The Writer's View: Jessica Lave

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jessica will give a $20 Fandango eGift Card to one randomly drawn commenter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Writing Is a State of Mind

My writing “space” is not confined to a desk. I write wherever I am comfortable, and whenever I have a moment to spare. I do have a desk, but its current purpose serves to hold my printer, my reference books, and my cat likes to sleep on it sometimes. If not at a desk, then where? I write in bed, I write in the living room—oftentimes while watching or listening to the TV, and I’ve even been known to write in the backseat of a car, at a table during lunch, or anywhere inspiration strikes.

In the room where my desk sits, the view from the window is pretty limited—part of the reason I don’t work there very often. It’s a basement room and it has small, subterranean windows that barely glimpse the yard. The view from the living room is much better. Two big windows look out into the backyard—there are big trees, spring lilacs, woodpeckers, sparrows, and a first look at whatever crazy weather Colorado happens to concoct that day.

It’s a residential area, so the suburban noise is pretty common, especially in summer. The window view doesn’t offer much insight into the goings-on around the neighborhood, but the sounds carry pretty far through window screens and doors. People working on cars, patching roofs, walking dogs, kids playing, and as July approaches, fireworks pop in the evening hours.

Writing indoors can get pretty unbearable during those hot summer days. With so many windows and skylights, the main floor of the house can turn into an oven. I still find myself going to the fridge for a cold drink or a popsicle, forgetting that we have a swamp cooler for temperature control. It’s a marvel of modern machinery, but it is a little strange being in a humid house in the middle of an arid climate.

In general, I write like I sleep—I can do it just about anywhere. I don’t need a sacred space, perfect seclusion, or to “get away” from things to get my butt in the chair and start creating. In the past, I’d have to transcribe my handwritten notes or story pages from paper to computer, but now I have the technology to write and invent wherever the muse descends. I can dictate notes to my phone, I can type character descriptions on my tablet, and I can sync everything up with an app or email it to myself for later. It’s a great century to be a writer and have so many ways to keep track of my ideas and share them with myself, or the rest of the world.

With so many of my notes and research digitized, it’s easy to have a “mobile” writing station. I’ll probably be blind by the time I’m fifty—looking at so many screens all day, every day, at work and at home—but by then, I hope I’ll have at least a few good stories to show for it.

About the Author: By day, I work in a cubicle tending to an e-commerce website. By night, I blog, I review television shows and films, and occasionally, I settle down long enough to write a novel. I’ve always had a diverse set of interests, which has led me to study everything from ethics to yoga to film, but the one thing that has stayed consistent is my enthusiasm for writing. Writing is my way of bringing all of my interests together—I may not be able to speak six languages, pick the lock on a door, or cook a five-course meal without a recipe, but I can write about a character who can, and that’s the next best thing!


Visit me on my website:
http://www.jessicalave.com/
Follow me on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/jessinsists

When her screenplay gets accepted to a local LA film festival, 23-year-old Rylie Cates heads to Tinseltown, where she is thrust into the spotlight as her career takes off.

As she struggles to live up to her newfound success, Rylie meets the people who will become her friends, her guides to the city and the movie business, and ultimately, her “LA family.”

Despite her best intentions, deciphering the politics surrounding her new career proves difficult, and she unwittingly makes a few enemies on her path to success.

Confronted by scheming studio executives, philandering movie stars, and the perpetual lure of the bottle, Rylie relies on her new friendships to help her navigate life, love, and business in Hollywood.

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