Where You Write

Where you write can make all the difference. For me, it can make or break my concentration.

If I am sitting on the couch (as long as there isn’t something distracting on the TV) I can be productive. My kids playing video games, not a problem. But put on a TV show or movie, even one I’ve seen a dozen times, and I’m lost. But I love to sit on the couch because we have a big window that lets me look out into the world and I don’t feel so trapped.

If I am sitting at the dining room table I’m good to go as long as everyone is doing their own thing, because it drives me nuts if people are walking behind me and trying to look at my computer screen. So it’s not an ideal place seeing as how as soon as I whip out my laptop the whole house turns into Spy vs. Spy and tries to look over mom’s shoulder.

My next option is sitting at my sons school computer desk, that would be great, but it runs the same risks as the dining room table seeing as how it is in the same room.

Moving on… My last hiding place is my bedroom, where I actually have a desk, but do I get to sit at the desk? Nope, because my comfy office chair has been taken over by everyone else. It can either be found in front of my son’s computer or in the living room parked right in front of the TV/Xbox. And since I never use the desk it has become a holding station for all items in the house that have no home of their own.

That leave my bed. I actually do like working there but only for short periods of time. My legs get sore sitting cross-legged and eventually my firm mattress wreaks havoc on my lower back.

Can I get work done in these places? Yes, if I really stay focused. But will it be productive work? More likely than not, no unless the atmosphere is right and distraction free. Right now is a very productive, ideal writing time. As I write this I am on the couch, my son is at his computer so the TV is off, the house is quiet and this is actually the second blog post I’ve pounded out this hour. It’s quite productive out here. If I were in my room I would have maybe made it through half of the first one and then called it quits. At the dining room table wouldn’t have worked either because my son would be more tempted to say “Mom, I need your help.” Even though he really doesn’t.

So my spot, at least for now, is the couch. That is the spot that makes all the difference in my being productive. I can work, for the most part, uninterrupted and distraction free. Until 4:30 hits and everyone else gets home, flips on the TV and totally messes up my writing juju.

Do you have a place where you find you are more productive? Is there a spot you know once you sit down you won’t get anything done? Are you distracted by the TV? Music? Birds outside the window? Let us know in the comments.

Connect With Readers And Authors On Twitter, Part 2

My last post was all about #Hashtags on Twitter as a way to connect... This week is part two of connecting on Twitter.

Lists. Oh the “List” the often over looked hidden gem of the Twitter-verse. More powerful than a single #Hashtag, leaping over mounds of mindless tweets in a single bound. Is it lifesaver? A sanity-saver? Nope! It is all that and more! Okay no, not really, it’s just a simple “List” on Twitter. But it is a damn helpful tool.

There’s been some confusion as to what function Lists have on Twitter. It’s not any sort of group thing like on FB it is simply a way of organizing your Newsfeed. In a perfect world where we have no distractions the only thing on our Twitter feed would be only the things we are there to do, like network or reach an audience. But in reality most of our twitter feeds are full of celebrities we like, TV shows we watch, news sources, the actually people we are there to follow, and the random person we’ve found entertaining with their tweets.

On any given hour my twitter feed is a mess of jumbled up information, political debates, some funny response to something very serious, and multiple authors sharing info or passing along links. This morning I have a couple of authors tweeting about their books, Tyrese from Fast & the Furious, and a retweet from Ice-T:

This can make it very hard to find the stuff I am actively searching for. This is where Lists come in handy. I’ve organized the people I follow into categories. I have a list for Celebrities, Music, Nerd/Fangirl stuff, Publishers, Authors, Book Bloggers, TV shows, etc.

Yes it’s a little tedious to put everyone, one by one, onto a list. But in the end it is worth it when you are looking for something, or even better when you are trying to avoid looking for something, say like a show spoiler (this happens a lot on twitter) so if it’s the day after a show that I haven’t watched I will purposely not go to that shows list, so I can try my best to avoid spoilers.

But when I’m looking for say calls for submissions from Publishers or publishing news I can go to “Publishers” and get only a newsfeed full of the publishers I have on my List. Huzzah! That makes my day easier.

Then when I want to indulge in some Nerdy/Fangirl stuff I can pop on over to my “NrrrdGrrrl Stuff” List (don’t get the spelling reference, you need to look up mc chris and enjoy the nerdy goodness) and check out cast, crew, artists, and what not from some of my nerdy passions.

So bottom line, Lists make Twitter in all of its eclectic glory a little bit more organized and helps you find exactly the Tweets you are looking for. No jedi mind tricks required.