Writing at Work

[Flapdoodle]

Ok,
I write during my lunch 30 minutes in the office, and usually get a lot done.

However, we have a lot of long and boring meetings, so I also tend to write in these. I've actually complete a short story in a meeting... Most of the stuff in the meetings isn't stuff that interests me, or is stuff I don't need to know or be involved in...

Just this week we've had two days of intensely boring garbage from head office in Japan, and I wrote the first two chapters of a novel that I dreamed up during the meeting... Funnily enough, I'm looking to move...

Does anyone else do this?

[Shweta]

I have never been able to. I tend to doodle, mostly stupid little pictures with messed-up anatomy, because I only have a pen to work with.

I wish I could write when other people were talking around me, but it stops me from hearing the story.

[Flapdoodle]

I have never been able to. I tend to doodle, mostly stupid little pictures with messed-up anatomy, because I only have a pen to work with.

I wish I could write when other people were talking around me, but it stops me from hearing the story.

I doodle as well - but usually end up doodling characters from stories!

I seem to be very good as removing the background noise and scribbling away with a pen.

[Shweta]

I envy you :D
My doodles sometimes turn into story characters. Not nearly often enough, though.

[Flapdoodle]

I envy you :D
My doodles sometimes turn into story characters. Not nearly often enough, though.

The last meeting we had, I doodled a manager being beheaded, stabbed and hung. People did comment about my sanity!

[Shweta]

Remind me never to be your manager!
Not that I ever would...

[Snitchcat]

Does anyone else do this?
I used to be able to get away with witing and lots of doodling (mainly story chrs) at work. But that was before I switched jobs. In the new job, I let the brain half-doze for the lunch hour.

However, I doodle cartoony characters to relax. Once in a while, these doodles turn out to be my characters or those in plot bunnies I've yet to develop.

These days, I write during the morning and evening commutes -- it's dead time -- and during weekends.


P.S. I agree with Shweta -- if I ever had the chance (a likelihood of 0%) I wouldn't want to be your manager. =^P

[SpookyWriter]

I don't have the luxury of writing at work because my job demands too much attention. Plus I'm fairly close to other people and they might notice.

[Andre_Laurent]

Guilty as charged.

I write on the company laptop every chance I get. I get bored writing program code and I take a little time to errr write other things. I also write when I am running programs and they are taking a while to crunch all that #$%^ data. And sometimes I just say, $%^& it and write a little.... then the laptop goes home with me and I really burn it up, lol.

[Flapdoodle]

I don't have the luxury of writing at work because my job demands too much attention. Plus I'm fairly close to other people and they might notice.

We're between projects at the moments, and even when we're not, I find the work very easy.

[underthecity]

In my last job, I had to attend a department meeting every couple weeks. The meetings lasted two hours and never had anything to do with me. In one of the last ones--back in December--I let my mind wander about a story that had been percolating in my head, and over the course of the two hours I plotted the entire thing (a children's story) and started writing it that day. I've been shopping it around since March.

Boring work meetings are great places to think about your stories.

allen

[popmuze]

Usually I find the fear of discovery too distracting. Writing to AW at work is dangerous enough.
But once at a meeting I found myself sitting right across from a gorgeous old fashioned jukebox newly added to the conference room decor. Needing a really good description of a 1950's style jukebox for my novel, I made specific notes on all the details while the meeting buzzed around me, and wound up using them all.

[AdamH]

Another one here.

I write during my breaks mostly. I can't seem to do it at lunch. Trying to balance a sandwich in one hand and writing with another without slopping whatever the contents of said sandwich onto the paper isn't a skill I haven't mastered yet.

[ChunkyC]

I try to write on my breaks at work. If I stay at the workplace for lunch, I'm jacked into the Internet, so I tend to come here and do AW stuff. If I really want to work on stories, I take my laptop and go to a nearby food court.

[Sailor Kenshin]

I had a pretty cool temp job a couple of years ago. Either I was so busy I needed six hands or there was nothing to do but write.

One of the managers walked by my desk and said, "I hope you brought a book to read."

I said, "No need. I'm writing one."

[Serena Casey]

I work for myself, so I write at work all the time. :D I need more self-discipline, though: Get the work done first. When I'm writing, 3 or 4 hours can go by like nothing, so if I allow myself to open the file, it's all over!

[CaroGirl]

There are times when there isn't much to do at my job (which I'm not overly fond of anyway). I used to write in Word files and email them home to myself, but then I got paranoid that they could be traced and someone would find out that I was writing instead of working. Now I keep a notepad on my desk and write long-hand anything that comes to mind. Then I just stick the piece of paper into my bag and take it home to be transcribed that evening, or the next day.

[SC Harrison]

This is not directed at any folks here, it is merely an anecdote from a previous writing site I was a member of: a writer (female) worked in an office and spent a great deal of time there either working on her ms or posting on the messageboard. Whenever these "I hate my job" threads came up, she would gush about how she had the perfect job, she could write all day, etc. She even stated that coworkers knew how she spent her time, and were very supportive (wait for it). This site did not have PM capabilities, and I decided to refrain from advising her to cut back on her activities. When she posted her "I can't believe they fired me!" thread, I seemed to be the only person who was not surprised by this turn of events.

