by Rachel Smith
08 November 2013
I like writing in bed.
I’ve had more writing sessions in the crib than ever since my husband bought me a laptop for my birthday – my first (if you don’t count the brick I bought for a tenner and struggled to take notes on when I lived in London). And, the novelty of having a computer you can take anywhere doesn’t look like it’ll wear off anytime soon.
I’m sure there are some finger-waggers out there who think writing in bed is unprofessional and I should be sitting upright at my desktop by 9am, preferably in a pencil skirt, heels and lipstick so as to FEEL that I am at work and thus productive. But if I’m meeting deadlines, does it really matter if I’m wearing yoga pants and my beloved polkadot slippers? As for putting lipstick on – that’s got to be a joke, right?
Writing sessions in bed are much more likely if it’s a) Friday – because Fridays are fair game for a little rule-breaking or b) it’s raining. If it’s Friday AND it’s raining; that’s a slice of heaven for me right there. There is nothing – NOTHING – like tucking a cosy doona around yourself in bed, your hand curled around a warm cuppa and your laptop perched on your lap while the rain batters the window.
Typically, NaNoWriMo has coincided with one of the busiest work months of my entire year – so I’m writing around the clock. Mornings. Late at night. I’m squeezing in interviews and getting other people to transcribe for me to take some pressure off. Because not only do I have to pull several features out of the proverbial hat this month, I’m also frantically scribbling away at my 50,000-word novel.
And working in bed – while not something I do all the time – is fast becoming my Friday treat.
Your turn: do you like writing in bed, or are you the type of person that needs to be dressed and at your computer to get stuff done? No judgement (even if you wear lipstick :))
I tend not to write in bed because the light isn’t very good in my bedroom but I do most of my best work in my pyjamas.
And good on you for doing NaNoWriMo and juggling the freelancing! I am so behind at both but I’m giving it a red hot go!
Oh Adeline, NaNoWriMo is a whole other post. Glad I’m not alone though on being behind… my characters are shallow and completely self-absorbed and at 8,000 words I already feel burnt out!
I have to be up and dressed otherwise the temptation to either go back to sleep or read a book is too much! There’s also the issue of my cat deciding the laptop would be a great place to have a sit down (because it’s obviously taking my attention away from him!). However, lipstick has never been, and will never be involved 🙂
Yes! Go the lipstick-free workplace 🙂
I don’t have a cat, but I imagine it’s a) attention-seeking behaviour and b) your laptop is nice and warm, like a heater!
Seeing as how at the beginning of the year I had a new office built from which to work (only meters from home), I feel obliged to make use of it. I suppose I could work from my bed but that would be crowding out my freelancing wife who likes to do as does Rachel. She spreads her stuff out around the bed and works there when she isn’t engaging with clients, despite having a newly built office space upstairs. Enough room to sleep together but work together, …just isn’t going to happen.
I don’t know about all of you but I spent a fair bit of rainy Friday in bed! And all day Saturday but I have a good excuse, I was reading the new Bridget Jones. 🙂
I edited bits of last book from bed and on the couch. Reclining and being cosy made it feel less like a slog! I know a YA writer who writes and edits her books from a comfy chair, at night, while her hubby watches TV. Makes her feel less alone/shut off from the world.
I have been known to spend numerous days in my pyjamas and pink fluffy socks while juggling freelancing and my novel. In winter, bed was definitely the best option once the kids went off to school and hubby was at work. I’d venture out to grab more coffee and tim tams. I’d be glamorous vicariously, through my characters 😉