Novelist's Desk Forum What can't you write without?

Music? Coffee? Caffine pills? Dead silence?

What do you absouletely have to have when writing? Its not a bad question to consider. I was forced to think about it when I started a new job--its one where I get about 6-8 hours a day to spend writing.

I've discovered enviorment is almost as important as the little things I write with. but for me, I need a cold Coke, my MP3 player on shuffle, and the TV on mute. (I don't know why, but the flickering images help. Weird, huh?) Sometimes, I like having a blowpop or Slim Jim, so I always keep them in the house. (And Hershey's Bliss, for the rejection letters that keep trickling in. Works wonders.)

So how 'bout you? What can't you write without?

N~

I've got to have my routine. There is something about a step by step ritual that gets me in the mood for writing. By the time I get in front of the keyboard, I am bursting with words.

I need silence. Not dead silence where everything is absolutely quiet and you could hear a needle drop, It can't be that quiet, otherwise it's distracting. I like he common everyday noises, like cars driving by, kids outside, my family upstairs above my bedroom, and the sound of my cat purring.

I also need my laptop, it's a simple piece of equipment, but I find it hard a lot of the time to use paper and pen, I write so much so fast, my hand sort of cramps, however when I type, not only can I ignore any spelling or grammatical errors, my hands don't cramp up when my thoughts overflow.

I never thought about writing in the car. I've written on boats, a whole different environment. I've written on airplanes, not nearly enough room. But, I've never written in a car. I'll have to give that a try sometime.

iPod!!!!  I can't stress how important my little iPod Shuffle is.