May 2005

 The year is rapidly turning to the summer for the northern hemisphere and the winter for the southern. What does this mean for our writing habits? Well…I don’t know about other writers, but my habits change drastically during the different seasons…even different times of the day.  

I actually get more inspiration during the summer than I do during the winter, and with the warmer weather, I get to sit outside and actually write outside of the four walls. But on the days that I have to write indoors, a lot of the time I prefer during the middle of the night….fewer distractions for me.  

The writing styles of different writers have always fascinated me. There are the types that have to be in a room with no windows and a door to separate them from the rest of the house. No sounds whatsoever can permeate this room. Then there are those that can write in the midst of screaming children. In addition, another type that has to be out in nature in order to write, or in coffee shops. Then you also bring into effect the ones that can only write when a certain mood hits them. Moreover, going even further from that, there are the types that can only write in word processors, those that can only write longhand, and then those that can mix both styles. And again, even a step further to those that can only write in the dead of the night, or when the sun is high, those that write almost non-stop and those that take breaks (long or short) in between each session… The list is endless. 

Just as each writer writes different styles, so does how they write affect their stories. 

Take a moment to think about how you write…Where do you have to be, or where do you prefer to be to write your stories? When can you write, during the day, during the night, a particular season, when a particular mood hits you? How do you write…do you need an inspiration, long hand, short hand, or something in between? Now think of some more questions to ask yourself so you can find out just what affects your writing. If you would like, you can make a three-column sheet. In the first column, put the things that affect your writing positively; in the middle column put what affects your writing neutrally; in the last column put what affects your writing adversely. 

Now when you think of these questions, and anything else that may affect your writing good, and bad, when the blocks come, if you can pull in some of the things that affect your writing positively it can help. 

Ah, but what if the blocks are there and you are doing what usually helps? Again, look at the list of questions, the ones posed here and the ones that you created, and look at your list of positive/neutral/negative factors and see where you can shake things up…maybe something that used to be negative is now neutral or positive and same with the neutral. 

If you have an idea how things affect your writing, then chances are, you will have a greater chance of successfully figuring out how to reverse the blocks. 

Happy writing!