#IWSG: Writing environments

 

It's the first Wednesday of the month again already, and time for my IWSG post! I'm honored to be a co-host this month and will be visiting as many of you as possible!

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds (and come on, we're all insecure in some way)!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writers - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to the IWSG page and display the badge in your post. And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

 

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!
Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for

April 1 posting of the IWSG are Melissa Maygrove, Cathrina Constantine, Kate Larkinsdale, and yours truly!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional

April 1 question - If you have a playlist (or could put one together) that either gets you in the groove to write or fits with one of your books, what is it? What type of music or what songs?

First, my writing updates:

Revisions on the novel are coming along, and actually going pretty well, though never as smoothly as I'd like--last month, I thought I'd be ready for beta readers by now. As usual, everything is taking longer than intended.

Submissions: I've made 3 short story submissions this month, with another ready to go tomorrow, and logged 2 rejections and 2 presumed rejections (stories that have been on submission for way too long; I have to assume an email went astray somewhere). 

 

Now for the question: 

I'm not a playlist kind of person, and in fact prefer to work without music (in part because I'm easily distracted. So instead of talking about playlists, I thought I'd ask about your preferred work environments--either the best you have, or what you would have in a perfect world.

For me, I mostly like writing in my own quiet office (the half of my bedroom that has a view into my back yard, a very green space). I seldom put on music, and if I do it will be classical, because anything with lyrics is too distracting. I'm good with total quiet.

Sometimes, though, I like to mix it up. I enjoy taking a notebook or a laptop to a cafe, preferably sitting where I can't distinctly hear individual conversations (that kind of thing is reserved for when I'm collecting material, not actually writing), but where there's a pleasant background buzz. Mostly I suspect I do this because I like coffee, though I'm only allowed a cup once in a while as a treat.

In the best of all worlds, my desk would be free of visual clutter as well as auditory clutter. For that to actually be the case, I think I'd have to be hatched again and hatched different. Oh, and I'd figure out how to keep the temperature back there consistent. Otherwise, I've got about the perfect work space.

 Your turn! What's your ideal writing environment? What would it take to have it? 

☕Buy me a coffee--or get my ebooks

 

 ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2026 

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