RYP Stories: The Way I Write: My Writing Space

Thursday, August 9, 2012

The Way I Write: My Writing Space

What do I do for a living? I am a writer.

Writing is a business, is an art, is a craft, is work, is a passion, is something I have to constantly work at and improve my skills. Consequently, I am constantly morphing my craft. I am always seeking a way to do it better. This includes my writing space.

My writing space has to be portable. I have to be able to take it anywhere on a moment's notice. Literally. It needs to be that I can pick up right where I left off--without having to get in the right frame of mind--because I always have my work space and I always have the right frame of mind.

How is possible to always have the right (or shall I say "write") frame of mind for writing? I get it through the habit of my workspace.

Attach pictures of my latest traveling/portable workspace. I tend to carry too much with me and I am always trying to find a way to streamline this portable writing space.

Picture this, though. I always have my Amazon Kindle Fire with me. Period. End of story. I also always have a charger with me. As it so happens, my cell phone and the Fire take the same plug. Whew.

Now, I have two 3-ring binders that are the canvas type with a zipper with a shoulder belt or a handhold so I can carry it like a messenger's bag or like a brief case. I have a bright purple and a red one. Eventually, I might need to get a third case because this book will be that huge. Sigh. But, we are not going to go there yet. Right now, I am using just the purple one.

I always type up my writing. That way, I can save it online so it is permanent. Paper tends to get lost through movers, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, and fires. (I will tell you that story later.) I then print out each page as it is typed--provided I am at home and can print it. Otherwise, I save it multiple ways until I can print it.

Right now, the book is roughly 14,000 words and is 57 pages long.

I always have coffee and a glass of water as I write.

I am a sticky flag queen so I can easily find material in my binder. In my binder, I include research for the book.

I also always have red, blue, purple, and black ink pens for editing. I am a pen snob and only Paper Mate Profile Pens will do.

Should I mention how school supply time is my favorite time of year? (Speaking of, I need to get a new box of 20# bond white, 8.5 x 11 this weekend. I am almost out of paper. We shall see how long this lasts with writing a telephone book size book.) I just got 2 more ink cartridges for my printer today.

Why am I sharing all of this with you? Just to give you an idea of what my business of writing looks like. It helps you to identify me and what I do--and just to tell you something a little different.

Have a good evening.