Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related What are your Writuals?

oooh! I should have looked into the thread the other day, shouldn't I? I saw the title, it didn't ring a bell and... then I forgot all about it. *lol*

Where are you?
When I write, I'm usually sitting on my couch, at home.

What are you writing with?
My laptop. I could never write anything while sitting at my desktop computer because I hated the keyboard. And while I will jot down notes in a notebook while I'm on the bus, they usually end up completely different when I type them up, so those only really count as ideas.

What's the oddest object in front of you?
You'll usually find a certain number of plastic knives on my coffee table. Seriously...

What are you listening to?
Whatever I'm into at the moment is fine. And it's playing loud, too.

When I'm doing NaNoWriMo, though, it seems like the best choice is instrumental, mood type music. The first year, I listened to the Superman Returns soundtrack non-stop. The second, I mostly listened to the Batman Begins soundtrack. *g*

Is there anyone else in the room?
Sometimes, but that's not when I do my best writing for sure.

What time of day is it?
Evening and well into the night. Writing at 2AM is pure joy.

What do you look at when you're looking for inspiration?
The inside of my eyelids. (I close my eyes and drift away to where the characters live, in my head)

What is guaranteed to remove your concentration?
Anything that's moving in front of my eyes (ie: the TV, MSN windows popping up, Eric walking around the room) also, tiredness and hunger.

Thank you. That definitely clarified the very strange mental picture I had going on.

I haven't witten any full-fledged Lois & Clark fiction yet, but I do write... stuff. And this poll is so cool.

Where are you?
At my L-shaped desk, overlooking the lake and mountains (when it's not foggy / cloudy).

What are you writing with?
Microsoft Word on my laptop. (It's a Tablet, so I sometimes write down outlines instead of typing them.)

What's the oddest object in front of you?
A holder containing dozens of bookmarks including a piece of Persian rug, a knight-shaped sheet of metal, a cardboard piece with my name written in several languages, etc.

What are you listening to?
Either Hindi songs or instrumental music. Mostly I switch it on during research or timeouts, not while writing. Sometimes there's television in the background (and I mean background literally since it's behind me).

Is there anyone else in the room?
Nope, I only write when I'm alone. And it's not really an issue now-a-days since I live alone

What time of day is it?
Varies, I write as a break from my studies (research) although somedays it seems to be the other way round

What do you look at when you're looking for inspiration?
Use Google Images to search for whatever I'm writing about or... take a nap, a thinking nap :p

What is guaranteed to remove your concentration?
Loud sudden noises of any kind. It could be as normal as the phone ringing.

Well, this'll prolly be boring as all get-out, but since you asked...

Where are you?

In my room, preferably. The door is locked and the curtains are closed.

What are you writing with?

My computer. I've tried writing the old fashioned way, but it just isn't fast enough for me and I like being able to erase things every two seconds without worrying about damaging paper.
ETA: Specifically, it has to be WordPad. I'm very picky about the program. I used to use Write, but that apparently became obsolete, and so when I got my new computer I had a difficult time adapting.


What's the oddest object in front of you?

...object? *looks up from computer screen* Holy cow, there's a desk here! Okay, seriously, it usually depends on where I am. Right now, I'd say it's an empty vase.

What are you listening to?

Silence. Deafening silence. Unless I'm taking a break, in which case it's an assortment of techno, bollywood-soundtracks, old rock, and the occasional polka.

Is there anyone else in the room?

No. No! NO! Not if I can help it at all. In fact, not only is nobody *in* the room, but I take pains to ensure that nobody will see/hear anything from outside.

What time of day is it?

It's not day at all. It's the dead of night, and I ought to be asleep because I have school/projects/loafing to do the next day.

What do you look at when you're looking for
inspiration?

I have an animation cell from Batman: The Animated Series hanging on my wall (at home). Any cartoon-style image of Batman and/or Superman will do in a pinch. Lately, I've been resorting to my *cough* *mumble* homemade dollies of superman and lois lane with a baby *mumble* *cough*.

What is guaranteed to remove your concentration?
A knock on the door. Similarly, a phone call. Being otherwise hailed.

To a lesser extent: Loud sounds/music. A stray thought or tangent that leads to another possible storyline. Suddenly remembering something else I'd wanted to do.... The list goes on.

