What kind of daily things do you do?

[eojsmada]

I've always been intrigued by how one could help foster a better "surrounding" for themselves. So I figured I would ask everyone what they do: What websites do you frequent? Do you mostly read and write and ignore the world? What things do you do, during the course of a day, that help to keep you focused on your writing and your love of the genre?

 

[Zero Angel]

Thanks for the post eojsmada. It's an interesting question.

I have two versions of a to-do list that I try to stick to.

One I call my "casual day to-do list" which is basically my "easy" day (for creating anyway), and my other is my "work day to-do list" which is, well, I think it is self-explanatory.

Casual Day

1. Draw something
2. Take notes via voice recorder or post-it (can be brainstorming, launchpads, scene, etc)
3. Check MythicScribes
4. Tweet something interesting related to books--do not bog down feed with shameless self-promotion!
5. Check Google+, Facebook Page, Twitter feed
6. ...check Amazon sales ranking and slowly die inside...

Work Day

1. Everything on casual day +...
2. Write at least one short story
3. Read/edit at least one unpublished chapter or short
4. Draw more somethings
5. Consider going to the dark side and bogging down feed with shameless self-promotion only to barely avoid this (or not as the case may be )
6. Complete multiple wiki stubs
7. Complete at least one wiki page
8. Pursue reviewers
9. Submit stories
10. Check myspace page and Nook rankings...wonder why Nooks are even mentioned in the same breath as the Kindle

Casual Days are when I can dedicate 2-4 hours of time, and sometimes I borrow from my Work Day list, but Work Days are when I can dedicate 12-16 hours (which are rare when you have two non-writing jobs and a fiancee, but I try to fit them in!)

 

[a dreamy walker]

A typical casual day for me:

1. Try to start a drawing
2. Watch some news or documentaries
3. Watch some motorsport or any sport that has wheels (etc cycling)
4. Walk
5. Go on the computer
6. Daydream
7. Read a book or an informative magazine (which tends to be either Top Gear magazine or Autosport)
   

And a typical work day:

1. Grin and bear it.
2. When the day is over, leave as soon as possible.
3. Plug in iPod and turn volume up to 'barely hear other workers' level
4. Wonder when I can find another job (my current occupation has made me ill)
5. Try and enjoy the drive home.
   

 

[CupofJoe]

What sets up me up for my writing is a long walk. I go for a walk in the “wild woods” around me with a pad of paper and a pencil – if I get an idea I jot it down; and a flask of coffee. I don't listen to music but try to hear what nature is saying. Let my mind wander or even wonder.
During the summer I might go walking as early as 05.00; in the winter I tend to wait for sunrise.
When I write I unplug my laptop from the Wi-Fi so I can't get distracted by MS or anything else.

I have two weeks off soon and am planning to go walking on one day and write on the next. Going to try a HP Lovecraft style tale... Sirens and sea monsters...

 

[Chilari]

Watch some motorsport or any sport that has wheels (etc cycling)

Ah, a fellow motorsport fan. I'm a big fan of F1 but don't really follow other sports much. Can't wait for Spa this weekend, and fingers crossed for Jenson.

As for answering the question, I tend to write in the evening, often nearly the last things I do before bed. But before I write a spend half an hour on here, reading threads and commenting and getting in the writing mood. Then before I start writing I pick an album to listen to as I write. My current favourites are CN Lester's Ashes, Gaslight Anthem's Handwritten and Frank Turner's England Keep My Bones, but there are others inlcuding 30 Seconds to Mars' This is War and Feeder's Generation Freakshow. I find an album is ideal because that's about the length of time I write in each session, getting down between 300 and 800 words a night. I don't really have any other daily rituals to benefit writing other than that.

As for other stuff I do, after I get home from work and have eaten I usually check twitter, go on reddit, play some computer games for a bit and maybe watch something on youtube or netflix, before coming on Mythic Scribes at about 9pm and subsequently writing and then going to bed. If I'm going out in the evening eg to watch a film, I'll skip the computer game and reddit and go straight from twitter to MS and then to writing.

At weekends if there's a race on I'll watch that (see above) and arrange shopping, playing games and doing household tasks like laundry and washing up around it. Writing stays squarely in the evening unless I feel inspired, in which case there are two writing sessions that day because I still have to write in the evening.

 

[Philip Overby]

Casual Day:

1. Wake up
2. Check mail.
3. Check Facebook/Twitter.
4. Check Mythic Scribes. Probably just keep the window open all day and refresh.
5. Chat with "my crew." (you know who you are)
6. Take a nap and/or play games.
7. Get angry at myself and do some writing.
8. Wait for my wife to get home from work.
9. Eat dinner/talk with wife.
10. Do some more writing (ideally).

Work Day

1. Go to work
2. Do numbers 2, 3, and 4 above before work starts.
3. Do the 9-6 thing.
4. Come home and entertain the thought of writing, but probably just watch videos on Youtube or play a game.

Hmm...I really need to cut out some of this stuff. Maybe work?

 

[SlimShady]

Casual day
1. Wake up.
2. Write, write, write. Check facebook, mythic scribes, and about two or three other sites. Listen to some loud music.
3. Grass-cutting if it needs to be done.
4. Do whatever I want for the rest of the day. Sometimes writing, sometimes hanging out with friends, and other times just dicking around all day.



School day
1. Wake up and get ready.
2. School, school, school. Mostly just BSing all day
3. Get home, check mythic scribes, facebook, and start writing.
4. Get some dinner.
5. Visit my grandma, uncle, neighbors, or one of my sisters. Or just have one of my cousins come up and hang out.
6. Write some more, get some snacks before bed, and write until sleep consumes me.
7. Bed.

 

[Penpilot]

Typical day

After breakfast write for 2-3 hrs
Do non-writing stuff

After dinner write for 3-4 hrs
Do more non- writing stuff

Read for an hour before bed

Rinse an repeat

 

[Ireth]

Typical summer day:

-Wake up.
-Check Mythic Scribes, deviantART, sometimes Facebook or Cheezburger
-Go downstairs to have breakfast and help babysit the youngest siblings until naptime, daydreaming/brainstorming all the while about various things
-Go upstairs when the sibs are napping, check misc. sites, try to get some writing or outlining done
-Go back downstairs when the sibs wake up, babysit some more and do more daydreaming/brainstorming
-Have supper, babysit some more until the sibs' bedtime
-Go upstairs, spend the evening at my desk either derping around on the internet, RPing or writing

College days tend to vary because of differing class times and homework, and will remain to be seen until I go back this Sunday. XD