What Affects Writers and Their Writing? (Penny Rader)

http://pinterest.com/pin/235594624226690802/

I poked around the Internet to see what I could find about what affects writers and their writing.  Found some interesting pieces and posted snippets below.  I do hope you’ll click the links and read the entire article by each author and perhaps find something of benefit to you.

Book Writing Tips: How Does Where You Write Affect Your Writing? (Lisa Tener)

 … where you write can affect your creativity and productivity, as well as your tone, how well the writing flows and the quality of the writing itself.

Try writing in:

• A café 
• Your office
• By a warm fire with a cup of tea
• Outdoors (if you’re not in New England in January)
• Bed
• Curled up with your cat or dog on the couch
• On a plane, train or ferry

Compare the writing and see how the venue affects it. What works?

http://bit.ly/xeQiCH  

Breaking Out of Writer’s Block (Apryl Duncan)

Common Causes
Unrealistic Goals
Stress
Neglecting Our Writing
Perfectionism
Research-related

The Cure
Revisit
Change of Scenery
Rewrite Another’s Work
Use Real Pictures
Doodle
Object Focus
Building Blocks
Life Events
Network

http://bit.ly/xQ7OcM 

Butt OUT of Chair (L.S. Taylor)

Yes, L.S discusses something I’m in dire need of: exercise.

• Resistance Training
• Sports
• Water
• Sleep
• Stretching

Fear – And How It Affects Writers (Laura E. Bradford)

http://bit.ly/whYzUS 

Fear leads to stagnation.

Stagnation leads nowhere.

… fear also leads to writers closing Word documents and saying "Maybe tomorrow. Maybe next week."

… take that fear and put it into your work. Don't let it paralyze you. View it as something positive--something to help you improve.

Healthy Eyes: Tips for Reducing Eye Strain (Robyn Chausse)

http://bit.ly/yutaOZ 

In this article, Robyn discusses:

• Office Ergonomics
• Rest and Exercise
• The Stretch
• Zen Vision
• The Painter
• Lubricate

Knowing Your Personality Type Can Make You A Better Writer--Here's How

The Keirsey Temperament Test is a well known psychological test derived from Jungian psychological theory.  Through a series of short questions, the test will assign you a basic personality type--there are 16 possible types. Finding out your personality type can provide insights into your writing style, its strengths and its weaknesses.  If you are having problems with deadlines, writer’s block, or other wiring related difficulties, this test might lead to a solution.

Note from Penny:  This is pretty cool.  There’s a link to the test, which takes 10 minutes or so.  After you take the test, click the link called Your Personality Type and Writing.  And then, if you want more info about personality types, there are several more links to check out.


After you take the Kiersey Temperament Test, you might be interested in Andrea Wenger’s posts about the 16 Writing Personalities.

Music Affects My Writing (Steven Symes)

Part of my writing methodology involves music, since I have found music to be one of my writing muses.

I actually create a soundtrack or a playlist of songs. … I listen to different parts of the soundtrack or score as I write different parts of the story, since the music has the general feel I want to create for the story.”


Plotters vs Pantsers: How to Make Sure Writers Block Doesn’t Kill Your Dream (Glen C. Strathy)

Novel writers fall into two basic camps. On the one hand, plotters are those writers who like to plan their novels from beginning to end before they start writing. Pantsers (or pantsters), on the other hand, simply sit down and start writing, trusting that they will figure everything out as they go along. (The name comes from the fact that they write by the seat of their pants.) Both approaches have their advantages at certain times, but both can fall prey to different forms of writer’s block, which can prevent them from finishing their novel.

Fortunately, whether you are a plotter or a pantser, you can avoid this problem by knowing when to adopt a little bit of the opposite approach.

http://bit.ly/zhottI 

Sensory Tips for the Distractible Writer (Therese Walsh)

I am so distractible. Dealing with that aspect of myself is one of my greatest challenges as a writer. Though my doc has assured me that I do not have an adult version of ADD, I’ve wondered a time a two.

Being distractible can be caused by a whole slew of things—like genetics, parenthood, stress, and anxiety—but that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about it.

Check out Therese’s article for more tips:

• Minimize visual distractions
• Maximize visual helpers
• Minimize auditory distractions
• Maximize auditory helpers
• Maximize olfactory helpers
• Maximize gustatory helpers

That Only Happens to Other People! - When Tragedy Affects a Writer's Livelihood (Karen Carver)

"What if" you were in an accident or came home from the military missing one or both hands? "What if" you were diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Parkinson's Disease, Diabetes, or Multiple Sclerosis? And what if you were a worker who made his or her living solely from writing or data entry? What if an accident or disease were to dramatically affect or possibly cut you off from doing what you love - writing? And what about that loss of income?

http://inkwellsplatters.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/dreams23.jpg

Writers' Dreams – How Do Dreams Affect the Writing Process (Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen)

Stephen King – Part of my function as a writer is to dream awake

James Hall – The more you pay attention to your dreams, the more you seem to dream or the more you recall what you’ve dreamed

http://bit.ly/yQ3Uoa  

Writing Ergonomics: Top Tips for Proper Posture, Alignment, and Movement (John Soares)

Freelance writers and everyone who writes or works at a computer needs to pay attention to proper body posture/position, alignment, and movement — if you want to be a faster writer and be a happier writer, you must learn about ergonomics.

• Your Writing Chair
• Your Writing Posture
• Your Typing Hands
• Movement at the Computer
• Using a Laptop

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I'd love to hear your thoughts.