[pconsidine]

I have a hard time writing at work because I'm one of those writers that needs to be totally immersed in the world of the story to be really productive. That's one of the reasons it takes so long for me to finish things - I'm constantly getting pulled out of my story to go to work in the first place.

As far as writing in meetings goes, I'm usually leading the meetings that I have to attend, so if I'm not paying attention, things tend to get very quiet very quickly. That being said, I can sometimes work on outlining or something like that at work. I have a red spiral bound notebook expressly for that purpose. Which reminds me - it's almost full. Yay!

[Billytwice]

The last meeting we had, I doodled a manager being beheaded, stabbed and hung. People did comment about my sanity!

Why?

Managers only get to be managers as they are no good at doing their subordinates work. I wish I had a £ for every manager I've seen promoted into management posts following some awful cock-up on their part.

Here's one of my favourite manager type quotes:
'Last week, I couldn't even spell manager - now I is one!'

This guy was also something big in the local chapel and was tasked with making a group of Vietnamese 'boat people' welcome when they were shipped to our town.
These people had spent weeks or months even, cramped together on a tiny boat dodging sharks, pirates and awful storms at sea.

So what did he do?

He took them to a seaside resort and tried to get them to go an a boat ride around the bay!

The poor suckers lay down, sobbing on the beach thinking he was trying to deport them...

[MidnightMuse]

My job has a lot of long spats of nothingness - I'm needed, but only when an emergency occurs. So I find myself with large gaps to fill, and I fill them with writing. I store nothing on the hard drive at work, though. My ms is always on a little memory stick that I carry with me wherever I go.

[maestrowork]

Managers only get to be managers as they are no good at doing their subordinates work.

That's a gross generalization. I have had great managers who were both knowledgeable and hands-on. They got to be managers because they were genuine good and had leadership quality. Grunt work is overrated. These people know how to work smart. I've been a manager myself; although I didn't know what exactly my staff thought of me, I really doubt that they thought I was an idiot. I could do everything they could do, maybe better. Good management skills are nothing to sneer at -- it takes talents to be good leaders.

Sure, there are bad managers. There are bad subordinates, too. We don't think we should paint everything with a broad stroke.

[Sailor Kenshin]

That's a gross generalization. I have had great managers who were both knowledgeable and hands-on. They got to be managers because they were genuine good and had leadership quality. Grunt work is overrated. These people know how to work smart. I've been a manager myself; although I didn't know what exactly my staff thought of me, I really doubt that they thought I was an idiot. I could do everything they could do, maybe better. Good management skills are nothing to sneer at -- it takes talents to be good leaders.

Sure, there are bad managers. There are bad subordinates, too. We don't think we should paint everything with a broad stroke.

(Insert applause smilie here!)

[SC Harrison]

That's a gross generalization. I have had great managers who were both knowledgeable and hands-on. They got to be managers because they were genuine good and had leadership quality. Grunt work is overrated. These people know how to work smart. I've been a manager myself; although I didn't know what exactly my staff thought of me, I really doubt that they thought I was an idiot. I could do everything they could do, maybe better. Good management skills are nothing to sneer at -- it takes talents to be good leaders.

Thanks, Ray. I worked my butt off to get where I am today, including two years on 2nd shift and three years on 3rd. Managing the right way is incredibly complex and exhaustive, but is worth every ounce of effort.

[pconsidine]

After a number of years actually doing the work, I've finally gotten out of the trenches and into the wonderful world of Project Management. The other day, I received the highest compliment I think is possible for anyone in my position:

One of the most senior production people told me he thought I should be managing every project we do.

As far as the whole Peter Principle ("people are promoted to the highest level of their incompetence"), there's still a long-standing tradition of promoting from the trenches without regard for whether the person has the necessary managerial skills to succeed in the new position. Truth be told, I'm not sure that I have them, but so far no one has noticed if I don't, so keep your fingers crossed. ;)

[badducky]

When I was at the awful music company that considered me a data entry meat shield, I often kept my internet inbox open in the background. I'd work for a while, save as a draft, and then, when I liked it enough to try editing it, I'd send it to myself at another e-mail addy. Long as I kept it off the company's server, it'd appear as Yahoo or Google, and I was often assigned research projects that required googling stuff, so it looked kosher enough.

If I had been fired over it, it certainly wouldn't have bothered me. I hated that job. It was rent and mean people and a chance to write four hours a day on the sly.

[Jesstears2u]

Ok,
I write during my lunch 30 minutes in the office, and usually get a lot done.

However, we have a lot of long and boring meetings, so I also tend to write in these. I've actually complete a short story in a meeting... Most of the stuff in the meetings isn't stuff that interests me, or is stuff I don't need to know or be involved in...

Just this week we've had two days of intensely boring garbage from head office in Japan, and I wrote the first two chapters of a novel that I dreamed up during the meeting... Funnily enough, I'm looking to move...

Does anyone else do this?

