Workspace Week: The Missing Post

Okay, those of you who keep a close eye on the blog will know that not only did I miss last week's post (it was a very busy week at the day job, plus I then wound up watching the rather excellent BURIED and finishing the evening at a pub on Thursday night) but because I was off touring, I also missed Workspace week.

So here we are.

How do I work?

Well, that's a whole question in there, but let's look at my workspace.

Starting with wide angle shot, you can see I've cornered off part of my flat to work in. The PC is set up there with my printer and so forth ready for action. You'll notice that desk is untidy. That is part if my thing. I am a naturally chaotic person. One of my former bosses compared me to "Pigpen" from Peanuts. He wasn't far wrong. I don't have a tidy mind, and I find it hard to keep a tidy desk. You'll see DVD covers from things that I watch in between writing bursts, books that I've been using for whatever reason, bits of paper I need to refer to... all kinds of chaos.

But what's that on the wall?

Its a brilliant print by some Spanish artist (iirc, my mum and dad brought it back from holidays once) called Bellver. It is awesome, and I think I can see something of Chandler in the poor guy being smacked by the gun.

And yes, that is my Shamus nomination there, too.

Lots and lots of book covers and promo stuff on the wall, too. Why? For the most part, its books and people I love and serves as inspiration. The notice board has a lot of crap on it, too. Including my business card files and all sorts.

Most weekends and evenings you'll find me in this corner, typing away like a bastard. Other times I might be on a netbook while on a train or in a hotel room. I have a corner of Mum and Dad's place I work when I'm there, too. Essentially I'll work anywhere, but when it comes to proper final revisions, this is the corner where you'll find me.

My writing ritual tends to be a lot of banging at the keyboard. Some standing up and walking around. Some more sitting and bashing. Some swearing. And then taking a break to watch some DVDs. Usually on that lovely screen so I don't have to leave the room and can pause and return to work if inspiration should suddenly strike.

And, yes, mum, I do occasionally tidy up there... but only when I know you're coming to visit...

It's A Process

by: Joelle Charbonneau

Okay, I know that everyone has been posting about their writing workspaces this week. The thing is – I’ve been on the road a lot for the past couple weeks, which means my workspace has been my android phone. And while the keyboard is great for texting or typing out a short e-mail – it isn’t all that great for writing. In fact, I haven’t had a great deal of time to write which is starting to make me a little nuts. (Yeah – I’m always nuts, but the lack of writing if making more wacky than usual.)

However, this week at Bouchercon I’ve had a great time talking about writing. More to the point, talking about the process of writing. The one thing you learn while talking to lots of other writers over a short period of time is how similar and also how very different we all are. Yes – we all write stories. Some of us write on the lighter side of crime fiction while others (and by others know that I am pointing at the other seven writers of this blog) create the darker, more intense crime fiction.

However beyond genre or publishing experience, we are also all different in our writing process. Some writers create an outline and write using that as a map to get them to the end. This sounds fabulous and organized and should be something I do. But I can’t. I cannot write from an outline to save my soul. I figure out what the end of chapter one is before I start typing. Once I have that I put my fingers to the keyboard and wait to see what happens. Yep – I write by the seat of my proverbial pants and hope to God that I manage to create an interesting and readable story along the way. Getting to the end is often fraught with “What happens next?” and a lot of head banging, but eventually I get to the end.

Now, the bashing my head against a brick wall and scratching my noggin to decide where my plot is supposed to be going doesn’t sound like much fun – even to me. On the days where I haven’t a clue what I’m supposed to be writing next, I long for the ability to write from an outline. Too bad every time I try it, my writing comes to a screeching halt and my story no longer wants to go into the direction the outline says it should.

This Bouchercon, I learned I’m in good company with my lack of outlining skills. Reed Farrel Coleman and I talked about our process (or what might seem like a lack thereof) after hours in the bar. We both write without outlines, but other authors swear by them. Each author has a way he or she needs to work to create a story. What is right for one author will get another author stuck in the mud. Process is intensely personal for each author. Reed believed that it is easier for an author to change their routine (such as the time of day they write or their workspace – see there is the workspace theme!) than it is to change their process. I agree. Do you? What is your process? Have you tried to change it? And if you did try to change your process, did that change work for you?

Writing Space Week: The Texas Edition

by
Scott D. Parker

When I made the decision to start writing stories, I dreamed of a place, a perfect place, to write. What I got was a lesson.

What I wanted was to find--or, rather, create--the perfect space. In my head were visions of rooms with dark paneling, floor to ceiling shelves lined with thick, leather-bound volumes, and a massive wooden desk complete with blotter, ink well, and old paper. Not a smoker, I wondered if I could find incense with the essence of tobacco, just to give this fantasy room the final nudge. Not a hunter, I thought about buying random stuffed heads of wild animals.

Then, reality. At the time, I didn't have a space that could be wholly devoted to my writing. We had a guest room and, in a corner, I had a space. It was right next to the closet, one with accordion doors that pinioned outward into the room. With my small desk, half of the closet door would not be able to open. On this desk (really a converted server table I bought from my company) I had my old Mac PowerBook, ergonomic keyboard, and mouse. Setting this machine up for wireless Internet was possible, but it was a pain, so I rarely did it. In this little niche, I wrote my first novel.

There was a consistent problem, however. Whenever guests arrived, me and my gear would be evicted to another part of the house. Frankly, it irritated me, but what could I do? It was during one of those times in the domestic wilderness that I realized what I didn't need: the perfect place to write.

