The Writing Nut

I was doing some research for a blog post featuring famous writers’ desks, when curiosity overcame me and I began to wonder what my writer/blogger friends’ desks or workspaces looked like.

And that’s when the idea for this (awesome) blog series popped up. I wanted to get to know my writer/blogger friends through a guest post featuring their workspace and their own writing processes. I thought it would be a great way for all of us to learn more about each other, as well as share writing wisdom.

I’m trying to get through a list of 409 bloggy friends, so if you haven’t received your email invites yet, fear not. I’ll get to you one of these days.  But if you’re eager to do this guest post, please feel free to leave me a message. I’ll be more than happy to accommodate you, as I’m desperately trying to fill up all the Wednesdays of the year.

And just to give you all an idea of how cool it’ll be to get this rare glimpse into each other’s writing lives, I’m going to kick off the Wednesday Writer’s Workspace Series.

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On Workspace

1. Where do you do most of your writing?

I have a home office I love, and a desk I love even more. Here’s what it looks like:

Home Office

Sadly, I only get to use this desk at night and on weekends.

I have a 9-6 job, and that’s where I try to sneak in most of my writing. Here’s what my work office desk looks like:

Work Office Desk

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

I got my desk on sale at Office Depot. It has a deep filing cabinet where I keep some papers, a drawer where I keep some office supplies and a space for my large CPU.

I try to keep small things within reach such as pens, staplers and so on.

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

My computer was actually a gift from my two best friends Maiko and Lena. I bought the big monitor a couple of years ago and just last Christmas my really Techy best buddy Lena decided I needed an extra monitor so she gave that as a gift. It’s actually made working so much easier.

The most important thing on my desk is my 1GB portable hard drive (it’s a Western Digital, in case you’re interested). It contains all my pictures, music, important documents and everything related to my writing. I carry it everywhere and bring it with me to work everyday.

My portable hard drive

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

I love everything in my home office. I’m surrounded by beloved books and some fantasy toys & signs which inspire my imagination.  I’ve also got a backlit keyboard that I got on sale—I think it looks pretty cool and reminds me of Tron for some reason.

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

I love drinking tea! I like trying all kinds, but I love black tea and white tea in particular.

One of my most favorite Christmas gifts is the Bird Pick Tea Infuser. I need to have that along with my Mr. Coffee Mug Warmer every time I sit down to work. I use it 5 days a week at work and bring it home with me on the weekends. I add hot water to a teaspoon of tea leaves, and when its dark enough, I just remove the tea infuser’s strainer and drink straight from it.

Tea Infuser and Mug Warmer

On Writing

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

Shakespeare actually inspired me to write. I love how creative and versatile he was, and how his works have lasted through the centuries.

I have so many favorite authors, it’s hard to pick one. DJ Machale’s Pendragon series gave me ideas for my own first book, but I have to say JK Rowling inspired me to write in the Fantasy genre.

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

The first thing I do before I sit down to work is brew myself some tea. I check and respond to emails, Facebook & Twitter messages, work on SCBWI and CBW-LA things, and then get down to 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 everyday or at least do something related to my own writing. My Write On group has been very helpful in keeping me on track. I try to sneak in a couple or more hours of writing in my work office (Depending on whether I’ve finished my workload for the day). A home, I try to read writing books before I sleep.

Distractions at work are varied and innumerable. The boss’s demands always come first, and little tasks that need to be done right away often get in the way of writing. I’ve learned to write in the face of distractions.

At home, the distractions are much cuter:

Muffin enjoying my desk

Muffin and Millie in the office

4. Why do you write?

I write because there is no other way for me to be myself but through writing.

Writing makes me happy.

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

The road to publication is long and hard, and the people who do get published are the ones who never wane in their passion for writing, and the ones who never quit dreaming and working toward their dreams. I hope to outlast my disappointments and doubts and one day see my name in print.

Some of my favorite quotes:

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say. – Anais Nin

The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new. – Samuel Johnson

Never give up. It only takes one person to say yes. – Lauren Kate, author of the Fallen Series.

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Thanks for dropping by! If you’re interested in being a part of this series, please do let me know. I hope to see your workspace one day.

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New bloggy friends Jacob Adams over at Dream Scape, and D.G. Hudson of Rainforest Writing have TAGGED me.

The RULES are: I answer 11 questions, make up 11 questions of my own and tag 11 other writers.

Since I’ve been tagged twice, I’ve decided to just pick an equal number of questions from DG and Jacob to answer.

Here are my answers to Jacob and DG’s combined questions.