Misc.

I have to be able to move while I'm thinking. I've been that way since I was a kid. It embarrasses me, which is why I'm so seclusive while I'm writing. See, I don't just pace the way people do in movies...I have to jump, dance, hop, act out karate-moves, etc. Thus, it was a bit of a nightmare for me when we once moved to a tiny apartment with paper-thin walls...

OK, so Labrat gets to be a cute rat, and I'm a pink blob with no legs?

Sounds about right.

Mary, that's hilarious! Poor Jenn.

LabRat

This so totally true for me. The days I read fic are definitely not my writing days.

alcyone

I actually did some fic writing this weekend for the first time in over a year. This story may get finished eventually after all.

Anyway, since I've been writing, I thought I'd come in an answer this poll.


Where are you? I need to be comfy and alone, so I'm on my bed in my bedroom. When I lived alone I wrote in my living room, but now that I have roommates I stick to the privacy of my bedroom.
What are you writing with? My laptop. Sitting at the desktop isn't comfy enough for writing fic.
What's the oddest object in front of you? 3+ years of Entertainment Weekly covers wallpapered across the wall.
What are you listening to? The clacking of my fingers on the keyboard.
Is there anyone else in the room? No way! If the roommates come knocking I shut the computer.
What time of day is it? Usually evening. I write best after dinner, but my concentration starts to deteriorate around 9 or 10 o'clock.
What do you look at when you're looking for inspiration? Something associated with what I'm writing, like the trailer or my notes or episodes that the fic is based on.
What is guaranteed to remove your concentration? Anyone being in the room.

~Anna

Where are you? I have this chair I got from a website company I used to work for, but the warehouse location closed and since I was the clean up crew I took the chair home with me. that chair is in front of a desk I also brought home with me and they are both located in my dining area which is attached to my living room, no privacy what so ever!!! and I intend to keep it that way even when I move to Arizona.

What are you writing with? Microsoft Works Word Processor, but I wish it had a better thesaurus so I wouldn't have to go online for synonyms

What's the oddest object in front of you?a Kill Bill DVD in its case

What are you listening to? the hum of my CPU

Is there anyone else in the room?my daughters tend to wander through and the oldest is sleeping on the couch tonight because the shadows in her room are giving her the willies. (she's seen Final Destination too many times)

What time of day is it? late evening

What do you look at when you're looking for inspiration? Sue fic, Kathy B fic, episodes of LNC, Johanna Lindsey, George RR Martin

What is guaranteed to remove your concentration? the Mahjong tile on my start up sequence or a nine year old rustling around in the kitchen, sound of cat sharpening claws on the back of my crappy office chair, or hubby(when he's near) wanting to talk politics. Sometimes I get so involved reading the inspiring stuff though I just get too caught up to write and have to read the whole story and stories associated. I probably know Momentum 1&2, When Friends Become Lovers and When Lovers Become More, by heart.

TEEEEEEEEJ

I've enjoyed reading everyone's responses, too. I'm editing right now, not writing, but the writuals are similar.

Where are you? In the comfy swivel glider in front of my desktop in the living room. I live in that chair in front of the computer when I'm home.

What are you writing with? My desktop. I can pull the keyboard onto my lap and lean back in my chair, which is much more comfortable for writing. I used to use a laptop, but my last one died 7 months ago, and I'm not going to get a new one since I hardly took it anywhere. Besides, I have a Pocket PC with a full-size, folding keyboard that I can carry in my purse, so it's much more portable when I want to work away from my desk.

What's the oddest object in front of you? Um, the top of my desk is a catchall since the keyboard has its own shelf. Right now, I'm torn between the dental floss, spare pair of sunglasses, and the Compassion International sponsorship package.

What are you listening to? Nothing. I cannot listen to music with lyrics. Even if it's an instrumental version, I start singing the words myself, and I can't write when other words are pounding in my head. However, when my husband is home, the TV, which sits behind me, is always on to Speed, Food Network, or the Western channel, but I'm not actually listening to it.

Is there anyone else in the room? Not usually. My husband and I work alternating shifts, so I can be alone during the week either before I go to work or after he's in bed. On weekends, though, we both share the room as we have for all the years I've been writing, and I usually get almost as much work done then as any other time.

