Writing Quirks! I have them.
I like writing with my back to a wall.
For as long as I can remember, one of my biggest pet peeves has been people reading over my shoulder while I write. I don’t know where it came from. Maybe my perfectionist nature caused the peeve, knowing fully well that the first draft should never be seen by any eyes aside from my own let alone while I was actually writing said first draft. Maybe it’s my fear that whoever looks over my shoulder will realize I actually have no idea what I’m doing, that my writing is composed of forgotten internet tabs, half-finished outlines, and so much word vomit that I then later cut and clean into something somewhat legible. Either way I don’t like people reading over my shoulder.
So I like writing with my back to a wall.
I also like putting my feet up while I write. My long legs were great for my extensive fastpitch softball career, even better for putting me at my 5’9 height and giving me my first personality trait of “tall” as a kid. But they’re not great for remaining cramped underneath whatever table or desk I find myself writing at. So I put my feet up. Preferably on the chair next to or across from me, but people who work with me know I’m also prone to placing them cross-legged on the surface in front of me just to stretch them out.
I know; I’m a monster.
There are smaller things I enjoy while writing as well. I like hot beverages, regardless of the weather outside, and snacks, regardless of how well I ate at my previous meal time. Something has to be on in the background while I work, but to be fair I very rarely live my life without music or a podcast playing anyways. Occasionally I’ll allow TV into my writing time, but I’m not naturally a big fan of TV. However, I actually wrote and edited “How to Survive a Ghost Story” to a binge watch of The Office which is surprising given my love for writing playlists and listening to them even when I’m not writing but eh.
There are bad habits I probably need to kick in order to be a more effective writer too. Every writing session I start always results in me inevitably scrolling through Tumblr after I write only a sentence or two. Then, when I get bored of Tumblr, I return to writing. I also allow myself to get distracted by other projects. Like this blog that I forget I have. Or Animal Crossing. Or my YouTube channel which I also forget I have. Or my numerous other small projects that have consumed my time and attention during this quarantine in my desperate attempts to stabilize my sanity.
I also only write alone.
This is a scandalous confession for someone who has married her social media to her love of writing and books but I do not like socializing while I write. Despite my numerous writing friends’ attempts for otherwise, writing sprints or writing-a-thons or writing retreats where a bunch of writers hang out and just write are just not for me. I like to be myself when I write, where no one can judge me for scrolling through Tumblr for an hour instead of blocking my fight scene. I’m the only person I can trust to distract me when I write and inviting other people into my writing haven can be very distracting for an extrovert like me.
But without these trusted patterns, I would not enjoy writing as much as I do. Writing for me is the last moment of my day, where I can settle down from the day’s chaos with my thoughts and exit to a world of my own creation that I can control. There’s something comforting about following the same relative routine, knowing that my inability to focus on my writing that day is probably because one of my writing quirks is out of whack. So if you ever catch me with my back to a wall, my feet rudely propped up on the nearby chairs, a piping hot cup of tea or coffee swiftly going cold, and headphones on my ears, you know exactly what I’m doing.
That’s right: scrolling through Tumblr.