My Perfect Writing Afternoon
The other afternoon, I was scratching away inside my notebook and basking in the spring sunshine when I caught myself and took a moment to fully appreciate my writer’s nook. Since moving in with my boyfriend, I’d been dreaming of this: a lovely, light-soaked space to work, read, and write my ideas to life. And I got to thinking about my ‘perfect writing afternoon’.
Like I’ve mentioned several times before, I write because I simply can’t not. That is to say, writing is my raison d’être and it really comes naturally to me. I’m a copywriter in my 9-5 day job, I’ve run this lifestyle blog since 2009, I scribble away in my journal near-daily, I write a Substack, and I’m somehow also working on a novel. You could put me in a cave (with WiFi), and I’d probably still be able to write. Yet there are many things that I do to elevate the writing experience and keep my setup feeling inspiring and fresh, and to tickle that writer’s brain in me. Sure, my perfect writing afternoon includes golden sunlight streaming through my windows, a light breeze peering through, and a new candle flickering beside me, but what else is there?
Setting the scene
I’m a real big ambient music sort of person. You’ll have heard me talk about playing smooth jazz while I cook or cosy gaming lo-fi while I read, and I also listen to music when I write. I used to try and habit-stack by playing YouTube videos, but I realised that I end up really distracted when the vlog is that good! And, now that my beloved lofi.co has closed down, I’ve had to find some alternatives that similarly don’t disrupt my Spotify game. IYKYK. Some of my favourite lo-fi playlists for writing include:
- Loaf.’s ‘Tiramisu.’
- warm blanket’s ‘perfect fried egg with pumpkin soup and whole grain bread’
- Chill Crossing Hour’s ‘Rainy Lo-fi Study Café’
My go-to writing platforms
I’m sort of cheating with this segment because I mostly wanted to share my main tip for writing: create documents on Pages, Microsoft Word, Notion or Google Docs for your writing! So I write a blog, a Substack, and a novel manuscript? I’m rarely using the WordPress CMS, Substack dashboard or any fancy writing tools for my work. It’s the words that matter and a simple, clean word processor is what allows said words to flow.
Whenever I write in the CMS itself, I end up distracted by new posts from fellow creatives or the draft doesn’t save or some other Internet disaster strikes. There’s nothing like a fresh document for me!
How I put together a blog post or Substack essay
Finally, the pièce de résistance of this piece: how I put together my blog posts and Substack essays. And I think a big part of this is also to do with my overall writing discipline and priorities, since I think writing is also a bit of a habit thing – once you’re in a routine, the rhythm of it comes to you far easier!
I am always overflowing with content and essay ideas. In fact, this was one of the services I offered when I ran my own copywriting studio! I’d produce a list of content ideas to clients, and even write some here and there! As such, I keep a small Smythson notebook in my handbag and have a running list on my phone so I can note these down wherever I am. Inspiration strikes at the most random of times. Typically, essay titles come to me, and these are the springboard for my writing.
Next, I bullet point out my key ideas or any writing snippets to form my skeleton draft. This is a great way to get your ideas down without worrying about them leaving your memory. And it is so called a skeleton draft because…
Then I flesh it out with some meatier bits. I don’t always start with the introduction or first paragraph. In fact, I very rarely do. Often the introductions and endings come together a little easier after I’ve mulled over the main bulk of what I want to say. I’m also a bit of a busybody writer in that I am often editing as I go, as well as a big edit at the end. When I edit as I go, I’m looking for repetition in words or phrases or patterning that is close to each other; nothing takes me out of reading quicker than noticing I’ve used the same connectives three times or used the same sentence structures throughout one paragraph. Of course, sometimes, repeating yourself can make a big impact, too.
My perfect writing afternoon is me sat at my beautiful oak desk, golden sunlight streaming through my windows, a light breeze peering through. Gentle, warm lo-fi music echoes from my Sonos One and it’s just warm enough to be comfy in my library room. A just-so crinkled notebook is beside me, scratched with new notes, character studies and highlighted within an inch of its life, and there’s a new candle safely flickering on the other side of me. A fresh matcha is gently swirling and steaming on its agate coaster and, well, best not to start on the snacks, or this essay will never be completed.