What time of day is it? Normally, it is either before noon, before I have to go to work, or after 9:30 pm, after I get off work.

What do you look at when you're looking for inspiration? Previous pages of the manuscript, my notes, or L&C scripts that are appropriate (i.e. I went through all the Tempus eps when I was working on Without a Trace). If I'm totally stuck, I'll read other fanfics dealing with whatever has me stuck to see if anything triggers an idea. If I'm just stuck on wording, I set the timer for 5 or 10 minutes and start free writing. Something always breaks loose.

What is guaranteed to remove your concentration? Almost anything. I've almost learned to tune out my husband's TV shows because I can focus deeply enough for brief times. When distractions are too great and I have to make a certain number of words (like for NaNoWriMo), I take my Pocket PC and keyboard into the guest room and shut the door.

Lol, the pink blob, that is very funny. Sorry Jenn, but it is.

Where are you? In front of my computer at home.
What are you writing with? Keyboard
What's the oddest object in front of you? Near me is a Mickey Mouse pencil that won't let go of some of its shavings so that's odd.

What are you listening to? Neighborly noises :p . I should put on some music..which reminds me..of an idea for another thread.

Is there anyone else in the room? My stuffed dinosaur Razzle is sitting very close by.

What time of day is it? 8:34pm

What do you look at when you're looking for inspiration? Honestly, I do my best writing when I simply write.

What is guaranteed to remove your concentration? Too many distractions.

Where are you?
At home.

What are you writing with?
A laptop. Roughly half of the stuff I write is done in a notebook and then transcribed to the computer. The other half is still in the notebook because it wasn't worth the effort to transcribe. I'm gradually getting better about writing just on the computer, but I find that I start a lot of weird snippets and they just clutter my "ideas" folder. Somehow it seems tidier when it's in a notebook.

What's the oddest object in front of you?The clay dinosaur my son made for me several years ago. It sits on one of my bookshelves, looking grotesque and frightening.

What are you listening to?
The clack of the keys as I type.

Is there anyone else in the room?
Not in this room - unless you want to count Clark lurking in my closet.

What time of day is it?
This is almost decadent - it's the middle of the day and I'm at home because I took the day off from work.

What do you look at when you're looking for inspiration? Sometimes a vid, or an episode, but usually I just sit here and try to coax the voices in my head into talking to me.

What is guaranteed to remove your concentration? If I'm not actively writing then absolutely anything can distract me. The internet (particularly if a friend is available to IM), one of the half dozen books I'm currently reading, a quick game of sodoku, a dog barking outside... If I'm in the zone, the house could collapse around me and I would just frown and keep writing.

Agh, a woman after my own heart. Yay for sudoku! But not if it distracts you from writing more fic. <tisk tisk>

Oh! Me too - if I'm having trouble picturing something, I'll dig around in my own pictures file or on the Internet for ideas; I also use just Google non-image searching. And Thesaurus.com is my friend; I use it a lot when I'm proofing, if I see a lot of repetition in my words. But then seeing synonyms sometimes triggers other ideas.



I've been in a dry spell writing-wise for awhile, but this thread is fun, so I'll take a shot at it, too.

Where are you? Usually sitting on the couch, although sometimes it's wherever I happen to be (with my laptop).

What are you writing with? My laptop. Always.

What's the oddest object in front of you? Depends on the day and time. Sometimes it's the dog. Or the towering, almost teetering, stack of magazines and books on the coffee table I'm resting my feet on.

What are you listening to? Depends on who's in the room with me, but if I'm seriously writing, I tune everything out.

Is there anyone else in the room? Sometimes my husband, my girls, and/or the dog. Occasionally one of the pet rats (my younger daughter's rat, Whiskers, is my favorite) if Girl1 or Girl2 has brought them down. They (the girls) will put them (the rats) on my shoulder "For a little visit, Mom."

What time of day is it? Depends. I work nights every other week, so often it's in the wee hours. And too often to count, it's JUST before I have to leave for work or I'll be late, darn it!

What do you look at when you're looking for inspiration? Mostly my imagination, but sometimes something I've read, often in other fics. We've got a lot of talented writers, and many stories have a line or an idea that will spark one of my own. Or remind me of something I've been meaning to write.

What is guaranteed to remove your concentration? Needing to leave for work. (Like now, unfortunately.)

`Toc