HoboSnax and the Power of Noise

Dear Readers,

It's been a pretty good couple of days. I continue to make progress on my short story, and I'm pretty pleased with it so far. My writing routine has been varied, but consistently productive. I've found myself thinking about environments, and which ones are best suited for writing. I have come to no proper conclusion. Isaac Asimov (who I have never read, despite him being the de-facto Grandaddy of Sci-Fi) used to set up his typewriter in the middle of stores and other noisy environments, because he found that the background noise helped him concentrate. Of course, that was before the advent of headphones as portable isolation chambers, but that's beside the point.

I've found that I require music in order to write effectively. Not background noise with its random, assymetrical soundtrack - I need something with patterns, sounds that build on previous layers, that have a linear progression toward a destination. It helps me focus, it helps to keep me moving.

Different music is good for different types of writing. If I'm working on something that's cold and descriptive, I might queue up Marilyn Manson's Mechanical Animals. The sound is logical, atmospheric, has a hard edge, and is almost totally without emotion. Scenes with warmth or passion might require Goldfrapp, Air, or maybe even Death Cab for Cutie. The Faint are my go-to guys for most action scenes, and Kelly Joe Phelps and Merz are good for introspection and remembering.

The more I write, the more I find the patterns and routines that work for me. The increasing familiarity of the routines makes me more comfortable, and allows me to slip into "the zone" more readily. I find that I'm not wasting as much time staring off into space, tapping my pen against my teeth, doodling in the margins.

Enough of that. I've been having good luck, but others have not. The Girl lost her luggage in Atlanta this morning, and Birdmonster lost their transmission in Arizona. This tells me that places that are hot and start with the letter A are to Be Avoided. So cross your fingers that the luggage gets found and that the Birdmonsters acquire a new van with a mininum of fuss and money.

Finally, I should mention that I read a number of webcomics on a daily basis, because yes, I am a huge nerd. One of my favorites is Dinosaur Comics, which is a) extremely funny, and b) set up in a genius way. The graphics are always the same - six panels that feature a series of clip-art dinosaurs smashing things. Since the graphics never change, the focus is on the writing, which is pretty much always hilarious. A recent installment features Hobosnacks. This is dangerously close to my trademarked HoboSnax, but I will refrain from legal action on the grounds that my definition of hobo snacks is different from that in the comic. I am a Cool Ranch Dorito man, myself...