Writers’ Quirks
Give us the 15-second version of one of YOUR quirks as a writer.
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My Twitter name is @RachelleGardner.
My passion is partnering with authors to bring worthwhile books to publication. I started this blog as a way to create a community of writers, both published and seeking publication. I write about a wide variety of topics of interest to writers, and I consider the reader comments even more important than my own posts.
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New pens! I have an outright crave for the perfect pen. These vary from a 50c Steadtler to a $6 Jordi Labanda Inoxcrom (they write in the wet) to a very luxe Caran d’Ache. Whatever the case, I MUST have the right pen to write the right scene. It’s all about the feel (and for the record, it’s usually the Inoxcroms because they are so nice to hold and don’t give me a cramp).
There cannot be gloobs of ink either. The flow must be smooth and not washed out (because it probably also sums me up
Let’s see, I like to have matching music for what I’m working on, so I was working on a post-apocalyptic novel and I was listening to electronica, I’m working on medieval historical fiction now, so it’s medieval, Celtic and new age.
I like to be alone, though I can do it in cafes and public places, so long as I have music to drown everything out. I can remember once working in a cafe that was having a knitters’ group of like thirty people and my music could barely drown out that cacophony.
I like to use Word, writ in Courier and double-spaced and keep seeing my page count and word counts, and like to hit solid round numbers with each of them.
I have ADHD, so when I write it’s a writing feast. However, when I’m not focused on writing, it’s a author’s famine. To focus, I go for a walk and that’s where the quirk comes in. Often, I get so engrossed in the story that, when I think it’s time to go home, I can’t figure out where I am! “How did I get here?” is a question I ask far too often. I’d blame it on Alzheimer’s, but I’m 47!
When I write, I have classical music playing. Since I write historicals, I choose composers from my period or before. Just hearing the pieces I’ve chosen transports me to my fictional world. My favorite composer is Vivaldi. I’ve listened to The Four Seasons over 1,000 times so far according to iTunes, and yet I never tire of it.
Puffy, salty cheese snacks. And LOTS of coffee.
Quiet and being completely alone without anybody in the house. I love to hear the creaks and the wind as it dashes by my window along with the click clack of my computer keys. I call it living poetically (Carl Leggo – Canadian Scholar and Poet)
I like to slip my friends’ names into my novels. So far I’ve never made anyone a villain.
That’s Katy with a “y.”
Over the holidays, my nephew and I got into a good natured (and silly) argument. I jokingly told him that I was going to put him in my next novel as an untalented musician. (My nephew is actually on his way to becoming a truly amazing musician.) But I hesitate to put people I know in my novels because once you start, everyone wants to be in there.
On Facebook I met a fellow classmate from jr. and sr. high, who I’d never met during our six years in schools together (they were very big schools). In honor of meeting and getting to know her over forty years later, I made her a character in my latest novel. Except her only appearance is as a murdered, corrupt bank employee. She thinks it kind of cool.
I just overuse the word just. (And I also rely heavily on parenthesis.)
Haha! The presentation of this quirk made me laugh.
Ooooo. I’m a just junkie, too!
That is just well said! (Really!)
JUST and LITTLE. It was just a little cottage. Aargh! Good to know I’m not alone.
I am also a “just” junkie — and my preferred punctuation is the em dash.
So glad to know I am not the only with the “just” disorder! And the em dash is a very noble punctuation. And also very advanced as I just can’t figure out how to do one!
Now I will just have to do a “just” count in my manuscript!
I had to think hard about this one, but if I had to come up with one, it’s probably the over-use of ellipses…. I just love them!
…as do I!
Same here…they seem to relate well to how I actually speak…
I accidentally play charades at my computer screen. Explanation: when trying to figure out the perfect word/phrase to show (versus tell… the battle of the ages…) the character’s response, I catch myself contorting my face into what I imagine the character to be doing. Good thing I don’t write in public and the people I live with love me despite my writhing face…
I thought I was the only person who did that!
