Weird Writing Habits?

[Coach Fro]

Anybody got any habits you would consider a little odd when you're writing?

In my case, I sometimes like to hover the over shift key and hold it when I pause in the middle of writing a sentence. Also, sometimes when I notice a word is missing from a sentence that I'm writing, instead of  just filling in that missing word, I would just delete the whole sentence and rewrite it again.

[MahluaandMilk]

I'm guilty of the second habit, as well. I'll delete like an entire sentence and retype it because I typo'd the first word.

I suppose some of my quirks are easily noticeable. Yes, I even format my Word Processor to type in Times New Roman as I write, usually size fourteen because I'm blind as f%$# and single spaced, no space after paragraph.

Another thing that is probably a bizarre habit of mine that pertains to more than just writing is that if I need to transition between tasks, I'll usually take a shower. Like, been drawing all day and wanna switch to writing? Shower. Been doing nothing all day and want to transition to writing? Shower. Been writing one chapter all day and want to write another? Shower. I can't say that it always works, but it makes me feel like it might work.

On a related note, I cannot write if I smell food or am too anxious or otherwise emotionally drained.

[Coryn]

I'm starting bto think the whole deleting a whole sentence to fix one typo thing isn't actually that weird, because I do it too. Maybe that one we can chalk up to human nature.


I used to write in some very odd positions, but any more these days I try to avoid that (and my future back thanks me)

And another one that was a hold out from the real old days, is that I would double space everything manually. Even once I got something where it did it automatically, I ignored the function. I'm only just now getting around to fixing that habit

[Suuper-san]

I sometimes delete a sentence to fix typos, but sometimes don't, randomly.

@mahlua I also have showers to segment my tasks lol, although its only usually when I want to focus 100% on the next task, which is usually only my art. I feel like it clears my mind better.

Don't know if its strange but I move my cursor in shapes and patterns while I am thinking, or randomly select and deselect sentences.

If my wpm (words per minute) gets too high I will start typing complete gibberish (including random actual words) for a few seconds before my brain kicks in that what I am thinking isn't appearing on the screen.

[Coach Fro]

Huh, didn't think deleting an entire sentence to fix one typo would be so common. Maybe it's not so weird after all.

While I don't perform my writing sessions in segments like Lua and Suuper, I do often take frequent breaks when I'm writing. Usually when I reach a point in a scene that I feel sort of stuck on, I would get up and starting walking around the house to sort of clear my mind. This can go on for about a hour straight, and when I'm done I return to my station to write more, only to of course, take another break. Funny enough, it's not always when I feel stuck on something. Sometimes I just stop to take a break just because.

Another note, I hate writing in hot temperatures. I can sometimes ignore the heat, but often times I find myself feeling drained when I try to push through it.

[GreenTrap]

I prefer writing in a notebook than typing on the computer. Something about my bad handwriting makes the ideas feel more 'me' than any font on microsoft word. I suppose that gives me more confidence or something...

...That and I don't have a computer anymore 

[Coryn]

I've actually used the heat to push me on and get into the mindset before. Granted, I'm from a warmer climate and grew up in a house with functionally no air conditioning, so maybe I'm just more used to it. But back when writing the original life at Sea, I really got myself worked up into the mindset for some scenes using the heat.

[Suuper-san]

Something about my bad handwriting makes the ideas feel more 'me'

I agree with this completely :)

I can't stand the heat at all for productivity. I can sometimes push through it but other times I just sleep.

I sometimes listen to white noise,rain,waterfall, or thunderstorm etc audio tracks to concentrate and allow my mind to wander. Its a thin line between falling asleep, but if I'm lucky I can get a nice brainstorm going.

[Coryn]

Music always gets me going in that respect. If I can find the right song, I'll put it on repeat for hours upon hours. Which I suppose qualifies as a weird habit. To me though, it's the people who listen to a song only once before moving on (or god forbid, skip to the next one before it's even over) that are the real odd ones.

[Baruden]

I tend to buy pushed down-buttons keyboard, so when i write i just smoothly move my fingers over the buttons to reach the next button which kinda makes me feel like a maestro and weirdly makes me feel like flying in my text....ok this sound too weird, but hey it works for me 

and for music i tend to listen to: Two steps from Hell - Archangel 

And regarding deleting a whole sentence, i believe as a writers we tend to write a sentence in a perfect way or it feels the sentence is wrong or not "Perfect form of writing" that what i feel when i write it.

[Suuper-san]

@baruden I get that maestro typing feeling on rare occasions when my wpm doubles or triples and i get like 180 wpm no errors for 30 seconds :P it feels like a rare skill with really hard activation conditions lol

great music, added to my list :P

another weird thing, incidentally for those who might find it helpful, listening to music with active/passive noise cancelling headphones worked wonders for me and my typing speed and accuracy. It seems that I rely on the sound of the keys for a hit when i can hear them, but on the feel of the keys, when I cant. OR, the sound of the keys is a distraction to my timing. would love a silent one lol. (damn now I'm designing it in my head)

[Coach Fro]

@baruden: I definitely prefer flat keyboard buttons over the big and clunky buttons ones. I feel like I'm fighting against a invisible force every time I push down a button on those damn things.

@Suuper: That's interesting for sure. Listening to music with headphones while writing is an odd one for me. Generally I can write while a listening to a song, but I find myself pausing a lot as a result. It's as if the sound of the song disturbs me at times and I have to remove the headphones for a moment in order to think. Now you would think that this would cause me to write without music instead. However, that is not the case, since I hate writing in complete silence sometimes. I don't know man. I think it just comes down to a mood thing with me I guess. 

[Coryn]

Interesting. I often write with just the headphones in but without music. Somehow it helps me separate myself from what's going on around me, and let's me get into deeper.

[Suuper-san]

@fro yeah the music can be distracting. I don't write much so I cant say if it helps with actual writing, it helps with typing speed at least. You can always listen to waterfall/fainforest/thunderstorm/white noise instead as they can be really relaxing. Or nothing as Coryn says, which I have done on occasion too. In that regard a good pair of ear plugs are your best friend, which I have also used on occasion lol. must try out some of these again and see if there is a noticeable difference on sound to productivity.

[Baruden]

I noticed that it's not the "Music" we need to run our engine to write.

Sometimes only noises, many times i i open a talk-show on my tv and leave it while writing.