The French have shown us in S.E. England great generosity, by sending their snow and icy winds our way. Just to look on the positive side of things, this is better than one of the reactors in their nuclear power stations going into meltdown and dosing us with radiation.
This is not the time to think about looking fashionable, unless you have enough money at your disposal to jack up the central heating or to buy all your gear from a designer ski shop and wear it indoors. Poor, environmentally conscious, not-yet-famous writers (note the positive thinking here) must make do with what some snoots might regard as anti-fashion statements. I like to see it as setting a trend, just as I hope to set a trend with my weird novel.
Winter Survival Gear for Writers
cotton vest top
T-shirt
double-knit three-quarter length, long-sleeved jumper
shorter double-knit tank top
leggings
jeans
plus essential footwear to set off the outfit (omitted from photo at the photographer’s discretion)
brown Birkenstock unisex sandals worn with black socks
With two weeks to go of Novel Writing Winter (NWW) 2013, there is no way I’m going to have finished my project. I will probably reach the 20K mark — words, not earnings. This is not a problem, as I think in the past I’ve slammed out novels too fast for their own good. Also, having removed my genre-shackles and ventured down the route of speculative fiction, its taking time to acclimatize to my newfound liberty.
To describe my novel in one sentence: Eulogy To The Last Man is a minimalist yet epic paradox about a family tree littered with anomalies spanning the 31st century.
It’s a useful exercise to think of a one or two-sentence to describe your work, as it will come in useful as a hook when pitching it to publishers or agents, or in writing your own blurb for self-publishing.
Does anyone else feel like writing a pitch for their novel and posting it as a comment here?
Also, who’s willing to describe an outfit they enjoy wearing for writing, even if it’s their birthday suit?
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Sarah Potter Writes 
I don’t have a pitch for my novel yet. But I can agree with the outfit. In Singapore, where I live, you don’t ever need a winter outfit, so bad dressing for a writer doesn’t have the ‘winter’ excuse. I dress like a slob when I’m writing because the minute I’m well-dressed and put make-up on, I can’t write a word!
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I’m never well dressed and I never wear makeup, so there should be no excuses when it comes to putting in hours of writing 🙂 Glad I don’t write glitzy novels, or I’d be expected to glam myself up for the cameras.
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Hi, Sarah! Love the photo of you, I could just hug you not only for your sense of REALITY but also because you have extremely REAL comfy fashion sense. Stay warm, lovely friend. I don’t have a book to plug but hope to one day soon. As for what I wear when writing – depends. Middle of night when I awaken mind aswirl = pjs, flannel bottoms, fluffy socks and long sleeved T. Morning = same. Afternoon = jeans and sweater with boots. I once wrote 110 pages in a three day weekend and lived in my nightgown (or nightdress) and slippers because I only caught about 3 hours sleep. Didn’t win but it was fun 🙂 Just like answering your question now. Hugs.
Janni
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Hi Janni, I love your new angel residence 🙂 I’ve just realised I haven’t set it up at my end to receive email notifications, so have probably missed some of your posts. Will rectify immediately and visit you soon. How sweet — pjs, flannel bottoms, fluffy socks and long sleeved T! I used to write about 9 hours a day when I first started out. Must be older now, as can only manage 2-3 hours at one sitting, or perhaps I’m just a bit more perfectionist with the first draft.
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🙂
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Outfits…
Luckily here it never gets quite as cold as it does there. That being said, when it’s evening, I tend to look like the Michelin man when going to bed!!
I don’t even think anything I have in my cupboard will be warm enough for winter in Europe!!
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Now that’s some image — a Michelin man! I think maybe my outdoor clothes at the moment turn me from a size 8 into a size 14, once my padded coat goes on over all the layering.
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