Like Dave mentioned on Thursday when he described his writing space, I’ve learned to write in just about any place I can. When I go on vacations, I make it a rule not to take my newer MacBook Pro. I use paper and pens. It allows me to continue the composition, but not be chained to my computer during vacations. One of those vacations (to Bandera, Texas), we stayed at a rustic bed and breakfast. It had a separate bedroom, a living room, and, in one corner, an old school writing table. I wrote every night on that table and fell in love with it. Upon our return, I put a call in to my dad, the son of a carpenter and quite a fine craftsman himself. I described the writing table and asked if he could build me one.

Well, he did. This is it, in the Room Formerly Known As The Guest Room. We converted our front room to a guest room, thereby finally giving me an honest and for true Writing Room. And, yes, that’s what we call it in the house. There, on the left part of the desk, is my modest To Be Read stack. I have taken to keeping it somewhat short so I can actually complete it. Notice the non-paperback there: my autographed copy of Russell McLean’s The Good Son. The white stack of paper is the draft of a current collaboration I’m working on with another writer. The one sheet of yellow paper is my goals for the fall. The pencil cup on the left is one I made. It has a simple mantra: “Just write.” The photo is of my two cats, both of whom died within two months of each other this year. My son placed it there and I’ve yet to move it. The Bluetooth keyboard there in the middle is linked to my iPod Touch. Yes, I write on the iPod Touch. I use the new PlainText app (from Hog Bay Software) that links to my Dropbox folder. Therefore, I’m never far from a writing surface (be it electronic or the notecards I sometimes carry around). That wooden stool on the floor is for my feet when I’m blazing away. Oh, and that framed picture on the wall? That’s a copy of the news piece I wrote remembering David Bloom. It’s my first piece I officially published.

Now, you may be wondering where my MacBook is. Well, it’s still there. I move it to my writing desk when I want to sit and write. Other times, however, it lives at my standing desk. I have discovered the joy of standing to write. It's exciting, it keeps me focused, and, during exciting action scenes, I actually started tapping my foot and shifting my weight back and forth. I built a small stand to raise the level of the screen while being opening underneath to keep the machine cool. There’s my mouse and ergonomic keyboard. On the right, tacked to the wall, is my large sheet of paper where I write all my story ideas. That bookshelf on the left was built by my grandfather. And, yes, that is my set of longhorns I earned by being in the University of Texas Longhorn Band for five years. Hook 'em!

So, that’s my writing space at home. But, as I’ve written here before, I can and do write anywhere on anything. I write on the iPod when standing in line at the grocery. I write on notecards when I'm out and don't have my iPod with me. I keep a notebook in my car to jot down ideas. I write at home, at night, on my writing desk or at my standing desk. No, my writing space is not a wood-paneled room, but I've learned that I don't really need that, either.

Hey! Get outta my workspace

By Dave White

Sorry. Not a fancy guy here. No desks, no posters, no bookshevles. Just a laptop and a couch.

I used to write in an office in the corner of my parents' basement. I used an old IBM Aptiva that had been in the family since 1995. I graduated to writing on a DELL in the same corner.

Then I moved out and got myself a nice Dell Inspiron, and my own room. I set up a desk in that room, against a wall, my back to the TV and the rest of the room. Since then I've bounced all over the place. often, though, I've found myself writing on couches.

Now that I've moved in with my wife, I usually write like this:



Sometimes, if I feel like sitting up, I'll rest the laptop here:



I don't really have many options right now. I need to write in house--at least when I'm drafting--because I need the wifi. Beyond that, I write where I can. Would I rather have an office with bookshelves behind me or cool photos surrounding me? Absolutely.

But that's not an option right now.

So I do what I can. I think this is why I'm so caught up in "writing everyday" and worrying about getting words on the computer. Because if I get wrapped into the whole "mystique" of writing, I'll never get anything done. I don't have an area that I can go to find the muse.

I have a couch.

I have some music I can put on.

When I'm revising, and I know what I'm going to do next, I usually go to a coffee shop. One that makes you pay for the internet. Because I can't have the distraction.

But either way, where I write is not as important. What is important to me, is actually writing.

And I can do my best to get that done anywhere.

Everyday.

Work Space Week -Taking Your Element With You.

By Jay Stringer

When Bryon suggested we steal -I mean honour- Murderati's work space idea, I thought it sounded great.

My mind came alive with ideas. I could talk about my routine, and the reasons I chose my work space. I could talk about the way I had to have the pens all lined up in a certain way, and the desk had to be facing the midlands at all times. Furthermore, I could pretend that the lay out of my work space offered some great insight into my writing process.

There was just one problem.

I didn't have a work space.

Okay, I have one by default. I mean, wherever I lay my hat, right? My 'workspace' is really just my macbook. The rest is optional. I've tried, don't get me wrong. When we moved into our current flat, I claimed a spot in the kitchen and set up a writing desk. I bought a printer to put on the desk, and a little metal container to fill with pens. I spent a summer trying to use it as my office, and settled into a routine of sitting there for a couple of hours every night to write.

The result was a very cluttered desk, piled high with plates, half-read novels and re-read comic books. And lots of coffee. But writing? Not so much.

I have friends who go through the same ritual; a new home is a chance to plan out a new writing space. It works for them, but not for me. I found that time spent thinking about these things was time that I could have spent writing.

The protagonist of Jim Dodge's Not Fade Away liked to say that he was never in our out of his element- he took his element with him. And I've found that's me and writing. My workspace is wherever I am. My first book was written on the floor, in the bedroom and on long train journeys. My second was written mostly on the sofa that i'm sitting on right now.

The third? Who knows.

The only time I really complain about my dyslexia is when it limits this mobility. To be really productive I need my laptop. Sure, I've always been a scribbler, I always have one of my notebooks on me, but their use is limited. I can make brief notes. The odd line of dialogue, or a character name, maybe half a paragraph. Anything more than that is a waste of time and ink, because I won't be able to read it later. For that reason i'm thinking I might sell my soul for an ipad, because it might give me even more options.