emhawkerblog

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Quirky writer’s habits

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I’ve been asked if I have any quirky writer’s habits. And I have to say (chomp) that I absolutely (crunch, munch) positively (gulp, yum) don’t have any.

Sorry about that. You don’t mind if I eat eight Freddo Frogs while I write this post, do you?

Make that nine.

 
I’m sure it doesn’t surprise anyone to learn that I eat chocolate while I’m writing. A lot. I eat a lot of chocolate anyway, but when you’re sitting at a computer with words to write, people to please and deadlines to meet, it’s easier to justify eating a few hundred more frogs. Or bars. Or blocks.

I eat chocolate, but that’s far from the quirkiest of my writer’s habits. So I’ll let you in on what I do when I’m stuck on something. When I’m yet to decide which direction to take a piece, or when I’m simply suffering from a good old fashioned case of writer’s block, I usually do one of two completely different things, depending on where I am, who’s with me and what I might have already done that day to combat writer’s block.

I will either get up, crank up the music to a favourite song, and belt it out at the top of my lungs. (Thorn in My Side, I Like You Better When You’re Not Around and Belle are particular favourites, as are any songs from Les Miserables or The Little Mermaid.)

Or, I will sit there and write to the general theme of what I’m doing in as Seussian a way as possible. I will rhyme, make up words, invent ridiculous scenarios that haven’t yet happened (and are most unlikely to), or do all three.

For example, if I’m writing a blog post about quirky writer’s habits and I can’t think of any to write about, I might write this:

Quirky writer’s habits? Oh no, not me
I find writing as easy as can be
I don’t succumb to chocky temptation
Or sing for a fake audience’s admiration
Or write silly rhymes of my own creation
I have the knack
To stay on track
I’m not some hack
(Cue panic attack…)

 
Or if I’m writing a future best-selling dinosaur murder mystery set in Antarctica, and I’m not yet sure which dinosaur dunnit, I might write this:

The Tyrannosaurus Rex lay in wait
By the Stegosaurus’s front gate
‘He’ll never know I’m here’ thought he
‘And then I’ll finally get some tea!’
But T-Rex was getting very old
And his arthritis played up in the cold
When Stega found him lying there
His puny arms stuck in the air
Stega claimed T-Rex’s head
And mounted it above his bed
(Next to those of Pteranodon,
Triceratops and Iguanodon)

 

Or if I’m writing a special Budget edition of a company’s e-newsletter (unfortunately, this is the exciting sort of thing I’m much more likely to be writing), and I’m a little uninspired by the actual Budget that was handed down (surely not?!), I might write the following:

Hockey’s first Budget was a real humdinger
We expected a dud, but landed a zinger
He pulled $100M out of his rear
To spend on marshmallows for MPs next year
(And of course, some new whizz-bang fire roasting gear)

 
(NB: If Mr Hockey announces a $100 million MP marshmallow program next month, just remember that you heard it here first.)

—-

Each month, I receive a writing prompt as part of a link-up called Writers Reveal. This post was inspired by the prompt ‘Quirky Writer’s Habits’ from Ashley at Author Ashley Howland.

You can see what everyone else has done with the same prompt at:

 

Do you have any quirky writer’s habits? How do you deal with writer’s block?

Comments

    • Maybe you have one you don’t realise you have. Like pulling a funny face? (I watched a video of myself playing piano once and was MORTIFIED to discover I stick my tongue out during fast passages.)

      Reply

  2. I love your rhyming and singing posts! You’re so clever! I might give the whole “eating chocolate while writing” thing a try. I have some easter eggs in the cupboard that aren’t going to make it til the weekend anyway! 😉

    Reply

    • Genetics. Although, as I get older, my pork chop resemblance is on the increase. And thank you. I’d LOVE to write kids’ books.

      Reply

  4. I love those verses 🙂 Very creative.

    Chocolate is a must in a writer’s life… I need to find a better hiding place for mine, somehow it keeps disappearing…

    Reply

  8. This is a bit weird but when I’m writing my post I can’t speak to anyone. My heart starts palpitating and I get really anxious. When I finally look up at the end, an hour has passed and I don’t know where the time went. I’m like a woman possessed by the devil. These are my husband’s words not mine.

    Reply

  9. Haha…please don’t write an epic novel or you’ll be obese (with that quirky writing habit!)

    My only quirk is ENDLESS cups of tea. And ‘writer’s block’ is awful…my technique is to give the piece some space and come back to it with (hopefully) a fresh eye.

    Great post 🙂

    Reply

  10. Oh man your blog ate my comment! Must have liked all the sweets that I mentioned that I like to eat! For me I choose smaller things than fredos like skittles or m&ms. I consume in such a large quantity I figure small sizes are best!

    Reply

    • Nom nom, hungry blog! Big or small, it all gets eaten anyway, so I buy in bulk to save money. That’s what I tell myself, anyway. Then promptly eat it all in one go.

      Reply

  13. I am sitting here (not eating chocolate) but laughing my arse off at this post! $100M on marshmallows??!!! Better get me a political career! x
    P.S Enjoy those Freddos!

    Reply

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