What is your writing process like? Do you listen to music? Sit in silence? Have coffee/tea/wine? Do you just stare at a blank page for hours?
ahhh thank you so much for sending this in!! i love it and i wanted to answer immediately, because i could talk about my writing process for aaaages 😅 (some of that is bound to be complaining but y'know that's how it goes)
i do listen to music! sometimes i pick a playlist that fits the vibe of what i'm writing, like music that reminds me of fall when i'm writing a fall fic. i generally always have music playing in the background of whatever i'm doing—and it has to be music with words. for some reason, instrumental music is distracting for me.
i'm a big coffee drinker, though i don't necessarily need it when i'm writing. however, i usually am drinking coffee when i write because tend to write early on in my day (i've sort of adapted Ursula K. LeGuin's daily routine, but fit it around my normal job) either before work or, on the weekends, before lunch. my brain gets dumber as the day goes along, so i try to write when i feel freshest.
the absolute last thing i ever want to do is stare at a blank page and, tbh, i don't have the attention span for it. i'm a big believer of just getting the words on the page and making it perfect later. i refuse to let myself edit as i go, especially with a first draft, and that helps a lot.
obviously i still get stuck. if it's for a minute or two, i'll play some solitaire, let my brain have a little rest so it can work things out in the background. if that doesn't work, i'll get up and walk around my apartment, maybe do some dishes or putter around in the kitchen. if that still doesn't work, i'll go outside and go for a walk.
and then if none of that works, i'll just stop for the day. the least productive thing you can do is stare at a blank page berating yourself for not being able to write. you can't always control how much creativity or energy you have in a day, and sometimes you just have bad days. the important thing is to try first. i'll sit down and actually try to write for 30-60 minutes and if it's really not working, like i can't focus or everything feels wrong, then i'll let myself be and try again the next day. but i never ever ever stare at a blank page.
ok ok like i said, i could talk about this for ages but i'll stop there. i hope this answered your questions!!