Where I write

I'm not sure how this works for other writers, but I'm kind of particular about the spaces in which I work. I've always liked the idea of writing in coffee houses and such, and I used to romantically express my goal as wanting to "move to Paris and write poetry in cafes." Now, that's more or less how I do it--just not in Paris. I like to write in places that are public but also a little quiet, and I've gotten so used to it that I'm nearly incapable of writing at home. I do almost all of my writing in coffee houses, bookstores, or quiet restaurants.

I like to be around people while I work, but the coffee or bookstore atmosphere also inspires creativity. Leaving home also makes me more productive, because I don't let myself leave my chosen location until I've accomplished something. At home I'll get distracted, start pacing the room, turn on music or the TV, or fall asleep if I get stuck at a difficult spot in whatever I'm writing. I can't do that if I'm sitting in Starbuck's. The presence of caffeine also helps. In Baton Rouge, it's particularly nice because I get to enjoy Community Coffee (CC's), which is absolutely the best tasting coffee in the world. The coffee and tea habit is expensive to feed, though!

I suppose I should try to get over my mental block about writing at home, but for now it's not a problem, and it's a quirk that I'm a little proud of.

The website at http://www.whereiwrite.org has photos of fantasy and sci fi writers in their working spaces. Most seem to have rooms or offices surrounded by books. I imagine one day I would like to have a library or office in my house where I could work. I'd even like to have a small cabin somewhere, where I could retreat to write for a while. At this point, when I've variously lived in a dorm, sorority house, apartment, home, and soon another apartment, I don't have those options.

Where do other people like to write?

Progress

My goal at the beginning of the summer was to finish the draft of my novel, Violet Eyes, before school started. This will be possible if I really try hard, but I'm starting to think it's not a big deal if I don't finish it then. I want to finish it, of course. But I'm also a little scared about getting to the end! You know how it's hard to finish reading a good book because you don't want it to be over? It's like that, except I happen to be writing it instead of reading it. But the experience is the same. I love writing it. (That's what I say on good days. Ask me later and I might tell you that the process is overwhelmingly frustrating. Both are true, of course.)

I'm also worried about revising it once it's done. That will be a difficult process, and writing it is much more fun. I definitely want it to be done by the end of September, though, and then I guess I just have to revise it and then look forward to moving on to something else!

Baton Rouge

I finished up my internship (during which I produced more than 30 articles for the Roanoke Times), and I've returned home to Baton Rouge, but I'm only here until the 30th. Until then, I'm trying my best to make steady progress on my novel. My goal all summer was to write at least 500 words a day, though I usually hoped to get to around 700. I've missed a few days recently, but I'm still getting some work done.

Today I reached the 50,000 word mark, so that's a pretty big accomplishment, I'd say. I've never written something that long before. I've written nearly 25,000 of those words in less than two months, since around June 25. I'm not quite sure how much I have to go, but I imagine it will finish up somewhere between 60,000 and 70,000 words.

That seems short for a novel, but the first Harry Potter book has a word count of about 77,000. That should give you an idea of about how long my book will be.

Even if my book turns out to be crap, I'm pretty proud of myself for doing so much. I need to be more diligent during my time off, though! It would be great if I could finish the first draft before school starts on September 10. I need to be doing 1,000 words a day...

Hello

Hello all. I decided I needed a blog so I can force the world (or at least the Internet?) to start taking me seriously as a writer. Maybe if I post enough, people will read this and wonder about me.

Here's some quick background. I've been writing since I learned how to read. Fiction and poetry are my loves, but a lot of my recent work has been in journalism. This summer I've worked as a reporter for my internship with the Roanoke Times. Look me up at www.roanoke.com.

What I'm most excited about, though, is the novel I've been writing. I started it in 2007, but this summer I am finally working on it seriously and diligently. It fits somewhere into the genres of fantasy and sci-fi, but with some unique twists, I think. I don't really want to say much about the plot just yet.

So this blog is a way for me to post updates about what I'm doing and also to motivate myself to keep on doing it. I need all the encouragement I can get.