As I sit here reading over blog posts about Camp NaNoWriMo, an old post by Angeline Trevena got me thinking. She talked about being a social writer, unable to write well in solitary. I immediately realized that I'm a solitary writer. I need a place where I can concentrate without interruptions. It doesn't have to be quiet but conversations need to be around me, not to me. I've been able to blank out
Word wars, #wordmongering and the like are new to me but I fear the pressure of time constraints might cause some writers block for me. This definitely goes to show that different things work for different people.
So what is your preferred style? Social or solitary? Do you like word count competitions with a time constraint? I'll be doing Camp NaNoWriMo come August....gulp!
I'm a bit of both. First drafts are best done in isolation, but I quite like editing with a buzz around me - libraries, coffee shops... Although most of the time, I can't be bothered to leave my warm dry house to search for a cafe, so I stay put.
ReplyDeleteNano and the like leave with sweating with fear. I'm such a slow writer that 50,000 words in a year would be a challenge!
I'm doing Camp Nano in August too, and I don't know what possessed me to do it! I'm definitely a solitary writer, I write best when I'm at home on my own. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely a solitary writer.
ReplyDeleteI usually write solitary, though alot of ideas surface when im spacing out in a lecture with a hundred people or having dinner, if its too busy my mind wanders until it can focus :)
ReplyDeleteTime constraints are a love-hate thing, I always leave it to the last minute, but wouldnt be able to push myself without them.
Solitary too...I like being on my own and slipping into my world unnoticed. I can write short pieces with 'things and life' around me but when I want to concentrate on my WIP I prefer complete solitude.
ReplyDeleteI love the online writing community but sometimes feel I don't interact enough, I think I'd love #wordmongering and word wars etc, but I'm never online at the right times. I do it all at my own pace, and am a bit of a loner...
I'm a #wordmongering squatter. I totally need the social part. It's really bad becasue if no one's talking to me I don't get as much done. I really need to work on that :)
ReplyDeleteSolitary, definitely solitary. In fact my whole life is pretty much hermitic. But that's OK, I'm pretty good company.
ReplyDeleteI am most definitely a solitary writer - I don't even play music. Fortunately I live on an Island in a nice rural area so the only sounds I'm treated to (other than the occasional rooster) are the sounds of nature. Haven't experienced anything like NaNoWriMo because I write nonfiction, but at the moment I'm working on my third book and I have another due in time for a holiday launch so that's enough pressure for me :-)
ReplyDeleteI'd like to be a solitary writer, but my kids don't let me, lol. Seriously, I like to have background noise like music or the TV (tuned to something in line with what I'm writing), but I don't like actual people around me when I write. Hoping to do NanoWriMo this year.
ReplyDeleteI think I am a solitary writer. Have never really been in any position of having to write around other people. Even at home, more often than not when I am in a writing mood I have head phones on and listening to music to try an drown out any possible interruptions.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely solitary. I CAN write with other people around, but I find it harder to focus.
ReplyDeleteI'm a solitary writer, like you, only I can't bear to have conversations going on anywhere in my vicinity. My favorite music blasting loud enough to wake the dead, sure. Chit-chat, no. :-)
ReplyDeleteSome Dark Romantic
I'm a solitary writer. TV, music and conversations around me no problem, but I think if I was in a public place, I'd be more interested in people watching! Usual the only thing that distracts me is my son, "Mom, what's for dinner? Mom who's this singing? What's the name of the song? Mom you've got to see this picture (Takes over my computer) He's 22,not 10 :-))
ReplyDeleteIs this your first try at a WriMo Donna? Camp or NaNo. I did NaNoWriMo last November, was scared to death, so worried I wouldn't make it, but I did and it is exhilarating!
I'm a solitary writer. I can tolerate a coffee shop but prefer the quiet of my office. No radio, no TV, no Ipod. One exception. My writing buddy and I can be in the same room to write and even periodically ask each other questions without hindering the flow too much.
ReplyDeleteLove finding others that prefer solitary writing. ;-) Thank you to everyone who dropped in and commented!
ReplyDeleteI've no idea.. Can't write with distractions and love writing on my own alone at home. Does that make me solitary.
ReplyDeleteThen you mention word wars.. would never get my novels drafted without word wars.. I love them. 50k is too few for this november.. I'll be looking for 75k and will expect the word wars to help. They give vitality, pace and a scence of motion into my writing. ooh did I get carried away a bit there.. sorry.. will slow down. I did manage to write in the 'write-in's too.
What's the ambidextrous version?