I have occasionally been caught in public pulling funny faces whilst writing, which leads to some awkward questions…
I’ve done that a number of times, too. (Though these days I’m just as likely to do it in a coffee shop–let ‘em wonder.)
Ooooh, that’s a good idea. I am going to start doing that
My characters move like claymation people in my mind. When they move I write it down and they freeze in place for a second until I think of the next move and write again!
Maybe you missed your calling.
I hate to discuss writing.
Sometimes to get going, I gather and sharpen dozens of pencils, weaponizing them for the battle ahead. Then I turn to the keyboard and start working. Always wonder how those pencils become so blunt, since I never actually use them…..
I wake up at 5am to write and when I wake up at 6am my email always gets in the way. And I am constantly deleting the word “that”, it is the way my mind fills a blank!!
I am quirky and offbeat and that sometimes shows up in my stories! Oh, well!
Only one quirk in a few seconds? I wish there was only one, as does my family.
Music –
Contemporary Christian when I’m drafting
Jazz when I am writing
80′s when I’m blocked
A cup of Pencils -
Sharpened to a point facing upwards
Once dull, facing down in the cup
When the cup is only dull pencils – time for a break. I still enjoy the sound of the pencil on paper – more ideas come this way yet when the idea comes on fast and furious – give me a keyboard to finish the thought
ADHD, oh yeah –
Need to have a few projects going at the same time. I get bored easy so I like the distraction of a new project. One feeds the other.
Love to write!!
Lisa
I need absolute silence when I write, which in a home of three young girls can be quite difficult.
I’ve also been known to bust out of the shower in a frenzy to get to the computer in order to write my thoughts down before they vanish for good.
Fun post!
~ Wendy
My computer and office space at home are surrounded by statuettes and icons of angels and Jesus — as well as inspirational sayings — so all that beautiful energy can penetrate everything I write and do. And no. I’m not a fanatic nor did I just leave the convent. Just like to be surrounded by as many loving symbols as I can to help me along the way!
Silence, depending.
When writing an action scene, sometimes I’ll put on music that’s appropriate, but usually regardless of scene type I need silence. It also, it turns out, depends on the POV I’m using–my first few books were in third person. My current WIP is first person, and that tends to require more times of silence as I make sure I have the voice right.
When drafting a novel, I’m an insomniac–my characters fill my mind, and I dream of their exploits, only to rise in the wee hours from my brief bits of slumber to pound out their tales on my keyboard. I carry them around in my head until I get the entire novel drafted. They people my thoughts as they flesh out. Their decisions take the story in different directions than originally predicted. I’m distracted from everyday life as I listen to them and allow them to be themselves. My family knows drafting is different than editing–my body is present, but my mind is elsewhere. I forget dates; I ignore current events. I have to draft in a different format than the final MS presentation. Drafting is done with extra space between the paragraphs and 1.15 spacing–that looks like a story to me.
Editing is when my OCD-ishness shines. I’m glad God built that into my character. I embrace it. If it’s massive change within the story, I’m holed up in my cave again. Otherwise, I’m more interruptible. It’s easier to have a normal life while editing. My family is relieved when the drafting is done and the editing begins.
I call it getting into the zone, and you can’t really explain it but everybody on here knows what I am talking about. The other day my wife called and I looked down to see that it was already past noon. “How is your day going?” It took a second register, a second for me to snap out of it and then; “Oh baby, I’m so glad you called. I’ve been in a running gun battle all morning and needed a break!” I love those days, afterwards you feel as though you’ve conquered the world!
My quirk – I talk to myself as well, often reading aloud to hear the rhythm, the flow of the words and I cringe when it sounds like, “Pop Goes the Weasel.” Have a nice day!
Embarrassed to admit this – I lock the door when I’m working on a love scene. I’m guessing it’s the result of 16 years of Catholic school and a deep seeded guilt over impure thoughts.
You do realize that Jesus is able to enter a room with the door shut, don’t you?