1. What is the one author you can’t refuse?

JK Rowling. I’d buy any book she writes.

2. How long have you blogged?

I’m going to celebrate 2 years this May. Watch out for giveaways!

3. Do you listen to music while writing or prefer silence? (Both Jacob and DG asked this question)

I like to listen to soundtracks or instrumental music while I’m writing.

4. Do you have a pet?

Yup. 2 snuggly lap kitties—Muffin and Millie

5. To you, what’s the hardest thing about writing?

Revising that very rough first draft into a decent manuscript

6. What beverage is beside you while you’re writing?

Hot tea. Lots of it.

7. Movie night: Comedy, Sci-Fi, Romance, or Horror?

I could watch anything except for slapstick comedy or horror.  Mostly I like watching Fantasy/Action-Adventure

8. Do you pick male or female protagonists the most when you write?

I prefer male protagonists, though I write both.

9. Favorite season?

Spring. Though summer comes in close second.

10. Where do you write?

Mostly I sneak in writing time when I’m at my 9-6 job. One of the reasons I stick to my workplace, despite the unsatisfying salary, is that I get to write as long as I’m done with my work.

11. Would you live on the moon or Mars if ever given a chance? Why or Why not?

Nope. I love Earth too much. I’d like to visit though.

Here are the bloggy friends I’m Tagging:

1. Sophia Chang at Sophia the Writer

2. Karen Strong at Karen Strong.Com

3. Julie Flanders at What Else is Possible?

4. Veronica Singleton at Thursday’s Child

5. Lynda Young at WIP It: A Writer’s Journey

6. Elise Allen at Elise Allen.com

7. Rosalind Adam at Rosalind Adam is Writing in the Rain

8. Heather Smith Meloche at Heather Smith Meloche

9. Julie Musil at Julie Musil.com

10. Laurisa White Reyes at A Thousand Wrongs

11. Elizabeth Briggs at Liz Writes

Here are my (very random) Questions for the tagged:

1. What’s your ultimate caffeine source?
2. If you were stranded on an island, what book would you like to have with you?
3. Favorite music source? (Radio, Pandora, Spotify, CD, Ipod, etc)
4. Author you’d like to emulate?
5. Favorite day of the week?
6. Favorite TV show?
7. Movie you’re planning to watch on the big screen?
8. Actor/Actress you’d most like to meet?
9. Author you’d love to have lunch with?
10. Favorite Writing book?
11. Harry Potter or Twilight?

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First of all, I’d like to give a warm welcome to my new minions friends! I’m so glad you decided to drop by and add yourselves to my awesome friends list.

Thank you, too, to my old friends—for sticking around even if I don’t get to visit you as often as I’d like. You all are so precious, and I’m grateful for your presence.

Holy cow! 309 bloggy friends! I have to celebrate and thank you all properly, and I promise another cool giveaway is in the works.

Eherm. Before I get teary-eyed just thinking about how wonderful you all are, let me proceed with my blog post for today.

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So I was doing a little research for my Setting up Shop (A Writer’s Space) blog series, when I came across several interesting articles on famous writers desks. I thought I’d share some of my favorites with you.

But before I do—

Thanks to these pictures, I just had a crazy idea. I’d like to know what your desk looks like. (No, don’t look behind you, I’m talking to you, the smart one reading my blog

I’m thinking of doing a series of blog posts featuring one writer/blogger friend a week. I’d like to see what your desk looks like and know a little bit about your creative process. It’ll be a great way for me to get to know you, and for me to introduce to you my blog readers. It’ll also be an awesome way for us all to learn more about the writing process from each other. I’m already so excited to get to know you better.

What do you say? Yes? Great! I knew you’d agree. So wait for my email, okay? (I’m planning to go through my list and hopefully send all 309 of you this fun email invite).

Ok, now that I’ve got that out of my system, here are the pictures I promised, in no particular order.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s Desk

Charlotte Bronte’s Desk

Virginia Woolf’s Desk

George Bernard Shaw’s Desk

C.S. Lewis’s Desk

Mark Twain’s Desk

Leo Tolstoy’s Desk

Jane Austen’s Desk

Charles Dicken’s Desk

Rudyard Kipling‘s Desk

Roald Dahl’s Desk

Don’t these desks just inspire you?

If you want to see more pictures of famous authors/people’s desks, here are some links:

http://bookaccessories.sc7.biz/2010/03/05/writing-desks-of-famous-authors/

http://flavorwire.com/151458/desks-of-the-rich-and-famous-workspaces-of-highly-creative-people

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/series/writersrooms

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Writing is a long journey, and if we wish to never tire and leave the writing path, we must celebrate every milestone and rejoice after each objective we accomplish.

