Every Wednesday, I feature a writer/blogger and his/her workspace.  My aim is to get to know fellow bloggers/writers better through their workspace and writing habits. I also wanted my bloggy friends to share some of their writing wisdom here.

Today, I am most eager to welcome M.J. Fifield, author of that fun blog My Pet Blog

Welcome, M.J.!

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Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you do for a living? What genre do you love to write? What are some of your hobbies or interests? Do you have a hidden talent?

M.J. Fitfield

Hi.  My name’s M.J. and I live in New Hampshire’s Mount Washington Valley.  I work in retail by day and write by night.  My main genre has been epic fantasy for quite a long time now but I also like to write literary, YA, and chick lit.  I also dabble in poetry when the mood strikes me.  Outside of reading and writing, I enjoy hiking, kayaking and Boston sports.  And if I told you what my hidden talents were, they wouldn’t be hidden anymore, would they?  But don’t worry… I don’t really have any.

On Workspace

1.  Where do you do most of your writing?

I am fortunate enough to have an office in my house— an entire room devoted to my writing— so it’s there where I do the majority of my work.  On certain occasions, I also will work on the living room sofa or at the public library (even though I do tend to do too much people watching there).

2.  Where did you get your desk?  How did you go about arranging your work area?

My desk came from my local office supply store.  I picked it out because I thought it to be well suited for the corner of the room in which I wanted it to live.

M.J.’s desk

3.  What are some important things on your desk?  Are there specific things you need to have around you as you work?

In addition to all the technology, writing utensils (I am addicted to pens) and spiral bound notebooks, I have a pair of goblets my artistically inclined sister made for me.  They don’t hold mead but rather my indispensable supply of smarties and fun sized chocolate bars.

goblets of goodies

4.  What do you love most about your workspace? Do you have any favorite objects on your desk, or things you use often?

The thing I love most about my workspace is that it’s my workspace.  I love having a space specifically dedicated to writing.  My favorite objects are my mini bulletin board of flair (I love flair. Especially when it says something rude) and my giant six foot storyboard on which I lay out my story maps, calendars and other novel related whatevers.

M.J.’s Bulletin Board

5. What’s your writing beverage?  What do you love to drink while you’re writing?

Water.  Always water.  I find it helps to counteract all the sugar.

On Writing

1. Who is your favorite author?  Who inspired you to write?

In the seventh grade, I stumbled across Ellen Emerson White in the school library.  Well, all right, I stumbled across her books in the school library, although it would’ve been so awesome to stumble across her (it would still be so awesome, even if I’d gush over her and make a terrible fool of myself).  She wrote a series of YA novels that affected me as both a reader and a writer.  She really helped me figure out the notion of character and voice and for that, I will be forever grateful.  I am also rather obsessed with Joss Whedon.  The way that man tells a story is brilliant and if I could one day have a fraction of the talent that he has, I’ll die happy.

2. What’s your typical day as a writer like?  Do you have any writing related rituals or quirks?

When I first sit down at the computer, I check my email, Facebook and Twitter (yes, I might be a slight social media addict).  Sometimes I blog and read others’ blogs (never as often as I’d like).  Then, if I haven’t wasted all my time, I might actually do some writing.

3.  Do you write everyday?  How many hours a day do you spend writing?  What are some of your worst writing distractions?

I try to write every day.  Some days are more successful than others.  I don’t have a set number of hours; I just devote whatever time I can to it.  Some of my worst writing distractions are my day job, solitaire and/or Minesweeper, impromptu Buffy the Vampire Slayer and/or Firefly and/or Veronica Mars marathons, housework (why is the laundry never done?) and of course my two very mommy centric dogs.  They’re adorable so I let it slide.

M.J.’s doggy distractions

4. Why do you write?

I write; therefore I am.  I write because I am driven to do it.  Even when I hate it (and there are many days when I do), I still write because it’s in my blood.  It’s what I have to do and it’s what makes me me.

5. Any writing tips or techniques or words of wisdom you want to share with us?  How about a favorite writing quote?

Well, since I’m an unpublished nobody who can’t get her act together, I really don’t think I should be dispensing any wisdom but I’m going to do it anyway…  Editing/Proofreading is important.  If you don’t know the difference between “they’re, their, and there”, you should make the effort to find out.  But overall, I think if you want to be successful as a writer, you should probably do the exact opposite of everything I’ve ever done.  You’ll be a best selling millionaire in no time.

My favorite writing quote comes from Sir Philip Sydney (1554-1586): “‘Fool,’ my Muse said to me, ‘look in thy heart and write.’”