Well, if you can’t count on Jesus to be polite and knock first….
Why should he bother knocking when he already knows what’s going on inside anyway?
That’s hilarious! Thanks for sharing!
writing in lower case has become a quirk since last year. i love the look of it, the way it stands out, the way it makes me different of sorts. of course, i always capitalize God or Jesus and sometimes-but not always-proper names. though i know some people may not like it, somehow it fits me, fits my personality.
i also have to read my drafts out loud, sometimes standing, as if i’m reading to a crowd. i can hear the story/post better that way and i can tell where changes need to be made.
happy friday!!!
just an undie and a bra,seated by the computer in the living room,before sunrise on saturday morning.
If I think of a scene while walking/showering, etc, and think it completely through, then it is Gone. I have to keep the nugget of it, hold back, and get to my laptop to write it out. Thinking it out instead of writing it out releases it – Poof – disppears.
I like backstory. Yes, it’s true. I like reading novels where there is a lot of ‘telling.’ Does that make me a criminal?
Yes
Oh, wow! I thought I was the only one in the world who thought his “show don’t tell” thing is way over emphasized. I much enjoy reading when the author just tells me something. A little showing is fine, but it’s usually way over done for my tastes.
Just look at the way people relate to each other. They won’t only show who they are what they’re doing, they will tell about what they’re thinking, where they come from and how they’re feeling.
Quirks? I love to watch people. The world is one big zoo. And I love to (correctly) punctuate.
That is, “…who they are by what they are doing.”
Sorry
Aaaah no. Not at all. I agree. Showing rather than telling is over-emphasised. I don’t negate the necessity of it but Author’s voice can sometimes be soooo awesome.
As it was in a book i am writing because as the author, I made a hell of a lot of fun of the MC. As the viewpoint of the MC the chapter has become sad because he is feeling sad.
Uff!
While my lovely office sits empty, I write in the early morning, in my chair, in the corner of the living room. I use a laptop desk and a dog or two is usually stuffed beside me. The world goes by but I stay in the zone (coming up mid-morn for a soy latte)until noon – longer if it’s a good day.
I need to do one sudoku puzzle before I start writing. It gets my brain going.
I don’t know of any quirks I have.
I know of one.
I have too many quirks for that short of time. Many of them I share with others who have already posted theirs. But here’s one. I see everything I write as I am writing and sometimes type with my eyes closed to see and experience it better.
Type…pace…type…pace…type…
pace…read, re-read…delete…re-write…delete…redo…
Le’sleigh
Type…pace…type…pace…type…
pace…read, re-read…delete…re-write…delete…redo…
Le’sleigh
I’m writing fiction based on my life. I feel guilty not telling the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Oh yes, that is a huge struggle. Then, after I have dressed it up and fictionalized the events; I am afraid that in the multitudes of rereading, I will forget what the truth actually was
and believe lies about my past.
Interesting point. I wonder how many autobiographies are sprinkled with fiction because the authors couldn’t remember the details and had to put *something* in those gaps?
And how many of those fictions have they come to believe?
The key word is “fiction”. If you want to tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, consider writing a memoir or whatever non-fiction category best fits your story.
I don’t know what your story is but be aware that if you tell too much truth, people may recognize your “fiction” as a being merely a cover of clear plastic overlaying the truth. If that truth hurts or angers others, it could have ramifications.
Interesting! I don’t write fiction. However, when writing about a personal past experience, I sometimes condense things.
I used to write out every twist of my thought patterns, but the story becomes too long, and the reader looses interest.
So, in the interest of brevity, I sometimes condense…and then I wonder, like you, have I just fibbed about my own life? And have I just distorted my own memories by the abbreviated telling of the story?
Not sure…
I think my biggest quirk is wanting it to be dead silent and I like writing at the dining room table, near the kitchen to get a refill of tea. If my partner comes in and turns on the radio or the TV then I have to go to another room, but once he starts watching an action flick with volume turned up then all bets are off.
I speak each word aloud as I write it.
