Show Your Working is a regular column exploring how some of our favourite writers get things done. In this instalment, we take a peek into the writing routine of author and food writer Jess Ho, whose debut memoir Raised By Wolves is out now from Affirm Press.
Jess’ workspace. Image: Supplied
What does your workspace look like?
It’s very uninspiring. I bought a cheap, flatpack desk and I’m wedged in a corner of the spare/junk room of the apartment. My workspace is organised chaos. I have post-its on top of post-its, a stack of notebooks that all have their specific purpose, books I am referencing, contracts and agreements everywhere and cords running all over the place. But I know where everything is.
My workspace is a mess so my computer can be ridiculously organised. I should really get another desk so I can spread out more, and I would love a wall calendar so I can colour code all my deadlines and tasks for different projects, but I have been too lazy to get one.
I prefer to write with natural light, but I moved into the junk room which has soft furnishings and is a lot quieter (I am surrounded by construction) because I was recording bits and pieces for the Bad Taste podcast. It is not uncommon to see me working in the dark because I refuse to turn on the lights.
I am used to working in hospitality, where we don’t even get offices and a crate is considered a chair—so being in the junk room with an ergonomic chair is a huge step up. I just look like a garbage human whenever I am on a Zoom call.
Are you an analog or digital writer?
I do a bit of both. The things I always do by hand are my notes, to-do list and structural drafts. Once I take my draft to the computer, it’s already getting a first edit. If there are things I need to commit to memory, I find that I can memorise it faster if I write it by hand. I have no idea why that is, but I’ve been doing it since I was a child.
If I am interviewing someone, I will always type what they’re saying during a phone interview because I can type faster than I can write and then I don’t have to deal with transcribing it later.
In terms of organisation, I live and die by my iCal. If it isn’t in there, it’s not happening. I have a reminder or an alarm for every little thing. Please don’t look at my calendar, it will give you a heart attack.
I live and die by my iCal. If it isn’t in there, it’s not happening. Please don’t look at my calendar, it will give you a heart attack.
What sort of software and hardware do you use to get your work done?
I’m very basic. Depending on the client, I work on Google Docs, Sheets or the Microsoft equivalent. It really depends on how they like to receive the work or run through edits. I keep all my files in the cloud and backed up on an external hard drive. I once lost an entire manuscript and the last version I found was one I emailed to myself months prior. It hurt. It was a tough lesson that I needed to learn.
When I was making Bad Taste, we used Asana as a project management tool, Descript for audio and transcription, Google Drive and Dropbox. For accounting, I just switched to Rounded and I love it.
Every program has a positive and negative, but I think I have the biggest issue with Word. I have never used such an expensive program that hasn’t improved since the early 2000s but is essential for writers. There’s a business idea in that, but I don’t have the skills to pull it off.
Describe your writing practice?
I need my routine to function. I get up and start my day by going to the gym and that kind of clears my head of everything that I overthink about. I have strict rules about managing my freelance life and enforce a 9–5 schedule around it, so I don’t fall into the trap of going out for breakfast and avoiding my desk all day. It also helps me manage how many jobs I can take on at any time.
As soon as I am at my desk, I take a look at my weekly and monthly calendar and write a short-lead and long-lead to-do list and work off that.
With writing anything, from articles, interviews, commercial content, training manuals, podcasts or for myself, I always start with a structure and take it from there. Then at least there is something on the page and I know what I am writing about.
Editing happens at the end of every section, whether it is an article or a chapter.
On occasion, I will write down scenes or moments as they pop into my head. They end up everywhere from a folder in my computer stuffed full of forgotten ideas, my notes app or the back of an envelope on my desk.
Has your writing practice changed over the years? If so, how?
Back at university, I did a lot of free writing. It was great to get into the practice of writing, but I found I never finished anything I had grand designs on. These days, before I start writing, the first thing I do is develop a structure. It works for anything from a few hundred words to tens of thousands of words and it makes me ruthless with editing myself. In some cases, I might make changes as I am writing, but the overall structure is still in place and helps me finish (and within deadline).
It’s a necessary evil that I’ve come to love because I am always working on multiple projects at once.
The hardest thing to do is start. Even when I think what I have written is trash, I can at least improve on it. But I can’t improve on nothing.
How do you encourage inspiration to strike?
I don’t think of myself as a particularly inspired person. I envy people who have a million ideas swirling around their head all the time. I am the type of person who has one idea and obsessively builds on it until it is fully formed. I think it is why I am so dependent on structure. If I have scheduled in time to write and I am not feeling it, I still force myself to write. If I don’t write for a while, then I’m not writing fit. The same way that if I don’t drink for a while, I’m not piss fit. The hardest thing to do is start, and even when I think what I have written is trash, I can at least edit what’s on the page and improve on it. But I can’t come back to it the next day and improve on nothing if I decide not to write because I am not feeling inspired.
What’s next for you?
I can’t say anything about the projects I’m working on, but I will be appearing at OzAsia’s In Other Words program in Adelaide on 6 November. In the meantime, I will also turn my attention back to my newsletter which I have neglected over the promo period for Raised by Wolves.
Raised By Wolves is available now from your local independent bookseller.
