I often read about a typical day in the life of a writer in magazines. Hoping to relate to these professionals, I keenly read how they structure their days. However, a lot of the time I can’t relate. Everyone is different though, right? Yet somehow I can’t help but think that maybe I’m not professional enough. They set goals of writing so many words a day, but I don’t always manage it. It doesn’t mean I don’t try though.
Why don’t they include other factors that influence their day? Is it just me who has to endure those hair pulling out days of procrastination? Surely not… There are phone calls that last an hour, the housework I keep putting off and where is that annoying noise coming from outside? Yes, I can be easily distracted, not by shiny things, but by everyday life.
Is this the problem of working from home? We cut ourselves off from society and gaze wistfully out the window at that unusually sunny day?
Well here is a typical day in my writing life:
I get up early and check all my social networking sites. It’s becoming an obsession! I love connecting with people! I then consider writing a blog article and when I do, I break into the chocolate. FYI, I’m eating some as I write this.
After uploading, I turn to a list of things to do I had written at the beginning of the week and consider which one tackle that day. It can be a word target for a book I’m working on, researching review websites to send my book to or even to start a book trailer. Any of the above is progress for me.
Okay, so it’s a sunny day and I pull a face at the weather taunting me. I don’t have to sit in do I? I get my best inspiration by grabbing my iPod and going for a walk around a lake I live conveniently close to. Yes, the pen and pad comes with me – maybe a chocolate bar for energy. Listening to music I imagine particular scenes, which can make them all the more powerful, as well as memorable for me. (I will be writing a blog and including a list of music I have attached to particular segments of Witch Hunt. Keep an eye open!)
Anyway… I get back and write up my notes, translating the hurriedly scrawled down words that just about make sense. I may not have written 5000 words, but I consider it an accomplishment and a great use of the day.
Now I need to find time to dive back into that book I’m totally engrossed in, but where has the day gone? Factor in those usual everyday inane interruptions and it’s already dark outside with the husband getting in from work.
Professionally speaking, I still consider writing as a hobby, not a job, because I enjoy and prioritise it in the structure of my day. Distractions can help and bring surprising results for that sometimes-elusive inspiration. Embrace the diversions!
What is your typical day if you’re a writer? Blog about it and send me a link. I love reading them!
