Writing Space Comfort #IWSG

Whether you like your writing space with a view, cluttered, or sparse, what is important is that you find a comfortable place to write.

This month's IWSG optional question is, What are five objects in your writing space?

I have more than five objects in my writing space because I find comfort in clutter. I have many knick knacks around me including a Master Chief on a Puma... ok, it's not a Puma. So I picked a few important things and took a photo. See above.

Because I find so many distractions on my computer, I handwrite my first drafts. Consequently I go through many purple pens. I depleted six purple pens for NaNoWriMo in November, completing the challenge at just shy of 62k words written. Yay. It's the most I've ever written in a month.

I also have copious amounts of note books in which to write. The paper is as important as the pens. Little A5 sized pages are easy to hold, easy to fill, and I know how many pages I need to complete to hit my daily goal. 

Then there is a mini desk fan to keep me cool in the Brisbane heat. Because I just feel sleepy when it's hot.

And the ball in the photo is a marble paperweight my brother bought me many years ago. Just because.

Oh, and for the fifth item, if you squint, you can see my whiteboard reflected in the paperweight. I love my whiteboard. Great for plotting, reminders, lists and doodles.

So how about you? What objects could I find in your writing space?

This post was written for the IWSG. Every first Wednesday of the month the members of our group post on their blogs about their writing insecurities or offer some encouragement to others. If you are new to the IWSG, then please go HERE

Don't forget, the  WEP Challenge is on now. Check out the details and sign up HERE. 



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I'd just like to wish everyone a special, peaceful Christmas. If you are looking for a gift for someone you love, please consider my daily devotional book, Cling to God. With a short devotional thought for every day of the year, my book can help you draw closer to God in this crazy busy world.

Amazon, Nook, B&N, Kobo, iTunes

A Writer's Tool: Observation

For the April A-Z Challenge I've written about a writer's tool: observation. You can read it over at the Insecure Writer's Support Group. I'd love to see you over there.

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Lately I haven't had the time to join many blogfests, but this blogfest caught my eye. Co-compiled by Carrie Butler and PK Hrezo, How I Found the Write Path is an exciting project aimed to help and encourage writers everywhere. The end result will be a collaborative eBook which will be free to download. 

THE PROMPT: 

Write a letter/note to yourself when you first started writing toward publication. Keep it under 800 words, including as many (or as few) of these elements as you like:

   - A lesson you learned the hard way

   - Something you didn’t expect about the industry (positive/negative)

   - A writing-related resource you could never do without now

   - One thing you’d change about your journey

   - One thing you’re glad you did

   - Your number one tip for pursuing publication

   - Anything else you feel is worth passing on 

Then post during the week of May 19th. For more information or to sign up, click HERE. 

And don't forget to visit me over at the IWSG website. 

Please note, as mentioned in my last post, I won't be around as much for the next couple of weeks (at least) due to my Mystery Project. More on that later. 

Wednesday Writers Workspace

Today, I'm excited to say, I'm over at The Writing Nut where Nuschell is interviewing me for the Wednesday Writers Workspace feature.

Please pop on over to find out a little more about where and how I write.

Click HERE.

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I'd also like to thank Christine Rains. I recently won first prize in The Marquis giveaway. I received a digital copy of The Marquis, an ARC of The Alpha, and a signed copy of Fearless which arrived in the mail this morning!

Thank you so much!!

Don't forget to pop on over to the Wednesday Writers Workspace interview.

Writers' Tools: Empathy

"Writers don't write from experience, although many are hesitant to admit that they don't. ...If you wrote from experience, you'd get maybe one book, maybe three poems. Writers write from empathy." Nikki Giovanni

Like the trusty pen, not-so-trusty computer and nifty internet, empathy is also an invaluable tool for writers.

Empathy is the ability to put ourselves in the proverbial shoes of others, to understand their feelings, thoughts and motivations. In terms of writing, it's an ability to connect with our readers.

How to improve your empathy:
Observations: To gain a higher level of empathy we need to pay attention to everything that goes on around us. Not just to the people around us, but to all the sights, sounds, smells and everything that makes up the atmosphere of a place and a person. It's so easy to let life pass us by without noticing those details.

Know your audience: This is a classic piece of writers' advice. As much as we start out writing for ourselves, if we want to get published we also need to write for our audience. This means understanding who they are, what they want, and what kind of issues they'll respond to.

Personal experience: To understand others, we need to have an understanding of ourselves. This takes a certain level of honesty because I think it's important to know why we react to certain stimuli, and to know the true motives behind our actions. The truth isn't always what we may want or expect.

Exposure to life: I believe it's also important to broaden our experiences. Because I travelled the world in my twenties, I have a lot of different cultures and people to draw from. If we stay behind our desks and do nothing but write, then how can we learn and enrich our writing?

Imagination: Looking through another's perspective isn't an easy task and requires some practice and imagination. Encourage daydreaming. Take time out to simply think, imagine, role play.

Read a lot: Apparently in studies a connection has been found between reading a lot of fiction and having a higher level of empathy. I believe it's because stories throw the reader into the minds of a huge variety of characters in a broad range of situations they wouldn't have otherwise experienced.

Can you think of other ways of improving your empathy? What have you done to hone that particular writing tool?

Thanks: Debbie Johansson recently gave me the 7x7 Award. Thank you so much!

Pic: A watchful surfguard at a beach at Port Stephens, Australia.

Writers’ Tools: The Whiteboard

When we think of writers’ tools we think of pens, paper, computer, dictionary, thesaurus, but we have so many possible tools available to us. Today I’ll talk about the humble whiteboard.

I’m a visual person who for a long time earned a living in graphic design and animation. I work best when I can see as a whole the story I’m trying to write. This is where the whiteboard comes in. It’s like storyboarding for animation, only I don’t draw the scenes, I write them up in their basic form.

As you can see in the picture, I also use post-it notes for more detail. The pink ones are major turning points in the story. I also have green ones for character arcs. I’ve written up a timeline in orange pen so I can keep track of passing time in the novel. I’ve also written how each chapter ends in purple. Usually it’s not as full-on as you see in the picture, but I’m nearing the end of the project and I’ve added detail along the way.

I bought a second whiteboard for problem solving and idea generation simply because I like to spread out. I’ve been busy tying up loose ends and working on plausibility so I can leave my readers with a sense of satisfaction at the end of the novel.

In general whiteboards help me think. I could do the same work on a large piece of paper but I like the ease of erasing failed ideas on a whiteboard. I could use digital tools but it’s refreshing to get away from the computer.

What do you use to develop your ideas?

Note: this post is in answer to Carol @ Artzicarol Ramblings who wanted to know how I use my whiteboards.