Must have a mug of coffee and a piece of chocolate (or three)by my side with mood music playing in the backround–usually the sound of the incoming tide.
Happy Weekend, Rachelle!
I’m with the double-stuffed oreo dude!!!!! (minus the 4 a.m. part…) My quirk: I react as a reader when I write. When I finish a good chapter, my fingers itch to turn the page (i.e. scroll down) and start the next one. I laugh when I write something *I* think is funny. I cry when something sad happens. My heart races during a kissing scene, and I sigh at the end.
A cup of chai and a hoody – have to have my hoody up like a monk. It helps me focus.
I would love to be able to do that, too! But my kids would just ask me what I’m doing. I figured “trying to tune you out” might not be the best answer. So when they’re grown, I’m getting me a hoody
I have learned to write in many conditions, grabbing five minutes or five hours here and there. I LOVE solitude and alone time (at present I have the luxury of living alone), but this concerns my family and friends, so they tend to consciously insert themselves into my quiet to fix me and ward off isolation.
Inevitably, my stories have mountains, music and motorcycles tucked in somewhere.
I talk out loud to myself at times. At first my husband was perplexed. He’d respond, “Are you talking to me?” He’s used to it and he knows it directly relates to my writing (thank goodness).
I like to hear how a particular scene sounds so I’ll repeat it out loud.
When I’m heavily engrossed in the creative process, he knows what I’m doing.
Sometimes, we’ll be riding in the car and I’ll blurt out a new scene. I think that scares the heck out of him. Another part of me feels he enjoys being part of the creative process.
Most times, I think he’s thankful that I’m not asking for his opinion.
You know, let her talk to herself if it makes her happy, at least she’s not asking for my input.
I can tell you one thing, he believes in my writing and he’s smart enough not to laugh at anything associated with my writing.
There have been numerous times in our lives where I’ve dared to think outside the box. He’s seen many of those dreams evolve.
Writers may have quirks but who cares, we have the ability to make huge things happen! So what if a few people think we’re crazy? We’re happy in the private worlds we have the ability to create.
Good luck to everyone in 2012!
My notes are all scrawled on a wad of random scraps and held together with giant paper clips
My notes are scrawled on random paper too! some are taped to a wall, most in a folder and several on the floor around my chair. Unfortunately there are usually unrelated topics on my random sheets that they make little sense. I also look up definitions to words I’ve never heard and write them down and use them in a sentence. These are taped to the fridge. sanguine – cheerfully optimistic, I’m not at all sanguine about my ability to write this book
I like to put on my long warm sweater and get a cup of tea before I begin.
When writing a character of another culture, I’ll play ethnic appropriate background music.
I “become” my characters. Last WIP I took on some “dude” qualities, saying “Naw” instead of “no” and my husband said I developed this funny little crooked smile. Recently, I had to stop myself from being too flirtatious, having realized I was taking on the characteristics of the new MC of my current WIP. Oops, sorry hubby
)!
3 am. Every day
Coffee
Classical music
Freakazoid cat
Repeat
What a fun video, and interesting quirks we writers have. I haven’t developed many quirks yet, but what I’ve found is that getting up at 4:00 a.m. to write for an hour before the rest of my day begins works for me. I’m productive and my mind isn’t distracted with the details of the day yet.
I like it quiet when I’m writing, but music on when I’m researching. It’s always nice to have chocolate or popcorn to munch on while I’m writing. But, I save that for later in the day.
I like to be alone.
I listen to Two Steps from Hell playlists on youtube. (The music isn’t as bad as it sounds.)
I don’t tell ANYONE ANYTHING about my story until it’s been revised at least once. The only thing anyone knows is that it’s YA fantasy.
When I get into my writing zone, everything else disappears (like eating) and I am transported into the scene with my characters. I act out the dialogue and cry with my people. Obviously, I only write in the privacy of my own home. Public is for observing potential characters for later. Sometimes, when my writing session is over, I find myself telling friends or family about my day and catch myself–realizing that happened in my book, not real life! I’m so happy to find out I’m normal in the writing world.
