Thursday Thirteen: Pen Monkey Stuff

I don’t talk about writing often because I’m no guru or know-it-all when it comes to being a pen monkey.  So I thought it would be fun to list thirteen things that help me write, ways that I find time to write or whatever.  Just so long as it’s writing related.

1. Writing sprints.  I’m incredibly easy to distract so being able to log into the writechat.net for a good challenge or tune into the #wordmongering sessions every hour, on the hour is a good focus tool for me.
2. Excel sheet.  I keep a spread sheet with my daily numbers plotted out on it.  I can track my productivity and evaluate my performance.  There are always X factors going on that are non-writing related that impact the out put but I can figure those into the evaluation process at least.
3. OneNote.  This one little program keeps everything organized as far as research and outlines and character ‘stuff’.
4. DropBox.  I work on several machines.  Being able to open the most up-to-date version of the file on any of them is awesome.
5. Candles.  Don’t ask me why, but I write best with a candle flickering in my periphrial vision.
6. Angela James’ self editing class.  The things I learned in that class have made me a better writer.  No one can fix my spelling, but she at least made my grammar better.
7. Being single.  I don’t have distractions of a spouce or kids.  I’m single and I can set my own writing hours and schedule outside of work.
8. Supportive co-workers.  I don’t blog or talk about work on principal, but my co-workers are all very excited and supportive of my writing.
9. #writersdatenight.  Having friends who are writers is a little neurotic, but awesome.  They understand the things that pop out of my mouth and encourage me unlike any other.
10. NaNoWriMo.  Some people hate this month long focused writing time.  I loved it and it gave me the kick in the pants I needed to get writing again.  Also, I met some of my closest friends via NaNoWriMo.
11. Dr Pepper.  Need something to work towards.  Set a goal, achieve it, get a Dr Pepper!
12. Research material.  AKA, my excuse to sit back with a good book and read.
13. Some days nothing is more important than penning the story.  Even sleep.  We won’t talk about the nights I’ve spent writing instead of sleeping or how awful the next work day was.