Writing Habits

Chewing my lip or fingers. :shifty I like chewing things.
I also eat while I'm writing. :tehe: Usually sweet things.
I'll get up and walk around my house a few times.
As I've said before, I can't stay still. Moving really helps me think, especially since I like to "write" things in my head and so can just get up and keep writing. It looks a bit strange though, since I like to say the dialogue out loud. I've been given some odd stares from my family before. :tehe:

What I tend to do a lot is start like one character's dialogue with "Well" and I totally don't do it on purpose it just happens, so I have to erase it, it's kind of funny at the same time, but I'm trying not to do that so much now :cute:

I speak the dialogue my characters are saying and make the expressions I'm describing.. :tehe: I also have the urge to listen to Type O Negative while writing.. :shifty I don't even know why. xD

I have a habit of acting out the emotions involved etc. Except when it's meant to be scary; then I laugh.
:cute:

^ I do that. :XD

I've been told I act out facial expressions when I'm drawing them, and I've caught myself doing it when I'm writing as well. It's like, feeling it makes it easier to write/draw. It probably looks odd to anyone watching me though. I'll be like, scowling or looking sad at my computer screen.

I'm also always listening to music, but I'm always listening to music anyway... :shifty
Some songs distract me though, so I skip them. They're the ones that catch my attention that I would usually sing to or something. I have to stick with the 'background music' as it were. Like now... Deftones!

I also try to recreate what I'm writing.

Then of course, there's music.

Also, I always have to have my tea. Any kind, really, but preferably green tea or chamomile tea. :)

And I pace. Whether it be back and forth or in circles, whenever I have an idea, I think about it and pace, pace, pace until I'm content. It's sort of weird though, it can get addicting. Like, I'll just be pacing back and forth, and even when I feel I've thought it over enough, I just have to keep pacing.

capture the soul.:

Chewing my lip or fingers. :shifty I like chewing things.

I used to chew my nails all the time while I wrote. I'd stop thinking that I had to stop biting them and just bite them until they were too short to bite, and even them I'd still try to knaw at them. It was really rather gross.

However, as of sometime in August 2008, I stopped, using will power and a rubber band. Now everyone says my nails are really long and sharp and call them "claws". XD

Sorry, I got a little off-topic there. Just a little!

I have to listen to Jason Mraz's Sleep All Day and keep it on repeat. And I have this certain font that I write to. For some reason, I can't write properly to any font but Arno Pro, size 14.

And whenever I type 'wink', I catch myself winking. Which is really weird, because it looks like I'm winking at the laptop screen.

And I can't write while chatting. Gah. I have to sign off MSN and then write.

:cute:

Depends on what I'm writing. If I'm writing a story like "After Supper", "After He Unlocked the Door" or my new unposted one, I have to take breaks to smoke and ... other things. Otherwise I lose my concentration.

I sit Indian style on my computer chair which is actually rather difficult to do without falling off.

I can have only one earphone in my ear because otherwise my music is too loud (You could ask why I don't just turn the volume down...in all honestly I don't know why but I just don't)

I act out the dialogue to myself, pivoting on my chair to represent each character.
"Bill, what are you doing?"
*turns to face imaginary Bill"
"I'm tieing my shoe"
*turns to face imaginary Brian*

When I get a momentary writers block...I dig at my desk with the tip of my metal compass. There's a massive chunk out of my desk now from all the times I've carved my name. :(

Writing all these habits down makes me think of what a complete nutter I really am. I can't be the only one who does some of this stuff.

I like to chew on things. I also need music! =D Its usually the same song for awhile, too. Because a lot of the music I listen to is on Youtube and I just liste to Youtube and am too lazy to change the song.

I also get a lot of ideas at school, so I just write everything in the back of my English Notebook. I always have the notebook with me during school! =D

I also tap my pen when I'm using one and shake my leg. I also imagine myself into my story and forget what I'm doing. I've accidently called someone a character in my story, once.

Unfortunately, eat junk food. Not so good for my figure. :P

Mia Bell.:

I have a habit of acting out the emotions involved etc. Except when it's meant to be scary; then I laugh.
:cute:

:XD I do that sometimes when I get ideas. I'll like start acting them out as the main character and sometimes I'll even mumble dialogue to myself. It's pretty funny because like if it's sad I'll look all sad and my mom vill be like "Honey, what's wrong?" and I'm just like "Nothing." or I'll look mad or something. :XD

When I write [Like now actually] I usually put my Mp3 on shuffle and blast the speakers. Whatever the song is changes the mood of the characters in my opinion.

venomous.:

I act out the dialogue to myself, pivoting on my chair to represent each character.
"Bill, what are you doing?"
*turns to face imaginary Bill"
"I'm tieing my shoe"
*turns to face imaginary Brian*

Writing all these habits down makes me think of what a complete nutter I really am. I can't be the only one who does some of this stuff.

:tehe: I do that part too. Well somewhat. I'll stop my actions and pause for a really long time and visualize it over and over, as each character. I usually act out as Davey though in my head.

OMG it's Tara.:

Mia Bell.:

I have a habit of acting out the emotions involved etc. Except when it's meant to be scary; then I laugh.
:cute:

:XD I do that sometimes when I get ideas. I'll like start acting them out as the main character and sometimes I'll even mumble dialogue to myself. It's pretty funny because like if it's sad I'll look all sad and my mom vill be like "Honey, what's wrong?" and I'm just like "Nothing." or I'll look mad or something. :XD

:tehe: And I do this. I'll usually do that when I'm in bed and can't sleep though. I'll think of something good (actually it's usually for my RPG) and sometimes I'll get really emotionally into it. :shifty Once or twice I made myself start crying.

I've started developing a new habit.
I often have to take a lot of breaks, go hunt one of our cats down, and just pet them and think for a while. I might pick them and walk around the house too.
I don't know why, I guess the comfort of an animal calms me down.

Kidnapping animals for cuddle time does usually work well when you can't think of anything..

I'll usually end up mangling the pencil I'm writing with because I chew on it... or pen lids. Pen lids are bad for me... My mom keeps throwing me packages of gum whenever I'm chewing on a pencil or pen lid.

I also squint when I'm writing... my friend snuck up on me once and laughed her ass off at my expression. In my defense... I was thinking. Really, really hard.

I almost always make "soundtracks" as playlists on my iPod and then make CDs of those. Off the top of my head, I have one for "A Closet Full of Dresses", "Baby in the Closet", "Positive", an M-Preg idea I had that won't get done, "ABC Kids", "To the Bones", and "Price of Lost Dreams".

I pull down all the blinds, get a huge mug of hot chocolate, tea or coffee and spend an hour deciding on which songs to play. Then I finally compile the playlist which fits the story, crack my knuckles and write.

I also take a lot of breaks, go shower, go for a walk, or sit on my windowsill and smoke which is a recently developed habit.

If a story's really emotional or I'm in the middle of writing a really intense scene, I turn off the music.

When writing gore, I always play the song Hollow Hills by Bauhaus. I realized that only recently.

If I have pictures of any of the characters around my room, or books from them with their pictures on them, I have to be sitting in a position where I can't see them. And I have to be in a position where I can't see myself in my mirror.

I almost always write in silence now. Unless I've got my tv sound on, although that usually depends on who's on it.

I dig under my nails with my teeth or wobble my loose tooth around a lot.

It's almost always at night, from random times from 7 to about half 11.
And I can't write a whole story in a day or two. It has to take me quite some time, with regular breaks and days inbetween, usually.

Although if I'm really determined, I can stay up until the early hours of the morning writing if I want to finish it.
...which is what I did with "It's Raining Hard".