Ten Things Writers Do That Seem Weird but Are Totally Normal to Us

Writers are a unique lot. We spend a lot of time alone, living in fictional worlds with pretend people. In fact, we often spend more time with our made-up friends than our own real friends and family. Creating ideal settings, fleshing out interesting and relatable characters, dreaming up realistic conflict, plotting out a riveting story—all of this takes time and brain power. We hermit ourselves away in our writing spaces, playing out every possible idea and scenario. Other times, when we actually venture out, we’re soaking up every detail around us to use later as inspiration. All of these quirky habits may cause us to come across to non-writers as a little odd. But to other writers, we’re totally ordinary. 

Here are ten things writers do that seem odd to everyone else but are completely normal to us:

Eavesdropping

Dialogue is key to a great story. Sometimes it’s a challenge to write realistic dialogue that doesn’t come across as too formal. Writers develop a habit of listening in to those around them to garner snippets of conversations to help create better, more believable dialogue. Besides picking up on realistic conversation, eavesdropping can also provide a host of new ideas, be it for story or characters. So as we sit in coffee shops, stand in lines, or wait in a audience for some event, know that writers are soaking up all they’re overhearing and making mental notes (if they’re not flat out writing things down).

People watching

Similar to eavesdropping, people watching provides a wealth of inspiration for writers. It’s common for me to study people while out and about and dream up an entire backstory for an intriguing stranger encountered. People watching is another great source of character inspiration, but it also allows me to flex my creative muscle as I fixate on an interesting person and speculate about their past, their occupation, their family life, hardships they’ve fought, victories they’ve enjoyed, and more. It humanizes everyone I encounter, reminding me that each person has their own unique story.

Exhibiting the thousand-yard stare

As I’ve mentioned before, a lot of “writing” happens when we’re not actually putting words on the page. Working on a story can happen any time, any place. Sometimes we’re puzzling out a plot problem, working out a scene, or talking to characters in our head. And when that occurs, writers are often going off in our minds. We dramatically gaze out into space, perfecting that thousand-yard stare. We may appear to be fixed on nothing in particular, but in reality, our minds are moving miles a minute.

Finding the noteworthy

Inspiration strikes writers as the most inconvenient of times. Character inspiration, a solution to a plot hole, a spark of a new idea can all pop into a writer’s head when we least expect it. Because of this, writers are known to keep countless ideas in our phone notes or whip out a notebook to jot down flashes of brilliance. Because of this, it’s a well known fact (and a bit of a joke) that most writers have scores of notebooks, often stashed in several locations. Any time we see a lovely notebook, we’re likely to snatch it up because one can never have too many notebooks when your brain’s full of ideas begging to get out. In addition to these forms of idea tracking, I’ve resorted multiple times to voice texting through my watch to capture an idea down that’s hit me while showering. Whatever it takes to get inspiration down so we don’t lose it!

Imagining the worst

As a writer who likes to incorporate suspense in my stories, I often find my brain racing to a worst-case-scenario situation when I see a random thing. A lone child’s shoe in an odd location = kidnapping. A running friend missing too many days at the track = she’s left her life and fled to California, where’s she wanted to move for years. Multiple emergency vehicles racing down the street = bomb threat or hot pursuit of bank robbers. My imagination is always ready to run wild with stories behind every day occurrences, often trending toward something that would lend a little suspense to my ordinary life.

Losing all track of time

Because of our focus on other worlds, writers can grow fuzzy on the concept of time. We have a propensity to get lost in our fictional universes, eschewing all the other things that demand our attention. What seems like minutes in our stories can be hours in reality. When I’m participating in online write-ins with my fellow writers, it’s a frequent refrain that the timer startles us as we insist there’s no way it’s already been another hour. Beware that once a writer is in their flow, time becomes a nebulous concept.

Frequenting baby name websites

Characters are key to a great story. If a character falls flat, isn’t realistic or relatable, or isn’t someone readers can care about, the story will go nowhere. Appropriate naming of characters is part of that. Enter the stalking of baby name websites. Baby naming websites are a fantastic resource when deciding a character’s name because they not only give the meaning and origin of a name, but they also usually share the popularity of a name—even during a specific time period.  I become aware that I’m spending too much time fixating on naming my characters when I start seeing baby item ads targeting me, assuming I must be expecting.

Keeping terrible eating habits

I do my best writing each morning when I jump on write-ins with my crew. I try to make a point of eating a filling, healthy breakfast before we start so I can go the distance. Because our write-ins often last hours (see above re concept of time), and I hate having to interrupt my flow to get food, a lot of times I wait until we wrap up to eat again. By this time, I’m ravenous and completely desperate for fuel. Not wanting to take time or brainpower to come up with a decent meal, I usually start grabbing food of any kind to just stuff in my face.

My selections are random: popcorn, chips and salsa, leftover dessert, crackers and cream cheese, cold pizza, secret chocolate stash, peanut butter by the spoonful. You get the idea. Sometimes I discover I’m not eating lunch until it’s as late as 3:00 p.m., destroying any semblance of a normal eating schedule and leaving me not hungry when it’s time to make dinner for my family. That causes me to get a late start on even contemplating dinner and everyone grows famished by the time I feed them. It’s a vicious cycle.

Having bizarre internet search histories

Research rules when it comes to writing. I often write about places I’ve not visited or careers or situations I’ve never been in. My internet search history reflects that. In addition to obsessive time spent on baby name sites, my internet search history is comprised of a hodgepodge of things such as:

• Does the US military get involved in fighting drug cartels outside of the country
• SUVs most commonly used by law enforcement
• Population and demographics of all the Outer Banks islands
• Most common businesses used to launder money
• Hurricane classification
• How long does it take a gunshot victim to bleed out
• Plantations after the civil war
• Trauma-induced muteness
• Racehorse breeding and training

Some of my more unsavory searches could possibly get me into trouble, but I trust that my random internet history taken as a whole will alleviate any concerns and anyone checking will conclude, “Ah, she must be a writer!”

Creatively wasting time to avoid writing

Writers can be masters of procrastination. Sure, we love to write, but we also exercise our creativity by finding all manner of ways to put off writing because it can be hard. When I feel I’m faced with the impossible, suddenly, I need to clean out my fridge. That basement organizing project that I’ve put off for months now? Hmmm, think I’ll spend some time on that. Purge my overrun email inbox? Sure, why not? Launder and change all the linens throughout the house? Don’t mind if I do! When it comes to putting off the required difficult work, our creativity knows no bounds!

On that note, I think I’m off to reorganize my pantry…Maybe while I’m there I can find some snacks.