I love adverbs…:-(
Love the sad face at the end! I can tell you read a lot about the craft of writing–only one who does could feel the burden of guilt for confessing to excessive indulgence in adverbing.
(“Adverbing” may not be a word, but it should be.)
Hi Howard
Yes, I am new to writing (May 2011)And yes I read the help blogs. I was into the third chapter of my novel and thought, “I really should find out how to write a book!” I have learned many things, but the most important to me is, “Write how the story plays out in my head” and “You can’t please all the people all the time.” And also I have found that I love to write!
Hope you are having a wonderful day.
Karen
1. I avoid reading anything from authors who committed suicide.
2. I have discovered that after I clean my nest, I write a lot better.
Engraved in His palm,
Gina
I loved your comment about cleaning your nest. I tend to be OCD about cleaning. I sleep, read, write, eat and exercise better in a clean nest. It’s easier to keep the nest clean now that I’ve become used to it being empty.
Oh, now, why did you have to mention exercise?!?
I’ve been known to zone out so completely that it’s hard for someone to get my attention.
My characters also become so real to me that I tend to…ahem…talk out loud to them. (I promise I don’t have multiple personality disorder!)
I do the same thing! There have been a few times that I freaked someone out because they thought I was staring at him/her, but I wasn’t I was just in my own little world.
When working on a story, I speak in dialogue – either to myself or to family members. It used to catch them off-guard, but they get it now.
I have to envision a scene before I can put words to it … when I get really into imagining something, I eventually come to the realization that I’ve been typing with my eyes closed for a while, and I’m not always sure what words are getting put on the page.
I want to do 3 5-second quirks instead of 1 15-second one. (ever the rebel)
#1 Wear my denim baseball cap with the NaNoWriMo merit badge pins on it – backwards
#2 Every bedtime, ask my characters to come visit and tell me something new.
#3 Run my fingertips across my antique inkwell before I touch the keyboard.
When it comes to writing novels, my biggest quirk is that I MUST have my page formatted so that it LOOKS like it would if it were published in paperback form.
In other words, my layout is such that when I print a page, it looks like a paperback book has been opened and set down. I can see a left and right page on one sheet and the font, size, spacing and such look just as they likely would if it were published.
I have to go back and reformat everything before submitting, of course. It’s a pain but a far lesser one that not getting the book written. You know, cart and horse and all that.
My favorite time to write is Saturday morning. My wife typically sleeps late on Saturdays, so I consider this my own time to work on whatever I want.
I will sit down on the living-room sofa with my laptop, pull the coffee table close so my mega-mug of coffee is within easy reach, and just lose myself in whatever I happen to be working on.
Love it! =^)
First thing in the morning while awake yet still wrapped in the warmth and comfort of my bed, I close my eyes and picture where I left off the day before. I watch the new scene I need to create unfold in my mind, like a movie. I even put in the sound track. Then I get up and write the scene.
I have taken to unplugging the phone and the internet, and disconnecting the doorbell. Writing this book has shown me just how easily distracted I am.
I have loved reading these replies. I am grateful that I am not alone in my quirkiness!
I like to stick my cat into whatever I’m working on. She’s a half-crazed calico. In my finished novel she’s a cat. In the sequel I’m using her name for a character, and probably a few pieces of her personality.
I prefer to write alone, in my bedroom. No music! I find it distracting. I also have a thing for collecting images of dresses from the 19th century. That’s why I joined Pinterest.
Every story includes scenes and characters from my personal life. I also use the names of towns and cities from Western New York (Buffalo area) as place names in my books and short stories.
I feel obscenely normal when I read all these replies. I can’t write for very long with music on and I don’t interview my characters, but I do like candles and the feeling of being cozy, which often means fingerless gloves.
I make lots of faces at my screen and I talk to myself too, but I do all that when I’m doing the dishes as well, so who knows.