Yesterday, after 3 months, I finally finished the 2^nd draft of my YA manuscript.

It feels like such a great accomplishment, and yet I find myself already looking forward to the next step—re-plotting, re-arranging and re-writing.

I have to remind myself to stop and savor the moment. I’m itching to rip the thing apart and make it better, but I know I have to pause—not only for my sake but for the manuscript’s sake as well.

I have to gain some emotional distance from my work and set it aside first. The more time I spend away from it, the more I can come back to it with an editor’s eye.

The problem is, I get restless when I’m not working on my manuscript. So to calm my writerly urges while I’m letting my novel marinate, I plan to work on my story, without actually rewriting it.

How?

1. I’m going to write scene summaries (1-3 sentences) for every scene of my story. I’m not going to rearrange sentences, replace words or figure out how to make it better. All I’m going to do is summarize what happens in the scene. I’ll take note of elements that are already within the scene—like important details in the plot I had chosen to include, the setting, characters, objects, and even the scene’s purpose or function.

2. I’m going to think deeply about my characters. I’ll try and pin down the voice they have, their real goals and motivations, their flaws and strengths, their backstories. I’ll go through the original character arcs I had made for them, and figure out what has changed, or what needs to change in the next draft.

3. Finally, while my manuscript is stewing in its own juices, I’m going to be reading tons of writing books.

I actually started reading Your First Novel by Ann Rittenberg & Laura Whitcomb a week before I finished my manuscript, and it’s giving me tons of great tips and ideas for rewrites. (Thanks for the Christmas present, Lissa!)

Of course, I won’t forget to celebrate my latest achievement. I’m going to treat myself (and perhaps a few close friends) to a nice dinner, and maybe watch a new movie or something at home.

I’d like to know what you, fellow writer friends, do after you’ve finished a draft. Do you also set your manuscript aside for awhile? What are some of the things you do while giving your story time to settle?

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I’ve always complained to anyone who would listen (mostly to my cats), that I have to practically force myself to find the time to write.

Between house chores, martial arts classes, family duties, blogging, SCBWI Board duties, CBW-LA Officer duties and various writing events, I have little time and energy to actually sit down and do something I have to do (and love to do)—write.

A solution to this pesky problem arrived in the form of a little group called Write on to Build On.

Founded by teacher and blogger extraordinaire Theresa Milstein, who runs the blog Theresa’s Tales of Teaching Tribulations and Typing Teen Texts (whew!), Write on to Build On aims to motivate writers to write everyday.

Here’s the group description as posted by Theresa:

This group was founded on 01/10/2012 to motivate us to write. Any day we don’t write, we’ll owe $1 to the charity Build On. We can check our totals every three months to see how we’ve done and make our donation. Besides posting here, we should keep a personal account of the days we don’t write. Writing a rough draft or editing counts, as does working on short stories, vignettes, and flash fiction. Let’s post and make a comment thread of our daily progress at the end of each day.

So far there are 8 of us in the group. Our members include prolific bloggers–

like Lydia Kang, who blogs at The World is My Oyster, and who is co-coordinator for the group;

Ann, of Inkpots and Quills,

Robyn Campbell of Putting Pen to Paper,

Susan Oloier, of Memoirs of a Writer,

Crystal Collier of Compulsive Creator,

And Sharon of Random Thoughts.

Since I joined last week, I’ve pretty much managed to write something everyday (6674 words so far). Like Lydia, I count blog posts as writing, although some of our members don’t. We also count rewrites, editing, or anything really that makes us feel like we’re doing something to improve our writing career.

We do a progress report everyday. We tell each other what we’ve done with our day in terms of writing (and sometimes in terms of the daily toils of life), and we give each other support and encouragement.

So far I owe the group $2, and that’s because I had already made plans to take the last weekend of January off to just relax and take a breather after the crazy holidays.

The great thing about joining the group is that now I feel motivated to write, because I’m held accountable by a group of fellow writers who are trying to achieve the same goals as I am. I like the thought of being able to report that I’ve written 200 new words so far, or that I managed to sneak in some time to edit, or rewrite. If I have nothing to report, it just pushes me to do better the next day

And actually, I don’t feel as bad about not being able to write for the day because I know that $1 which I have to cough up will go to a great charity.

I’m grateful to be a part of this group of wonderful, driven, and determined writers, and I’m looking forward to logging in more writing time (and thereby increasing my skills as a writer).

If you want to know more about the group and how it  started, you can read Theresa’s post here.

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