Creating Your Perfect Writing Space Part Two

In my last post, I talked about why authors need their writing space to be productive. I touched on the where of the space as well, but today I'm going to into further detail and talk about the top five things we need to be creatively productive.

You've picked out your 'office' spot, a quiet little nook you can claim as your own. But turning it from the bare, uninspiring spot into the wonderful pool of a creative fountain is going to take some work. A little sweat equity will ensure success.

As an author, I know what I need when I'm sitting down to write. Whether its notes I jotted down while making dinner, or the research books for my next story, I want them to be at the of my arms reach. Having a few shelves to hang on the wall allows for vertical storage, and you can buy shelving for a few dollars on Amazon or even your local Walmart.

Honestly putting the shelves together may be more taxing than hanging them.

A desk or table you can put your computer on is of course vital. If you use a Desktop or a Laptop it is imperative you have a desk you can place it on. This allows for better air circulation for the laptop, as well as a healthier position for you to write in. Finding the perfect desk doesn't necessarily mean running to the store and buying one, refurbishing an old table, will work just as well. Currently, I'm using a table we had in storage as my desk.

Having a comfortable chair to sit in makes a big difference in how productive you are. If you're constantly having to readjust yourself or get up and walk around, stretch  perhaps investing in a more ergonomical chair would be a good idea. Remember to take breaks though, just because the chair is comfortable enough to sit in for hours on end, doesn't mean you shouldn't take a few microbreaks during your writing time. In the end, it will help keep you healthy both mentally and physically.

You want to have good lighting of course. Natural light is always the best, but if your writing space doesn't have a window, ensuring you have adaquate lighting is a must. Investing in a good lamp and placing it near your computer is the best way to get great results. As well, having a lamp will ensure you are able to work any time of the day or night. There are a lot of good lamps out there ranging from ones which sit on the desk with a shade to the ones which have a positioning arm. Which you use, is entirely up to you. I prefer the one with the arm, simply because you can move it around to focus the light where you want it.

So, you've got the desk, chair, shelving, and lighting figured out. Now comes the fun part of this. Picking a color for the walls of your writing space. Yes, colors do have an impact on your creativity. Depending on what mood you want to create will ultimately affect which color of paint you purchase.

The top three colors I've found for creative productivity are Blue, Red, and Yellow. There are of course benefits in other colors, but for my writing space, these I've found work the best.

Blue being an intellectual color, helps the brain function at a higher level. It's used to in areas which require focus and mental strain.

Red is a physical color. Typically a person would put this in their office if they're required to exert themselves physically.

Yellow is a wonderful color, full of sunshine, and happiness. It represents the more creative aspects of our minds and helps to stimulate creativity, happiness, and positivity.

For myself, having walls of yellow with blue and red accents is ideal. It allows me to focus on my writing as well as keeping me motivated to not only work on my writing but my health as well. Taking breaks to do some stretches, or turn away from the computer for a few minutes and do some reading ... or even grab a cup of coffee all helps.

Having a few plants in your work space is helpful, as it creates a more natural atmosphere and thus allows us to recharge those creative batteries.

I hope these suggestions have proven to be helpful as you work toward creating the perfect creative space within your home. Happy decorating and make your creative space your own!!

I'd love to hear from you on what your writing space looks like. Share in the comments below!

Creating Your Perfect Writing Space Part One

I firmly believe everyone has felt that sense of dissatisfaction of writing wherever we can, when we can. In today's hectic lifestyles, it is a reality our time is rarely free, and often distractions and outside circumstances prevent us from sitting and writing. The loved ones, music, t.v. all ofer something far more intriguing or mind numbing as the case may be. But these offer us something else, something far more dangerous to our writing careers - a chance to procrastinate.

A  simple way to deal with all of this is to have a desingated writing area. I know what you're thinking, I can't afford that, there's nowhere for me to put such a space... there are a lot of reasons why not, I've said them myself, and the reasons why are far more important.

For a lot of us, our writing career is a source of income which we use to pay the dreaded day to day bills. To be able to have the time and space to write is key to getting works out there. Without a space to create, we feel the impact on our wallet.

Having a designated writing space is a benefit often over looked. The benefits of having one, include an area where you can retreat to, where writing is the primary endevour and productivity is increased. It is also a space where your boundaries come into play. You know the ones which say

"Writing here - disturb at your own risk -

It's a space set aside strictly for your creative brain to engage, and the outside distractions fade way. Carving out the niche for your office space can be a challenge, but it is well worth it.

I read a lot of articles about creating a space for myself and while a number of them indicated the space needed to be big, I don't feel it needs to be.  Perhaps, because I've never lived in a home where there was a lot of extra space, so I've learned how to use the space available.

