Hello writers! Some of you may already know this, but maybe some of you have never heard this before. Before you even start writing, you need to set up your environment for writing success!
“Set up your environment?” What do I mean by that?
Here’s the thing, my ideal environment to write in is up in the mountains of Big Bear, sitting on the deck of a two story cabin, the sky blue and the breeze light with birds chirping in the background with a cup of hot tea in my hands. However, as a full time professor, teacher, writer, and wife, my chances for retreating to the mountains are minimized. However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t manipulate my current environment.
What I find helpful is setting up a specific space designated specifically for writing. This space should be somewhere that you often find yourself when you are really ready to write. Maybe it’s your bedroom/dorm room, maybe it’s that coffee shop down the street, maybe it’s outdoors, or maybe it’s on the floor of your kid’s nursery (because you know as soon as you leave, they’ll wake up).
For me, my space is my kitchen table. There is plenty of room for me to spread out my laptop, my notebook, my resources, and hey! easy access to food and tea! I don’t have a home office so this table has quickly become my office space. Be inventive with your writing space! Make it your own, make it familiar, and make it encouraging to your writing process.
But before I can start writing I find that I need music. For me, that means turning on the Nordic playlist on Youtube which has already been modified by my thumbs up and down. These familiar songs automatically switch my brain into writing mode for my current YA Contemorary Fantasy piece: The Runic Saga.
Music is such a great motivator! Maybe you don’t have a specific playlist that comes to mind. Have you considered playing vido game music (specifically boss level music). If you aren’t sure what this means, in video games there is specific music that comes on when a character faces the ultimate bad-guy; this music has been specifically created to motivate the gamer and keep them engaged. In the same way, if you are having a hard time staying motivated, consider playing music from a popular video game. There are no lyrics to distract you (most likely) and it’s been specifically created to keep the listener activated in their task.
If that’s not your thing, consider playing soothing music in the background or simply your favorite playlist. Whatever you decide, try to keep it consistent. That way, when you hear the familiar music, you will automatically think that it is time to write!
This one might not be applicable to everyone, some of you might prefer to work in complete silence and that is okay! Whatever you do, try to control your environment the best you can. This might not always be possible so the important thing is to keep writing.
Let me know in the comments: How do YOU set your writing environment?
Happy Writing Everyone!
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