Celerity Blog

Writer’s Life: Start Before You’re Ready
TJ Willis TJ Willis

Writer’s Life: Start Before You’re Ready

I was not ready. I am not ready now. I will never be ready.

Oh well. I started anyway.

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Let’s talk about rough drafts. There’s a lot of ways to write one. Some people like to start with a meticulously crafted outline, complete with Roman numerals or alternating dots, dashes, and stars. Others prefer using index cards, which can range from simple white rectangles on a pin board to a splay of every neon color Office Max has ever sold scattered over the entirety of the linoleum kitchen floor because that’s the only space that has enough room in your home and oh God would someone please help with the dog why was he let out of his kennel shit now half your cards are in a crumpled mess under the cabinets.

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Writer’s Life: The importance of community
TJ Willis TJ Willis

Writer’s Life: The importance of community

Every writer has a dream office. Picture yours. Is the desk a stellar find from an antique shop, made of oak and dating back 200 years? Maybe it’s glass and steel, sleek and uncomplicated, perfect for setting a distraction-less ‘vibe.’ Do you need large windows unfettered by curtains and the bothersome presence of nature? Perhaps they’re open to let in the sounds of the river nearby? Or perhaps those curtains must be drawn during writing hours, invoking the cold yet intimate aesthetic of a vintage library. Are you drinking tea, or do you have a personal coffee maker in the corner? Candles? Lamps? Fluorescent lighting?

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