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Thanks, M.J., for giving us a glimpse into your writing life.

Wednesday Writer’s Workspace is an ongoing series, and if you’re interested in being featured here, simply leave me a message in the comment box, and I’ll be sure to email you.

Every Wednesday, I feature a writer/blogger and his/her workspace.  My aim is to get to know fellow bloggers/writers better through their workspace and writing habits. I also wanted my bloggy friends to share some of their writing wisdom here.

Today, I am most eager to welcome Golden Eagle, author of that information-packed blog The Eagle’s Aerial Perspective

Welcome, Golden Eagle!

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Tell us a little bit about yourself. What do you do for a living? What genre do you love to write? What are some of your hobbies or interests? Do you have a hidden talent?

My favorite genre to write is Science Fiction, because it gives you the opportunity to create a range of worlds and characters; I also enjoy Fantasy for the same reasons. Some of my hobbies or interests include writing—I suppose that one’s a little obvious? –reading, science, fiber art, and I’ve always loved collecting rocks. I don’t really do anything for a living at the moment—unless you count being a teenager.

On Workspace

1. Where do you do most of your writing?

I do most of my writing at the desk in the image. Occasionally I’ll write down ideas or a certain phrase if they come to me somewhere else, but the majority is typed into the computer.

2. Where did you get your desk? How did you go about arranging your work area?

It used to be my grandmother’s, I believe—my mom inherited it and now we both use it. I don’t really do much arranging of the work area, since most of the files I use (for writing, schoolwork, and just general stuff) are in Word, Excel, OneNote, or online. Except for the white paper you see on the second level down, above the printer; those are cluster diagrams which I do on paper, since it’s hard to do them in any program.

Golden Eagle’s Desk

3. What are some important things on your desk? Are there specific things you need to have around you as you work?

Just the computer, and the modem for the ever-important internet. I don’t tend to need certain objects to work; I figure so long as I have my brain, I can’t go seriously wrong.

4. What do you love most about your workspace? Do you have any favorite objects on your desk, or things you use often?

I like the fact there’s a lot of light, as you can sort of see in the picture. There are a series of five windows to the left shaped a bit like a bay window and a large one to the right, so there’s sunlight throughout the day. There aren’t really any favorite objects on the desk right now, though there is a book—and I love books.

5. What’s your writing beverage? What do you love to drink while you’re writing?

I always feel a bit nervous handling fluids around a computer, so I don’t tend to keep drink while I’m writing. I’d be too distracted about making sure I didn’t spill it on the keyboard or screen to get any words out. LOL.

On Writing

1. Who is your favorite author? Who inspired you to write?

Not just one! That’s such a hard choice. But if I had to pick . . . Isaac Asimov.

Glen Cook inspired me to write; not because I fell completely in love with his book The Dragon Never Sleeps, (which also introduced me to Space Opera/Science Fiction) but because I wanted to see more of that kind of world. So I got up and started writing a story with a setting similar to it.

2. What’s your typical day as a writer like? Do you have any writing-related rituals or quirks?

My typical day—not sure if I have one, really. I tend to write when the mood strikes me, though I do find that writing in the early/late afternoon causes me to be more productive.

As for quirks, I go through a long and arduous process of choosing a font and page size whenever I start a new project. A3, A4, A5? Calibri, Eurostile, Georgia, Times New Roman? To me, each has their own feel, and if I don’t match them up properly with the project I’ll get distracted and bothered by it.

3. Do you write everyday? How many hours a day do you spend writing? What are some of your worst writing distractions?

No, I don’t write every day. I try to work on my WIP/writing every day (even if that’s just brainstorming or reading a book on writing) but I don’t tend to write daily. I don’t think it’s a bad idea; I just don’t think it would work for me very well.

I’m always distracted by Entanglement. I’m not sure why, but if I start playing that game I could do so for an hour or two . . .

4. Why do you write?

Because it’s a way for me to create and express myself.

5. Any writing tips or techniques or words of wisdom you want to share with us? How about a favorite writing quote?

I’m not sure where I originally heard it, but the advice to just put your butt in your chair and start writing often helps get me over a writing slump or moving when I don’t really feel like churning out any words.

I’m terrible when it comes to remembering quotes (much less who said them), so I don’t have a favorite writing quote, though on a literary note—

“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read”—Groucho Marx

—always cracks me up.

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Thanks, Golden Eagle, for giving us a glimpse into your writing life.

Wednesday Writer’s Workspace is an ongoing series, and if you’re interested in being featured here, simply leave me a message in the comment box, and I’ll be sure to email you.