Apr72017

How I Work: Gail Carriger, Authorbeast Behind the Magic

So, Gentle Reader, I’m a bit of a Lifehacker follower. Back in 2013 I was particularly taken by their How I Work series. I thought it would be fun to answer their questions, and now here’s an updated version. I hope you enjoy!

Gail Carriger Signing Dot Red Paisley

Location:
Bay Area, Northern California, USA.

Current gig: 
Chronically tea addicted, octopus obsessed, shoe collecting, New York Times bestselling authorbeast.

Current mobile device: 
iPhone 5s, iPad Mini

Current computer: 
2015 13-inch MacBook Air (named Hermia)

One word that best describes how you work: 
Efficiently.

What apps/software/tools can’t you live without? 
Apps: (most of my phone’s natives like Mail, Weather, Camera, Calendar, Clock, Contacts, Notes) as well as Twitter, Facebook, Friendly, Feedly, Instagram, Google Maps, Stylebook, Downcast, Chrome, and Scrivener iOS. All the airline apps for checking in to flights.
Software: Scrivener, Skype, Chrome, Firefox, Safari (yes all three browsers), Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote, Hootsuite, Pinterest, Wikia, Word (because I must).
Tools: Kindle Oasis, yearly wall calendar, old street stomper bicycle with detachable shopping panniers, electric kettle or water boil coil, tea, tote and carry-on suitcase, modular packing devices, Roomba, a bath tub (does that count as a tool?), and a gas stove.

(Although, truthfully, back in my archaeology days I can, and have, lived without all of the above except the iPod and tea.)

Office Tea Zone

The tea zone in my new office, take a tour on YouTube.

What’s your workspace like?

At home and in my office I have a standing desk made from a CB2 wet bar with a S-shelf for a riser, Perixx wireless keyboard and mouse, and Wellness mat.

Desk Standing CB2 Wet Bar Gail Carriger

In the office, I also have two additional sitting desks which I use for editing and sewing projects. A reading/research/imagination nook, a sitting area and the all important tea station.

Office Sitting and Book Nook

What’s your best time-saving trick? 
Outlining and setting realistic goals. And tea.

What’s your favorite to-do list manager?
Evernote.

Besides your phone and computer, what gadget can’t you live without?
This is hard, I don’t really have many gadgets. Maybe my extra charging battery?

What everyday thing are you better at than anyone else?
Slicing bread. No seriously, perfectly even, perfectly straight, it’s a gift inherited from my father. Only thing I do straight.

What are you currently reading?
Something delightfully queer with an HEA and found family.

What do you listen to while you work?
When I’m writing that’s the only time I’m not listening to a podcast. So, nothing.

Are you more of an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert, though I perform extrovert very well.

What’s your sleep routine like?
Regulated but restless.

Fill in the blank: I’d love to see ______ answer these same questions.
Mercedes Lackey

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
No one is interested in a writer that doesn’t actually finish her novels.

The How I Work series asks heroes, experts, and flat-out productive people to share their shortcuts, workspaces, routines, and more.”

{Gail’s monthly read along for April 2017 is Brother’s Ruin by Emma Newman.}

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GAIL’S DAILY DOSE

Your Infusion of Cute . . .

16 Cozy and Inviting Reading Nooks

Your Tisane of Smart . . .

What it Looked Like to Travel the World Solo as a 19th Century Woman

Your Writerly Tinctures . . .  

The Unpredictable Nature of a Writing Career

Book News:

Quote of the Day:

“A sentimentalist is simply one who desires to have the luxury of an emotion without paying for it.”

~ Oscar Wilde

Questions about Gail’s steampunk world? There’s a wiki for that!
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Posted by Gail Carriger

2 Responses

  1. Mary Woodward said:

    Hestia,the goddess of hearth and home. I seem to find writers that were archiologists in previous lives some of my favorites. Elizabeth Peters immediately springs to mind and her Amelia Peabody series. Seems to me that she had a trusty parasol too. Also a big fan of Mercedes Lackey have would also love to see her answer these too.

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