I wrote my first novel at work...I would say a good 85% of it was written at work because I would get my work done in the AM (my job is basically calling patients to book appointments in sub-speciality clinics such as Dermatology and the likes. We also receive calls but they have slowed down a bit). I am trying to get inspired to write my second.

That's my 2 cents - I think I have some change coming back.:Shrug:

[LeeFlower]

I write in class all the time.

It was a lot easier at my old school, but I transferred last year to a small liberal arts college where the average class size is fifteen. That made it harder. Not that it <i>stopped</i> me, but it made it harder. Most of the time I have to resort to writing longhand in my writer's notebook, but for larger lecture-type classes (Poetry... ugh), I can get away with pulling out my laptop. I just need to have some excuse for notes or material up in the background (like copies of the poems we're overanalyzing) in case the prof decides to come sit next to me (our profas like to play academic musical chairs).
-----
My brother writes on the metro every day. He turns up some pretty good stuff that way-- mostly short fiction so far.

[kristie911]

I write at work quite frequently, though now that summer is here and our tourist population has grown it's much busier than normal. But in the winter at 3am when all you're doing is sitting around waiting for someone to slide off the road into the ditch, there is plenty of time for writing and I take advantage of every second.

All my coworkers know what I'm doing and so does my boss...some people knit, cross stitch, read...but I write.

And just for the record...I'm a dispatch supervisor because I'm damned good at my job, not because I couldn't do it correctly. So the manager generalization is way off base...

[LeeFlower]

People working in Emergency Services seem to get a bit of time on their hands when things get slow. My dad's an EMT. I've gone on ridealongs with him and it's a lot of time playing cards. Granted, I didn't have to fill out all of the paperwork, but even with that they had bum-around time. Seems like a perfect time to get some writing done.

[ChaosTitan]

I work in retail, so there is little time during the work day to fit in any writing. There is, however, abundant time for thinking. I keep a little notebook in my apron pocket in case I ever need to write down an epiphany. Sometimes, if I'm hot on a story, I'll write whatever I can on my half-hour break, but that's rare. Thirty minutes is pretty short.

In college, I used to write constantly, instead of taking notes on whatever subject I was supposed be paying attention to. It's amazing I graduated cum laude. :p

[Saanen]

I'm temping at the moment, so my writing time varies from job to job. Right now I'm in a receptionist position and visible to everyone in the building, so I only write on my lunch break and after 5:45 when my supervisor goes home. My last position, though, was at a call center (UGH! I'll never do that again--but I needed a job quick after I moved), and the project I was on became very slow after the first week. Other people brought in books to read and I did too at first, but then I realized I could bring a notebook and write instead. I wrote almost all of the 50,000 word rough draft of the book I'd just started, spent a few days reworking the plot, and the next week rewrote the book and got it up to 70,000 words just before the position ended. My beta reader has it now and I'm working on the sequel.

I also get up an hour early and write for an hour before I get ready for work. I used to write in the evenings when I got home, but I find I much prefer my morning writing time--I'm fresh instead of tired (I'm a morning person) and it also gives me a peaceful transition time into my day.

Oh--and to address the "bad manager" debate, I worked as a professional temp for five years and have temped in at least 200 offices. Managers are either very good at what they do, or very bad. The bad ones seem to be more memorable, unfortunately, which can color one's perception of all managers. The original "all managers are bad" poster (sorry, I'm too lazy to go back and check your name!) obviously has a very bad manager in mind! And it's too bad, because a truly top manager can make an office an absolute joy to work in.

[BardSkye]

I've had some managers that couldn't find their butt with a map and a guide dog and others who were super. It varies.

I found inhouse security was a great job for writing -- you have to have something to keep you alert at 5 in the morning. My present job isn't good for writing. I'm alone almost every day, all day, and it would be far too easy to ignore what I should be doing and write, so I resist the temptation. There's usually quite a lot of time to think through plotlines and such, though, and I write them down while commuting and waiting around between buses.

[gp101]

I used to have an overnight gig as security in a hotel, manning a booth by an employee entrance... company computer at my desk. That's where I pounded out my first few stories years ago, and it was awesome because it felt like I was being paid to write (the stories sucked, BTW). The few mandatory duties I had back then required a total of one hour to perform. The rest of the time was mine.

I highly recomend to any young person with a burning passion to write who is just getting out of school (and who doesn't require too much money just yet), to get themselves an overnight job where you have few if any responsibilities. If you live at home and don't have to worry about rent, this is a great way to get some extra writing done. It would be best however if you had your own laptop (like I do now!!) since companies have grown much more sophisiticated in the last fifteen years about tracking what's typed on their computers. The in-house MIS for a company I sometimes work for now even states in its log-in that anything produced on any company hardrive will be considered the property of the company. Just wondering... if they can prove that you wrote most of your (suddenly) best-selling novel on their computer, and on their time, can they confiscate your rights to the story if they had earlier provided you a warning regarding personal computer use?

[Selcaby]

I sometimes write during my lunch break or after work when other people are playing Doom (that's the office culture, in which I don't participate). But more often I'm surfing (like now) or finishing some work. I tend to get fired up at just the point when everyone else is ready to stop.