Welcome back to another Open Book Blog Hop!

Today’s topic is: How do you prepare for a long writing session?

And remember to visit my fellow writers to see what they have come up with. You can find their works here!

I generally don’t get long writing sessions. I work full-time Monday to Friday, which consumes a large portion of my time. In my downtime, I also have a number of other hobbies I like to indulge in to relax. I love settling in, building a Lego set, or playing video games. A lot of my writing is done in snatches, sat on the sofa with some sport on in the background. Or sat in a coffee shop, enjoying a hot drink and some good food.

But on the rare occasion that I do have a prolonged period of time to write, I like a clear desk space. I need my notebooks and pen to hand, a cup of coffee and a bottle of water. If I’m on my laptop I like to connect it to a bigger screen to work from. Dual screens mean I can research on one and write on the other. I also need all of my notes and resources on hand. If I have to go searching for things, it’s no good. It all breaks my flow. Another thing I need is music. If I’m in my home office, I don’t do well with silence. Coffee shops are fine, in fact, I love the background noise. I sometimes get amazing ideas from overheard conversations. If I’m listening to music though, it has to inspire me and it has to set the scene in my head for the genre I’m writing.