now that baseball season is in full gear, Atlanta Braves games. Twitter and this blog get in the way too but at least they are related to writing.
5) Twitter tools. I use Twitter app to manage my feed, Slices for feeds I follow, and HootSuite to manage everything else. Downloaded UberSocial a couple of weeks ago and giving it a trial run. (Takeaway from this line, I over complicate then don't understand why things are so complicated.)
6) Social Media learning curve. I'm still trying to understand retweeting and hashtags. I'd rather take a book to the face than get on Facebook but I may be relenting soon. Google+ is a complete mystery. Maybe Rosetta Stone can come up with a translation program. I'm pretty sure I occasionally violate online etiquette but I try not to make myself sound unintentionally stupid since I'm fully able to achieve absurdity on purpose.
7) Spelling. OMG. You would not believe how many times I misspelled words just writing this blog (including the word misspelled). How bad is it that I use Google as a spell checker?
8) Writing tools. I use "Scrivener for Windows" for writing. It's a wonderful tool but I only use roughly 25% of its functions. When I write using Word I typically suffer from anger control issues. (Cue Andy Griffith using worty-dirds.)
9) Writing time. I like to write early in the morning but have a hard time getting up. I like to write late at night but typically work makes me tired. By the time the house settles down I'm low on brain activity. Best writing time is when I'm at work. (Takeaway from this line, I need to quit my job and write for a living. I wonder if the nearest overpass gets a good Wi-Fi signal?)
10) MUST MAKE TIME TO WRITE. Excuses about not wanting to get up early or being too tired to write do not move the pages forward.
11) Thank you. For your patience while I develop this part of the game. For making it to the bottom of this list. For being a Twitter/Blog/Online friend.
What writing idiosyncrasies do you have?
(And look it up, I spelled idiosyncrasies right. At least Google says I did.)
(And look it up, I spelled idiosyncrasies right. At least Google says I did.)
C.L. Blanton
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