Get in the Write Mind with Guest Blogger: A.J. Best

The Book Boost welcomes aspiring author A.J. Best to the blog today.

Here's what she had to say...


It’s time to sit down to write. What shall I write about? Should I work on the current project or the one the muses gave me last night? I could research that one. Oh, or the one that I started last month. I can finish my NaNo project, even though I didn’t ‘win’ this year. Oh never mind, there’s too much to choose from, and the house is a mess anyway.

I’m sure that many authors go through that scenario in their heads; I do that and then some.

Luckily I have had some great writing friends, and non-writing friends who were kind enough to tell me, “You know what AJ? Writers are called writers because they write. Now sit your butt down and write already.”

There is nothing like getting wisdom told to you like it really is; I actually need that. I want to be told how it is, and not have things sugar coated for me. I needed to hear their rants about sitting down to write.

I’ve used the excuse of writer’s block, and cleaning, and kids, and, and, and... With all of those "ands", I never got anything accomplished. So, I’ve had to force myself to SIT and WRITE. I’ve made a schedule that I can live with. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday are my writing days. Those are the days that I cannot dilly-dally with anything. There will be no checking email during the day, no Facebook (dear Lord NO!) and no TV. On Wednesday I allow myself to work on my email that needs to be done. I write my guest blog posts, work on getting others on my website, and get some Facebook time during the day!

I created a writing space for myself, which is set aside for writing only. When I’m there, there are no social networking sites, no messengers. There is only word processing software, and any research related sites on my browser. I have incense, Pandora or Slacker playing in the background, and a drink.

I’m quite sure if I didn’t have my music, I wouldn’t be able to write. There are several reasons why:

1. When the house is quiet, I can hear every noise. The clock is ticking, the cats are walking, the sink is dripping, the house is settling, and I can’t focus. I was like that when I was in school too. I finally talked my parents into letting me have music on when I was doing my homework. They were pleasantly surprised when my grades went up.

2. Music helps me to set the scene. When I need a good love scene, or a tender moment I’m a sucker for Celine Dion. When I have a good fight scene, or a vamp doing something dirty Metallica rocks my boat. For some odd reason Metallica also calms me down when I’m in a ‘mood’.

3. And when the door is shut and the music is playing, my kids and fiancé know that they are not to enter without knocking. There is nothing worse than loosing the momentum of a fight or a sex scene. I’ve actually been in the middle of a sex scene and I was rudely interrupted. I had to leave my computer and come back. When I got back my muse decided to tell me that they weren’t in the mood for sex anymore. I couldn’t finish the scene and had to write something totally different.

Make yourself comfortable with your environment. Make sure to have the music playing and my dear writing friends, sit down and write.


A Note from the Book Boost: Great tips for all, AJ. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with us today. Hope you'll join us again in the near future with news of one of your finished projects. Can't wait to hear more about what you are writing to all that musical inspiration.

Want More AJ?

Visit her website here: www.ajbestwrites.com