Everyone's got their quirks; everyone has their habits; every profession leaves its weird mark. Some of these marks you can see, like lifeguard tan lines or a carpenter's callused fingers. Other weird marks are not so visible; when you've spent enough time as a writer, you start to develop quirks and habits that you don't recognize...that is, until it's too late.
Once you've started to see yourself partaking in these habits, you're already so far down the rabbit hole that there's no turning back.
1. Carrying Notebooks Everywhere You Go
One of the top tips for writers is to carry a notebook so that you can jot ideas down whenever inspiration strikes; but in the day and age of technology, it's almost easier to forget the notebook and rely on your phone's notes app. It's smaller, more easily accessible, and easier to read later (because let's be real, we all have atrocious penmanship).
Here's a secret all writers know: this method does not work.
I'll be the first to admit guilt on this front. Not wanting to carry a backpack with me everywhere I went, I'd leave my notebooks at home, unused, and keep my ideas on my phone. My notes app was flooded with one or two-sentence notes that went mostly unused, and when I was using them, I had to scroll back for ages to find what I was looking for.
Using the notes app also didn't allow me to write during my downtime. Instead of writing habitually whenever I had a few minutes to spare I wrote only when I felt inspired; and as we all know, inspiration can take days - months, even years - to strike. Carrying a notebook not only allows me to take notes when I feel inspired, it also allows me to write - start a new story or add to an old one - whenever I have the chance.
I used to set aside an hour or two each day to write, and once that was done I didn't look at my story again until the next day. Now I write whenever I have five minutes to do so. I look forward to sitting in waiting rooms; I crave waiting for the bus. That's the real quirk of the notebook, the real "weird writer habit". I see every spare minute as an opportunity to work, and I can work, because I carry a notebook with me wherever I go.
2. That Is, If You Go Anywhere
Be honest now, when was the last time you, a writer, actually went anywhere? Or got out of your pajamas? Or showered? And no, dousing yourself with body spray does not count as a shower.
Don't worry, this is a judgement free zone. After all, we are writers here; and writers can be pretty gross.
If you're writing full time, you probably have a home office making it tempting to avoid human interaction for the rest of your life. Even as a part time writer with a day job and no home office, I very rarely leave the places where I am most comfortable - after all, if you're uncomfortable in your surroundings, it will come across in your work. Besides, we're all introverts. Don't try to deny it. I see you hiding behind your coffee cup.
And when you do leave the house...
3. You're Constantly Eavesdropping
We can't help it! We're storytellers, and the whole world around us is a giant story waiting to be told. Every place we go is the location of a scene; every person we encounter - be they friend, acquaintance, or total stranger - is a character. We all want to make our writing believable, and what better way to do it than seek inspiration from real life conversations? People-watching can help you develop character descriptions and storylines (because who hasn't honed their storytelling skills by making up a history for strangers in the street), and eavesdropping on conversations can help you develop dialogue for those characters!
4. Coffee Cups. Coffee Cups Everywhere.
Cars run on gasoline. Writers run on coffee, tea, and every other warm and cozy drink we can get our hands on. Cafés are notoriously the favored haunts of authors, poets, and other artists - I myself have deemed my local café to be my "office" - giving us all the access we need to feed our coffee addictions.
Aside from the fact that they're delicious and perfect in every way, these warm drinks serve a much greater purpose for the writer. The caffeine boost we get from coffee can mean the difference between a fruitful day of new ideas and well written pieces, and a frustratingly unproductive day staring at a blank page. Caffeine boosts our energy and keeps us focused, which, after a long night of not sleeping - because writer's don't sleep - can be very helpful. Plus, holding a warm, comforting drink in your hands can make you feel comfortable and at home in your surroundings - another key ingredient for a productive day!
5. Walking Aimlessly And Talking To Yourself...
...like a crazy person. We pace and we mumble, and occasionally we stop and stand silently, like we're waiting for something. And then we start pacing and mumbling again. Don't you worry, there's a method to the madness; it's all a part of the process...I think. As a child, I used to walk around alone and talk to myself, and when anyone asked what I was doing my answer was, "I'm telling myself a story!"