Keeping in mind, there has to be space for you to spread out, for your printer, research material, notes, computer, etc. Living in a confined area, you will need to think outside of the box. If you have the spare square footage to create an office, it still pays to be creative.

This leads to the big question of: How can one utilize the area they have? Cross-purposing comes in handy for those of us who live in a small home or apartment. As well, you can think vertically when it comes to some things. A wall can become the landing zone for all your notes, books, etc. Sticky Tac, or pins work well for this. A small shelf above the desk can hold things like your highlighters, pens, pencils, flashdrives, and any other tool you may need. I've heard of offices in basements, even a walk in closet where the author could close the door, and surround themselves with plants, light, and music as they wrote. This, to me would have two benefits. A: you can shut out the outside distractions and write with ease, and no worries. B: You won't be limited to time of day when you write. For some of us, writing during the day is a necessity, but if you're a night owl, or you work during the day, having a space you can retreat to when everyone else is in bed allows you to still meet the word count goals you set for yourself.

Once you have figured out the where you're going to put your writing space, then comes the how and when which I'll touch base on in the next blog post.

I know where I would find my ideal space for a home office if I could pick...how about you? Where would you find your creative space?

Redemption: Book Thirteen Coming September 23, 2019

Forged in anger, freed by faith.

Vampire warrioress, Demetria has no interest in the war going on around her. She concerns herself with the lives of the children who have been displaced or tossed aside. A woman of secrets, she relies on her own wits to provide for her charges.

Naga prince, Talas is drawn into the war of immortals by an unseen force. When he comes upon a fiery woman protecting a small group of children, he acts to protect. He finds himself facing a woman unlike any he’s ever known, one who holds the secrets to his future.

Can a vampire and a naga find peace amid the carnage and chaos of war? And will they lose their hearts to each other in the process?

Content Warning: contains graphic sex, strong language, and some violence

Genre(s): Erotic Paranormal Romance

NaNoWriMo '19

In about five or six weeks, NaNoWriMo ‘19 begins.  After having done it for thirteen or fourteen years of doing NaNoWriMo, it seems like I’m finally getting serious about the story I’m telling.  I now have two books about writing, plus several sheets on a method of novel writing that is supposedly based upon science. At least the guy who came up with it is a physicist.  

Always before, I was a pantser, writing by the seat of my pants.  It seemed to work most days, although I did face quite a few mornings with a blank screen, and a blank mind.  Or a mind thinking about everything else but my story.  I solved that problem by writing out by hand at least a page or two of the chapter I was set to write the next morning, Then, using my Dragon, I’d read aloud what I had scribbled the night before, and go on from there.  I would dictate in that vein until I reached my two thousand word word goal and finish the chapter.  

But this year, the folks who set up NaNoWriMo seem to want us writers to set a higher bar, so they’ve declared September and October “NaNo prep months.”  When I first joined NaNo, they didn’t even seem to care whether we had a plot or not. As far as they were concerned, we could just type the same word fifty thousand times.  But to me, it wasn’t a novel if it didn’t have a plot. You might be able to, in a literary novel, if you were the late great William S. Burroughs, get away with repeating the same phrase over and over, or have a chapter made up of just one or two pages.  But writing in genre fiction, as I do, I expected each and every chapter to advance the story. It looks as though my fervor has caught on with the rest of those managing the website.  

If you’ve just now joined me, I write in the genre loosely called “speculative fiction.”  This includes: Scifi, fantasy, paranormal fiction, and horror. There maybe other subgenres I’m not aware of, and since Crimson Frost Books is a romance house, it should have a romantic aspect to the story.  Well, it would because I’m somewhat of a romantic myself, although I cannot tolerate reading contemporary romances. I tried one one; it was a Harlequin title, and I got nauseous before finishing the first page.  I like my fiction to have a fantastic aspect to it. Too much like the life I’m currently living, and I get turned off. Unless it’s nonfiction, like the book I brought home from the library today, Story Genius, I read for its escapist value, its power to pull me out of the humdrum life I’m living, and plop me into another world or time.  

The instructional sheets I’m using, called  “The Snowflake Method,” start with a single sentence, of what the story is about,  and expand into a paragraph, snowballing into five or six paragraphs, then further into scenes and so forth, until the entire story is told.  The man has a book on it too, but since all the money in my account is earmarked for certain bills coming due just before payday I can’t buy it just now.It’s an exciting method, as though I’m getting a Master’s class in novel writing, but we’ll just see how it all turns out, shall we?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BKQ58Z8 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HQUR6QC