theowlforestinn

[theowlforestinn]

My Writer Aesthetic

My style of writer academia:

Rainy days, natural sunlight, libraries, old books, cozy sweaters, antique desks covered in beautiful leather, inspirational quotes, dark chocolate mochas, and pretty notebooks.

[theowlforestinn]

Wild garlic, bones, and mushrooms in my wood.

Forest of Dean, England. March 2022

[theowlforestinn]

goblincore + dark academia

<3

[theowlforestinn]

The best advice really is to just write. Write badly - purple prose, stilted conversations, rambling descriptions. Don’t delete it, pass go, take your $200, save all your garbage in a big folder. Look at how much you’ve made - it doesn’t matter if it isn’t perfect, isn’t polished, it was practice. Every time you write you learn a little more, and find another piece of your voice.

[theowlforestinn]

The problem with reading a good book is then I want to write one.

[theowlforestinn]

“I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.”

— Carl Gustav Jung

[theowlforestinn]

I read a productivity blog a years ago that effectively said “find a system, use it for life.” I’ve never found a one size fits all productivity system to begin with, and my life has changed on so many levels since then anyway. Even just in the last 6 years I’ve moved abroad, had a child, changed industries, went from freelancer to FT employee. And even within the FT role, the responsibilities have changed over time, too.

But I do like Cal Newport’s Deep Work, and recently I started doing the focus “scorecard” again. When I started this card, got a sticker for each hour of “deep work” done. But I found that getting a full hour was proving difficult around the meetings and other distractions of my role and then I felt unproductive. So I decided that now I get a sticker for each half an hour. If I get so fractured that focus for 5 minutes in an achievement? I’ll change it again.

I think it’s good to have a system. I also think it’s good to be able to adapt it, because for most of us, things change. So this is a reminder for me: it’s okay to change the system.

(If you’re squinting at the header, it’s because I write in a funny shorthand when it’s just for me.)

[theowlforestinn]

So I guess my aesthetic is wandering around the house with a pile of notebooks, devices, a pencil bag, and tea.