In retrospect, we all should have seen this career choice coming.
As it turns out though, this weird writer habit can actually benefit thinking and perception. Studies show that self-directed speech, a.k.a. walking around aimlessly and talking to yourself, can help people find certain familiar objects - and ideas. Historical figures known for their genius, such as Albert Einstein, were known to talk to themselves on a daily, or even hourly, basis.
So no, you're not crazy. You only look it.
6. Researching Some...Conspicuous Things
Have you ever typed a question into a search engine only to tack on "I'm a writer, not a terrorist" at the end? Just for the benefit of the FBI agent who's inevitably been assigned to you, I mean. We're not really planning to kill a grown man with our bare hands; we just need to know how it would be done...for fiction purposes! There's got to be a website somewhere with the complete layout of the White House, right?
And don't get me started on the baby name websites...
The internet, in all its data-mining glory, thinks I have been pregnant since I was thirteen years old. I don't blame the internet; all it sees is that I'm searching baby naming sights. How is the internet supposed to know that I'm just trying to name my characters?
7. Getting Frustrated With Your Characters
Last week I skipped out on writing an entire scene because the point of it was to develop a relationship I do not care about.
My outline for the novel I'm currently working on is peppered with pink hi lighter and angrily scrawled notes like "I CAN'T WAIT FOR THESE TWO TO MAKE OUT!!!" Yes, I know I'm the author; I'm the one who created them and put them in their situation; I can change the story and make the characters do what I want if I so choose. But they're just so damn frustrating! I mean, they're obviously meant to be together, right? RIGHT!?
We've all been there. Getting frustrated with your characters comes with the territory of creating characters in the first place. We get attached to them and, though it sounds crazy, our characters become our friends. Half the time they're based of people in our lives anyway, why shouldn't we feel like we know them? Everyone gets frustrated with their friends and family some times, and getting frustrated with our characters is the same deal.
8. Casting The Movie Adaptation Of Your Novel In Your Head
All writers secretly posses the same dream: to write a bestseller, get a movie contract, cast their favorite actor as the lead role, and become best friends with them.
Aside from wanting my favorite actor to give a toast at my wedding, attaching my characters to certain actors in my mind allows me to visualize my characters and flesh them out. I can hear them in my mind as I write dialogue, which sounds crazy, but so does talking to yourself, and we've already debunked that myth.
Besides, sometimes it's easier to understand your novel and get it written if you can visualize it in movie form; casting the movie adaptation in your head can be a good trick for getting past any stuck-ness you may encounter while writing.
9. Not Sleeping
Inspiration - the perfect concept, the perfect description, the perfect opening line - strikes at the most inopportune moments. The best ideas you've ever come up with will hit you in the shower, in the middle of class, and in the middle of the night. Your next great novel idea might wake you up at 2 in the morning. I can attest to being shaken away by poems on more than one occasion; but it's more than just that.
Research shows that the best time to write (or do anything creative, really) is early in the morning. Our brains experience creative activity at its highest during and just after sleep, and the best time to get ideas is right after waking up. It makes sense that some of the most well known and acclaimed authors of all time woke up well before 7 am every day.
While waking up before the sun is something we generally have to train ourselves to do (sunlight being a natural alarm clock anyway), studies also show that creative thinkers are more inclined to be early risers anyway! The creative mind gets up early, and the analytical mind sleeps in.
Naturally, as with all rules, there are exceptions. Charles Dickens would get up early and be done writing for the day by 2 pm; 2 pm is when Robert Frost would just be getting started on his writing for the day.
Of course, Robert Frost was awake and working well in to the night, so he wasn't sleeping either...
10. Writing
Because you'd have to be a complete wacko to want this life; and yet, we wake up in the morning after a night of dreaming, drink our coffee, make ourselves comfortable, and write...