Doc Coleman
I think I got a version of this question at this year's Capclave. Actually, I think this is really two questions, and I got both of them over the weekend.
The first boils down to "How do you prepare yourself for writing?" I know that many writers have certain rituals that they do to mentally prepare themselves for writing. Grab a pen and paper, or set up the laptop at the special table. Put on some writing music. Adjust the blinds just so. Wedge the cat out of your chair... and so forth.
I don't do any of that stuff.
I trained myself to be able to write anywhere. I have written in moving vehicles, in crowded bars, in hotel rooms, etc. Usually, I write in my living room, on the couch, while watching an episode of Star Trek. I've seen all the episodes from all the series, so the TV serves two purposes: 1) It is a timer so I know when I've been writing for an hour, 2) It distracts the monkey brain so that the rest of me can concentrate on the world I'm writing. This style doesn't work for everyone, and it did take me a while to train myself to get into it, but I think it is worth it.
The second part of the question boils down to "How do you get inspired to write a particular story?" And that's a little different.
I'm fond of saying that inspiration is all around us, but it takes more than inspiration to make a story. A character or a world can be interesting to think about, but you need something special to make a story out of it. For me, that usually becomes the case of taking a trope, an expectation for a character or setting, and standing it on its head. What follows from that? Where does that lead you? What if Queen Victoria still reigned, and it was still the age of steam? What would you do if you shot your mouth off and got yourself into a gun duel, except you don't have a gun? What if your job was debunking legends of monsters and you found a real one? What if you woke up in Paradise, but then found out that you were only "temporarily dead"? These are the fun questions! They're where my stories come from, and what gives me the itch to write them, so I can find out what happens.
The first boils down to "How do you prepare yourself for writing?" I know that many writers have certain rituals that they do to mentally prepare themselves for writing. Grab a pen and paper, or set up the laptop at the special table. Put on some writing music. Adjust the blinds just so. Wedge the cat out of your chair... and so forth.
I don't do any of that stuff.
I trained myself to be able to write anywhere. I have written in moving vehicles, in crowded bars, in hotel rooms, etc. Usually, I write in my living room, on the couch, while watching an episode of Star Trek. I've seen all the episodes from all the series, so the TV serves two purposes: 1) It is a timer so I know when I've been writing for an hour, 2) It distracts the monkey brain so that the rest of me can concentrate on the world I'm writing. This style doesn't work for everyone, and it did take me a while to train myself to get into it, but I think it is worth it.
The second part of the question boils down to "How do you get inspired to write a particular story?" And that's a little different.
I'm fond of saying that inspiration is all around us, but it takes more than inspiration to make a story. A character or a world can be interesting to think about, but you need something special to make a story out of it. For me, that usually becomes the case of taking a trope, an expectation for a character or setting, and standing it on its head. What follows from that? Where does that lead you? What if Queen Victoria still reigned, and it was still the age of steam? What would you do if you shot your mouth off and got yourself into a gun duel, except you don't have a gun? What if your job was debunking legends of monsters and you found a real one? What if you woke up in Paradise, but then found out that you were only "temporarily dead"? These are the fun questions! They're where my stories come from, and what gives me the itch to write them, so I can find out what happens.
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