I’m a quiet writer. I prefer my Ikea easy chair to my desk when I am writing. The desk is for the busy work. My family tells me I make all sorts of creepy facial expressions. It’s a little embarrassing to wake up in the library after being in the “bubble” and wonder who has seen me contort my face. They must wonder what I am doing.
p.s. I had to read a few of these to my kids to prove I’m not THAT strange.
My rituals include:
A hot shower (where I get great ideas;
Recording my dreams each morning;
The perfect pens and an organized space to work;
A to-do list and daily outline.
I often say my characters’ words out loud so see if they sound right – so I have to write when I’m alone otherwise people would think I was nuts, especially when my characters are having an argument.
A notebook first and off-colored pens . . . orange, flourescent blue, purple, green . . . just no blue, black, or red. Blue, black, and red pens remind me of school, and I just can’t write anything creative with them.
Oh, and I too act out my characters’ motions. Often I cry when they cry or their emotion shows on my face.
I have to have the “final” draft of any manuscript read back to me by MS Word’s tinny robot voice. It sounds ridiculous and can take a while, but it uncovers most of the sneaky, subtle errors my brain has been skipping over.
My biggest quirk is color coordination. I have different color note cards for each race, and each location has a different pen color. My note box looks like a rainbow.
I live in an idyllic rural setting. My work area looks out on to great gardens/woods. I just love to write where I am now. I use to try and scribble things down at my old corp. job-detested it. I just go at it every day, water bottle in hand. I am very blessed to have what I have now.
Coffee and instrumental music (preferably piano)streaming from Pandora.
I’m not too quirky. But I do get so wrapped up in my story I forget my friends and family don’t know the people living in my head. After killing off a character, I reached for the phone to call my dad because I knew he’d want to come to the funeral.
Only one quirk? Oh where to begin!
I’m an insomniac and I make up stories in my head, like movie scenes, as I lie awake and try to keep my eyes closed. When the “movie scene” is pretty good then I get up and write it down, usually just notes cuz if I break out the laptop I won’t be sleeping till tomorrow.
My preferred place to write is the recliner with my feet up and my laptop on one of those lap desk thingies, and of course the cooling pad under it; cuz I be smoking!
If I could write all night and sleep all day I would consider that just this side of Heaven.
I also have to have music playing. I use all kinds of genres, but on occasion, if a certain song is really fueling a scene, I’ll play it over and over until I’ve captured the moment I was going for. Of course, if there’s people around, it’s handy to have headphones to keep from driving them crazy
Ahhhh…I am NOT alone.
I’ll go into a stationary store and have trouble getting out with just one or two items – I usually watch my entire ‘free’ budget being blown in just one store.
A really good pen is something I just love to have, even if it means putting the purchase off until I can justify the expense. There is something about the look and feel of a really nice pen that makes me want to get writing.
And notebooks! All kinds of notebooks. I love the feel of writing wherever I am; at restaurants, in the doctor’s office – of seeing my words written down on the page. I buy notebooks that I can take anywhere, notebooks small enough to slip into a pocket or a purse, large notebooks where I can fill the pages with notes and diagrams, and especially notebooks with leather covers that make me feel like a real, professional writer.
Is it any wonder that the stationary stores send me Christmas and Birthday cards?
My time in the writing cave is precious to me. It always feels best when it is quiet and I can get lost within the world I’m creating – the world of my novel. Like many who have commented above, I too forget that the real people around me are not familiar with my characters. Also, I just cannot revise well on the fly electronically. It may sound funny, but I REQUIRE a good red pen on a hard copy print to do my best revision work.
Okay, first I have to confess that I just read what genre’s you are now accepting and I did a jump for joy complete with a toe touch. Similar to Molly Shannon’s SNL cheerleader character. Yay! Go Mystery/Thrillers. I love your blog and although I’m not ready yet to query as an agent you are at the top of my list.
As for my quirk, I have one ear covered with an earbud so I can listen to music, but still hear my daughter while she naps. It started out of necessity, but now I do it because I’m superstitious that if I don’t my writing will be flat.
