The changing writing workspace

Finding a place to write - a constantly changing problem which I wrote about in http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/a-place-to-write.html

In 2012 I was favouring laptop on lap on sofa - not good for my back. 

November 2012

Although there is a desk in the living room where the TV is, at times I needed to get away to a different room to be quiet and concentrate, so I rolled the chair into the junk room and stuck my lappie on a small fold up table. That worked to some extent at the time.

July 2014

But sitting down for any length of time is bad for the back and every other body part, so in 2015 I began to experiment with a standing desk.  Having researched ebay and seen how much they cost I improvised my own with a plastic stool on the desk and this became my favoured way of working.  Last year, however, after major surgery, I needed to sit again so the stool went and I sat at the desk once more but making sure (trying, anyway) to take plenty of breaks. 

June 2015

But I am restless again, seeking a new method - one that involves plenty of breaks, but in a clutter free space and a separate room. My very old laptop had to be pensioned off and I have a new, smaller and lighter lappie, easier to carry around, and one which can run off the battery (my old one only worked when plugged into the mains).

Editing in cafes works for now - printing off 300 words of a short story draft then writing in longhand to expand and revise.  Then back to laptop to update.  Then more edits. I enjoy editing.  I just have to find a working method for actually getting new words on the screen.  Without compromising my back and eyes.  Little and often, I suppose.  

Any suggestions for productive and comfortable working methods very welcome!

Pony tales past and future

Friday 30 December 2011.  The date of my first ever blog post. 
Since then, the blog has had 68,971 visitors.

My posts have diminished since the start. But I'm still here.

This time last year, I did my annual review of writing and other stuff  http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/trick-riding.html and it is helpful to look back and realise that despite everything, my productivity and achievements are, happily, better than I think.

I've managed to bring out 4 more of my backlist for kindle - after much editing and rewriting. In January 2016, Last Chance Horse, which remains popular, was followed in February by The Horse Who Dreamed of Home - which was an updated version of the first in my Wild Horse Island series.  In July,
Trick Riders 1 and 2, set in the world of equestrian vaulting, became available as one volume, in the English language for the first time. In July, I decided to bring out my emotional trilogy (Always in my Heart, Heartbreak Horse and Forever Horse) in one bumper volume, called Forever Horse, again for the first time in the English language. I do love the cover designs from the wonderful Klaus Hartleben.

I'm still awaiting print publication of my Western riding novella for children, Pony on the Trail, now due December 2016, and recently completed another for children - a spooky pony tale - which I hope will be available in Scandinavia in 2017.  I haven't tried Western riding yet. 

I've pitched ideas for publishers that haven't been taken up, I have not yet written those final 3 pony books,  and I completed a novella for adults that was rejected by a publisher, but had helpful feedback, so may yet be revisited in the future.

Time spent on marketing and promoting my titles has been considerably less, and this has impacted on sales, but I have adjusted my pricing strategy with Amazon, and this has definititely been a move forwards.

So how - and why - has my energy been diverted away from writing?  I've put a lot of mental energy into my part time job, and have also discovered that sitting at a desk writing for hours on end is not good for my health.  I now use a standing desk at work, and also do as much walking as I can.  Staying physically active is better for me, and I have rediscovered yoga, Pilates and pole fitness.  I hope I find a balance that will enable me to write more.  Until last year, my favoured writing method was to work in long time blocks, and in the past I have done 8 hour stints at the laptop.  This had to stop, and for my last pony novel, I experimented with shorter writing stints over a longer period of time, which was more successful.

I'm still putting in many voluntary hours to raise sponsorship for a major art and music project, which is a huge and ambitious undertaking. 

A new year looms....will I finally complete those yet unfinished and unwritten novels?  Or will I find other big projects to divert my energies?  Who knows what 2017 holds?

A Place to Write

I've been meaning to write another reflective post for ages now, but things keep happening and I change what I intend to say and keep changing my mind.  But here it is.

Last year I experimented with places to write because I found it hard to concentrate and really focus on what I wanted to achieve.  Writing from home wasn't working, as I was too easily distracted and if the phone rang or something needed doing, I stopped writing.  So getting out of the house seemed to make sense.  Many writers go outside to write, like a coffee shop, a co-working space, even renting an office.  I had to find what worked for me.

So I tried taking my lappie to a local hotel and setting up in the lobby by a mains point (my laptop battery gave up a long while back!).  The first time I tried this, I managed 4000 words in a morning session and I was chuffed, promising myself to do this at least 3 times a week.

Two months later (!) I achieved it again, and over a fortnight, I completed a lot of rewriting and new work at the hotel, in 4 hour stretches.  Afterwards, I had a numb behind but it was great to work without distractions, as I found I could switch off from what was going on around me in this environment.

I also tried taking the fold up table in the bedroom and setting up there, and this worked quite well too.

BUT sitting at a computer screen for long stretches hasn't done my body much good - back ache, headaches, stiffness are all end products.  So my next experiment will be trying to change my lifelong habit of hours at a time of writing to taking a break every half hour or so for a 10 minute walk.  Or even trying writing for an hour a day.

Not managed it so far.....

Related post:
http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/writing-dreams.html

Speed writing

I used to write 1000 words an hour.  These days, the words take longer to come. I've not managed in the past to complete the NANO challenge, and with November upon us again, I doubt I will this year.  

But to everyone who does, or for those who simply want to write faster, I came across this excellent blog post by Jennifer Ellis which is full of helpful information and advice. A highly recommended blog!  Definitely made me think I need to be rather more productive.....

http://jenniferellis.ca/blog/2014/9/23/writing-faster-but-keeping-it-okay



Related post: http://janeayres.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/writing-for-success-writing-for-failure.html