WHAT DOES A WRITER DO ALL DAY?

Books

Reminder – Blue Coyote Motel and Kelly’s Koffee Shop are in a giveaway through Monday night. You don’t want to miss this chance for these two free books! To enter, just follow these links: http://ow.ly/ElStW  and http://ow.ly/ElSDv

“What’s your day like? What does a writer do all day? Do you work on the weekends? Where do you get your ideas from? Do you pull plots and characters from your life?” These are the questions I’m  constantly asked whether I’m having lunch with friends or speaking to a group. Today I thought I’d give you a sample day in my life.

I’m an early riser so I usually make a pot of coffee when I get up, around 5:00 a.m. (yeah, I know it’s early, but my body is ready to go then). I put my contacts in, grab a cup of coffee, and sit down at the computer. I’ve discovered I write best early in the morning so I try and get in a couple of hours. After that, it’s shower time and dressing.

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I’ll sit back down at the computer and spend several hours returning email, working the social media sites (that’s something I never thought I’d do!), and write a blog or an article for the Huffington Post, which I contribute to. Somewhere in there I’ll get something to eat and generally eat it while I’m on the computer.

Next comes edits, rewrites or research. For instance in the second book in the Cove Bay series, a kennel plays a prominent part. The dogs were hunting dogs, so I had to do some research on that. In the Coyote Series, some of the action takes place in Afghanistan. That had to be researched. Presently, I’m just starting a third book in the Cove Bay series which will entail a death at a Buddhist Retreat Center just outside of town. Have been researching Buddhist Retreat Centers. I often wonder what writers did before the Internet. I can only guess it took a whole lot longer to write a book and a lot more time spent at the library!

As to events, people, and places in my books. Certainly there are bits and pieces of me in the book. I trekked in Nepal. Jill does that in Blue Coyote Motel. I’ve long loved boxer dogs and had a big one named Rebel. He’s prominent in the Cedar Bay mysteries. Recipes in the books are tried and true favorites. I suppose there’s a part of me in all of the books, but they are not about me. I remember my husband recently reading one of my books and asking me if I was going to stop writing once I’d used up the material from my life. I answered with “No, that’s the advantage of writing when you’re older. You have a lot more experiences to draw from.”

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Lastly, I wrap it up about 4:00 p.m. Read the paper, have a glass of wine, and dinner. Off to bed around 9:00 and do it all over again. Weekends I generally work in the morning and take the afternoons off, but I’m not sure a writer’s mind ever stops. New characters, plots, and settings are in the mind 24/7. For example, my husband and I recently took a driving vacation in the Southwest U.S. Kelly’s Koffee Shop was outlined one morning when I was in bed drinking a cup of coffee in my room at a hotel. You just never know when the Muse is going to demand your attention! And she certainly knows how to get mine!

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