P.S. Congrats on the new agency.
For me, there must be no music, no food, and no interruptions. My writing office is quite spartan, so as to minimize distractions. But I do have a bed there, in case I need “work out a problem” (that is, “take a nap).
Although I heavily rely on the Internet to look up words and check facts, email and social media is strictly prohibited when I am writing (I need to go to a different computer in a different room for those things.)
I have playlists titled things like ‘sad music’ and ‘battle music.’ I say things like ‘I had a chat with Aldred last night. Not a very friendly chat, but I diagnosised him. He’s a more complex character than I realized, he’s got a lot of issues, actually.’ My little siser: “Mm-hmmm.”
And, my favorite, my family walks in on me doing the most peculiar things, like making faces at my computer screen to figure out what a character’s expression is, or standing in the living room with a broom figuring out how a character utilizes a certain weapon. I’m kinda a hands-on writer…
Sometimes I make myself cry with my own writing! How weird is that?!
Although I always go back and change it, I begin a sentence with “though.” For some quirky reason, “although” never sounds right the first time.
I write best with my warm puppy curled up beside me within petting distance.
Someone said, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.” I cried today when I reread my written interview with my protagonist from last spring.
Writers don’t think your weird. Everyone else might.
Unlike what I’m reading of other writers here, I write best in a public place (mostly keeps me from copping out on writing and playing computer games instead–who wants to be seen playing another mindless round of Free Cell at a restaurant?).
I have different tacks for different writing activities. Difficult plot issues require a long walk. Technical revision is done anywhere there is no TV. Core composition is done wherever I can find at least thirty minutes–usually while listening to Tangerine Dream and eating cherries when in season.
Let’s see…I choose actors/models for my book characters to help me visualize what I’m seeing in my head. Then, I keep their pictures on a corkboard next to where I sit and write. It seems to help me get into the mind of each individual character if I’m looking at them.
Wow. Lots of quirks by lots of writers. I’m not sure what my quirks are.
• I write wherever I am, usually at the computer, but also on paper.
• I like to listen to music sometimes, and use it to block out family background noise if necessary, although I do best when I’m not interrupted a lot.
• I work out my scenes in advance with 3×5 cards and play with their order before writing the story from them.
I guess that’s it. : )
There is no way I could write in public. I become a fly on the wall. I have reactions to what I am writing as if I am there. Making faces, rolling my eyes, crying.
Here’s where it gets weird for me… Talking to (and sometimes swearing at) the characters; You bastard!, Oh my God, are you just going to sit there and say nothing?
Sometimes I get myself so worked up that I have to walk away. No joke.
This is interesting, Rachelle. I have a similar post scheduled for next week. I’m eager to see what my readers have to say.
I write best with ear plugs in . . . even if the house is already quiet.
You’re all not alone! I should know. I interviewed thousands of people about their quirks and idiosyncrasies for my two humorous/human interest books:
•Admit It, You’re Crazy! Quirks, Idiosyncrasies, and Irrational Behavior
and
•And I Thought I Was Crazy! Quirks, Idiosyncrasies and Meshugaas
You can imagine how many quirks I’ve acquired after interviewing so many people! And I couldn’t afford it—I had too many to begin with! I’m very qualified to work on this subject! In fact, my husband insists that if I wrote the books as autobiographies, they would have been much longer!
Here’s one of my (many) quirks:
The quirks in my book are divided into chapters about Food, Clothing, Money, Bathroom, Sleep, Germs and Miscellaneous. I couldn’t bring myself to put the food chapter back to back with the bathroom chapter because it seemed repulsive to me. I separated them with the money chapter.
Look inside the books here:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004LE7PE0
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0035WTNE4
You will laugh while gaining insight into yourself and others!
It’s nice to know I’m NOT alone!!!!!! YAY!
I meant as in I’m quirky too. I wrote a list, but it was too extensive to post!
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