5 REASONS TO WRITE is a new series of blog posts. Starting with 5 Reasons to Write Super Short Stories, these posts will explore a variety of writing related topics - like 5 Reasons to Write Indoors, 5 Reasons to Write Outdoors, 5 Reasons to Write Commas, 5 Reasons to Write Speculative Fiction, and more. I'm hoping to get guests involved, so please consider one of the 5 REASONS topics listed under the new tab above, or create one of your own. I would like to have at least one guest a month, and I would like to put together an anthology in mid to late 2017. See tab for more details.
Five Reasons to Write Indoors
1. Weather Unpredictability - I live in the Pacific Northwest, specifically on the Western Washington Peninsula. We get rain regularly, although the highest average rainfall in the United States goes to Hawai'i according to this report. The PNW just varies in rainfall prediction and what it means. The prediction of 90% showers usually means that the rain is going on all day, but it might vary from spitting (a rain drop every five minutes) to pouring (sheets of water falling from the sky), or somewhere in-between with an all-around constant dampness.
Writing indoors means I don't have to bring a tarp for my writing space.
2. The Quality of Light - If we're writing with a laptop, we need the quality of light to be just right. Even without a laptop, I like the quality of light to be at a certain level - some outside light coming in from a window is a nice addition to the yellowish light of our dining room lamp.
Indoor lighting allows for a steady, comfortable level of light.
3. Fewer Distractions from Nature - Inside, no bees do flybys of my head. I don't stop to watch a butterfly land on a flower, or a hummingbird zip from one plant to another. No other birds - eagles, woodpeckers, blue jays - soar overhead, and no squirrels scold me from a nearby tree.
Writing indoors means I can focus on my writing.
4. Writing Space Can be Planned/Comfortable - Paper, pencils, sticky notes, journals, laptop, and anything else needed is at my fingertips when I'm writing inside. I have character posters and maps tacked to my wall by my desk, and if I'm in the dining room (other writing area), I have a big table for spreading out my materials.
Writing indoors means I have everything I need for the job at hand.
5. All Season Wear - I can be barefoot and in comfy clothes when I write inside my own home. (This doesn't work as well at coffee shops, but I think 5 Reasons to Write at Coffee Shops might be another post.) Although I have gone barefoot in the rain and even the snow, I am unlikely to sit outside barefoot while writing (unless it's a hot summer day), so because I love writing without shoes, writing indoors works best for me in all seasons. I can also wear pajamas and no one is the wiser.
Writing indoors means writing in comfort.
And now, what you've really been waiting to see - the cover reveal for Adela's Curse by Claire M. Banschbach
A witch and her master capture a young faery and command her to kill their enemy. Adela has no choice but to obey. If she does not, they will force the location of her people’s mountain home from her and kill her. To make matters even worse, the person she is to kill is only a man struggling to save his dying land and mend a broken heart.
Count Stefan is a man simply trying to forget the woman he loves and save a land crippled by drought. When a mysterious woman arrives at his castle claiming to be a seamstress, he knows she is more than she seems.
Adela enlists the help of Damian, another faery, to try and delay the inevitable. He insists she has a choice. But with the witch controlling her every move, does she?
Goodreads link - Add it to your TBR list!
Claire Banschbach was born and raised in Midland, TX, the fourth of eight children. She was homeschooled through high school and is now a proud member of the Texas A&M University class of 2014. She is currently working on her Doctorate of Physical Therapy at Texas Tech University Health Science Center. She continues to write in her spare time (and often when she doesn’t have spare time). She hopes her strong foundation in God will help to guide her writing.
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Congrats to Claire!!!
Where do you like to write? Indoors, outdoors, in your pajamas?
And would you like to do a 5 Reasons post?
Oh, and BTW, I love where I live, rain and all. When I have visited places that have sunshine every day, I find myself searching the horizon for clouds on the third or fourth day. Even when it doesn't rain where I live, we usually have a mono-cloud covering the whole visible horizon at least two days a week. It's what I'm used to having so it works for me although I like a few blue sky days, too.
Thanks for helping out with the cover reveal! :)
ReplyDeleteI like to write indoors and sweatpants in winter, or gyms shorts in summer. Just as long as I'm comfy. :)
You're welcome!
DeleteComfort is always good. :)
When I write outside/outside of my comfort zone, I usually only bring a notebook and pen. I don't like to bring all my "stuff" with me. Probably why I prefer writing at home in general, in my home office in particular. :)
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to have a special place to write.
DeleteBest of luck to Claire!!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of writing outside. It seems so romantic, but you're right- the light is awful. When it's not so bright it's blinding, it's too cold. I do better inside.
I always love the idea, too - I picture sitting in a chair on a wide open lawn with words flowing from my pen onto a notebook page and all beauty just pouring out . . . but I end up with wind blowing stuff around and a bug crawling on me.
DeleteThanks!1 :D I don't write outside much. But when I do the wind always seems to be blowing a thousand miles an hour. lol!
DeleteBest of luck to Claire...love the cover of Adela's Curse.
ReplyDeleteI like writing indoors, I would be too distracted outside, watching the birds and the trees.
Me, too. :)
DeleteThanks!! :) Glad you like the cover!
DeleteCongrats to Claire! It's a lovely cover. I prefer writing indoors, definitely. And I do wear comfy pajama bottoms. Makes for ultimate writing power! :) Have a terrific weekend.
ReplyDeleteComfort definitely makes for ultimate writing power!
DeleteThanks!! :) Glad you like the cover!
DeleteI can't argue with any of these, but I do find nature relaxing. As long as there's no dirt, bugs, rain or weird noises. So I guess I agree. It's better indoors :)
ReplyDeleteI like nature, too. In fact, as I was writing about writing indoors, I started staring out of the window.
DeleteIt is hard to write outside and for all the reasons you say. I do it in the summer just because I can't bear to be indoors when the weather's so wonderful.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Claire on her book.
Ah yes, writing outside in the summer is nice . . . I'm almost ready for that. :)
DeleteThanks for stopping by, C. Lee!
Thank you!! :)
DeleteI prefer writing indoors. :)
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Claire! What a cute cover!
Cool!
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Congrats to Claire! I much prefer writing indoors, because my computer is inside! I'm a rare kind who doesn't own a laptop, and I hardly ever write my stories in longhand anymore. I live in the NW too! but southern Oregon. The BEST writing time is when it's pouring down rain outside. Yesss!
ReplyDeleteSo true! :)
DeleteAnd since I only write on a desktop usually (more processing power), that would be another HUGE incentive to write indoors.
ReplyDeleteVery true!
DeleteI do almost all of my writing indoors--usually because I don't have a choice. But I long for those days when it's cool and foggy in the morning and I can go sit out on the patio and write. It puts me in the perfect mood for writing fantasy.
ReplyDeleteAh, that sounds nice! :)
DeleteI have to write indoors because I get distracted too easily if I'm outdoors. Birds, squirrels, scents on the breeze — everything in nature pulls me away from what I'm supposed to be thinking about with my story. If I'm inside, I can stay focused.
ReplyDeleteCongrats to Claire on her new book! Lovely cover, and it sounds like an awesome story.
Me, too.
DeleteThanks for stopping by, Lori!
These are 5 very good reasons to write inside. :) I generally write inside on my laptop, but occasionally I will write elsewhere, especially when an idea hits me and I must write it down.
ReplyDeleteI do that, too, if I have something to write with
Delete