Kate Warren

"WHAT?!"  you say.  Hear me out, or maybe that should be read me out.  Either way...

When I started writing, the desire to write was a burning passion within me.  I wanted it desperately.  And everything I wrote sucked.  I don't mean it was a little bit bad, I mean it was really, really lousy.  Contrived, stilted, forced.  That was my writing.  No format was spared.  I wrote bad songs, bad plays, bad poems.  I didn't even know how bad I was.

Two things saved me from continuing down the enticing path of verbose failure: 1) a revelation of sorts; 2) time.

The revelation was that I was trying too hard.  I wanted it so badly that I overdid everything.  I was trying to force the stories out, and that does not work for me.  This is not the same as forcing yourself to write to break past a block, or to establish good authorial habits.  It's closer to telling someone to act normal when they know there's a gun pointed at them, and it just doesn't work.

The second saving quality is sadly not of the magical one-day-I-woke-up-and-wrote-like-a-genius type.  And this is where my topic title comes in.  It took a lot of writing to get where I am, and a lot of that was bad writing.  Bad writing is practice.  Practice is important for anything that you wish to master, be it the piano, a sport, or the ability to string words into a sentence that doesn't bore people to death.  Practice is good.  Bad writing is practice.  Therefore, bad writing is good. 


If you think you're writing is terrible, rejoice!  You're practicing.  As you continue to practice, you'll improve.    Every literary masterpiece was rewritten and edited.  Give yourself time, and permission to practice, and you'll continue toward becoming the best writer you can be.

In the meantime, cut yourself some slack.  

I apologize for the lateness of my post.  At the time when I would normally have been blogging today I was in an IEP meeting for my second oldest.

This week I'd like to cover the basics of setting up your writing space.  You can call it an office, a writer's lair, a creativity zone.  Whatever the name, it has to serve its purpose.

If you're lucky enough to have space to dedicate an entire room for your writing space, that's fantastic and I'm happy for you.  This post is really for everyone else.

Finding space
This can be tough.  We'd all like to have a library or at least a smallish room where we can go to indulge our creativity.  But what we want and what we need can be vastly different creatures.  A corner of a room can often work just as well.  Try adding screens or hanging curtains (sheets work too) to visually separate your workspace from that of the home.  You may think this part is unimportant...you would be wrong.  Even if you can hear what is going on around you, not being able to see it really does help.  Ok.  Let's say there isn't even a corner of a room available to you.  How about a closet?  My "office" currently resides in my bedroom closet.  I have a desk with a front that folds down and a chair.  That's my space.  I can see electric wiring, clothes, shoeboxes, things that have no other home.  Not my dream office, but it works fine.

Necessary items
Whatever you use to write, obviously.  Computer, typewriter, paper and pens/pencils.  Even if you use a computer I recommend keeping at least some paper and writing utensils nearby because you never know when you'll need to quickly jot something down and step away from the keyboard.  If you use electronic devices you will need to have in your space or be close to an outlet.  It's good to have a desk and chair or stool as well, and by all means get the most comortable seating you can afford because if you're going to write you will be sitting a lot.  That's all you really need.

Nice to have
Various small office supplies (paperclips, stapler)
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Books about writing
Things that inspire you
Music of some sort (radio, personal CD player, iPod)
Snacks (because there's no way you are leaving your creative haven in the middle of a crucial scene just because you are faint with hunger)

To be continued next week with decorating tips.   And I know you're all just dying for my advice on that, right? ;o)

Kate

It has now been about a month since school started.  The first round of illness has gone through.  We are all back into the routine, and I will be resuming a normal (for me) blogging schedule.  Tuesday is going to be blog day, for the most part.

My precious little girl is taking a nap.  I have approximately one half hour before the first boy gets home and I shall use it to do a number of things, first of which is talk about something dear to me...my new writing desk.

Last Friday I went to my favorite secondhand shop looking for two things: books and a desk that locks.  Ended up not getting any books but I found the desk for which I have been longing.  It's a secretary (also called a drop-front) that has a lock not only on the main portion but also the large drawer underneath.  A removable shelf with one tiny drawer and dividers sits inside, and two small drawers are on top of the desk.  It is functional yet elegant in an understated way.  I believe Jane Austen would approve.

When the desk surface is opened, the original red-brown finish is visible as whoever painted the desk black only covered the exterior.  There are no marks to indicate a manufacturer, but there may have been on the back at one time.  There is evidence that the back panel has been replaced.  Given that I prefer the original color over the black, I'm thinking of refinishing the desk, but that project must wait.  For now I am content to have this lovely little piece of furniture that is perfect for my purposes: a place where I can not only work, but also secure my work from my children.

Now I just need the right chair...

Kate

As of today 75% of my children are back in school.  Tomorrow we see about whether or not our baby will go to 4 year old Kindergarten this year.  What does this mean for yours truly?  Hopefully more time for things like writing, editing, blogging, reading, and other such sanity-retaining pursuits.

Techincal difficulties are raining down at my house lately.  My netbook, which is my primary work computer seems to be slowly dying.  I may be able to get another year out of it, which would be nice. 

We've been working on the house and one of the next priorities in reshuffling and painting is my office.  Right now it's looking like it will be a small part of a closet.  I will post a picture if it doesn't end up looking terribly shabby. 

Sorry for the short post, but I've got work to do...finally.  :D

Kate

In order to write you need certain things: words, some way to put them down either on paper (napkins, body parts, whatever is handy really) or computer.  Those are the basics that are required, but there are some other things that are nice to have such as:  Time.

You have to have time to write.  It can be a stretch of a few hours, or even just a few minutes, but it does take time to get the story down.  Those of us with day jobs and/or children (or in my case children who are my day job) know how difficult it can be to make everything balance.  Here are a few ideas for fitting in that precious writing time that is so necessary for a writer's sanity.

Get Up Early.  If you are already a morning person this will be easier for you than it is for the rest of the world.  A half hour before the rest of the house is up can be great for creativity.  Think of it: silence--no one asking for something every ten minutes.  Definite writerly potential there.

Stay Up Late.  After everyone else has gone to bed will also be a nice quiet time to let your muse whisper to you.  This will work particularly well for night-owls.  Warning: do not combine this method with the Get Up Early method; complications of hilarious and possibly even dangerous proportions could ensue.

Nap Time.  Those of us with young children who maintain regular sleep schedules (I've heard those children exist) have a golden opportunity in nap time.  You may be tempted to use this time to do something like laundry, dishes, or starting supper.  If that happens remember that God invented the timer for a reason.  By all means throw something in the slow cooker and fling some clothes in the washer, but in between buzzers sit down and write.

School.  If you have older children, all  of whom can be entrusted to the school system, you should be able to carve out at least part of the school day for scribal arts.  Again timers can be helpful.  Try to corral all other activities (errands, phone calls, housework, litigation) to one half of the school day leaving the other half free for you to heed the siren call of the computer.

Those are my ideas for now.  One thing I must caution you though: do not allow yourself, your significant other, or your children to become ill.  And if you figure out a way to do this please let me know, as I've spent the last week and a half administering so much cold and flu medicine that I should qualify as a pharmacy.   Until next time.

Kate