What kinds of media help you engage in your writing process?

[happyyy_]

White noise. 8 hour YouTube video of a crackling fireplace and a blizzard howling outside a house.

I like thunderstorm noises for writing, I haven't considered blizzards though! Great idea

 

[happyyy_]

If no guys in this thread say porn, then we know there are some liars.

for some reason when I made this thread I didn't think of video media at all?? I haven't watched porn in a long time Sometimes I struggle to think through the action aspect of sex positions when I'm writing, now I'm wondering if watching porn would have helped with that all this time.

 

[Rob_Royale]

There are outside influences to my creativity, lyrics or the occasional image, but just the story in my head is what sets me up to be ready to write.

 

[Writer61]

I write in a universe with multiple story lines, which I guess is broadly akin to a full-length novel in terms of complexity. So I use a couple of tools to help me visualise people/events and maintain consistency and continuity.

In Excel I maintain:

• a list of characters partly so that I can avoid re-using names, keep track of physical characteristics, etc.
• a timeline to help with continuity, character ages, life events, etc.
• a list of story names and taglines to keep some consistency between them; will start tracking tags too.

In Powerpoint I have what are essentially mood boards:

• mostly with images of people that represent the character, as I find it easier to write when I can picture them, can include comments to the effect of 'this person but older' and so on,
• sometimes with a map/plan or picture of a location,
• last week, for the first time, I have included a picture of something relevant, in this case a dress; expect to do more of this.

In Word I have an outline of planned/potential stories. Typically each is a one line synopsis and a few bullet points. When I am writing something that might be relevant later I add a note. Also helps with the overall story arc.

For specific stories I sometimes have detailed timelines (e.g. Monday: this, Tuesday: that) or, when there is a lot of partner-swapping, a list of who is paired up with whom at each moment. These may be in Excel or Powerpoint.

When writing I avoid anything that needs attention, e.g. TV/movies, podcasts/audiobooks. Music is not so distracting but I generally don't put any on. Might try ambient noise.

 

[happyyy_]

In Excel I maintain:

• a list of characters partly so that I can avoid re-using names, keep track of physical characteristics, etc.
• a timeline to help with continuity, character ages, life events, etc.
• a list of story names and taglines to keep some consistency between them; will start tracking tags too.

In Powerpoint I have what are essentially mood boards:

• mostly with images of people that represent the character, as I find it easier to write when I can picture them, can include comments to the effect of 'this person but older' and so on,
• sometimes with a map/plan or picture of a location,
• last week, for the first time, I have included a picture of something relevant, in this case a dress; expect to do more of this.

Wow that's really interesting! I guess powerpoint would actually work really nicely for mood boards, its easy to set up a board of sorts and paste/format your images.
I am curious how you format your excel sheets- is it just a basic table? I always conflate excel with work, so I never thought of its story crafting potential