Tick, Tock

A day in the life is never just, a day in the life. There are always a million things that capture and keep my attention, making it hard for me to stay on track. Cue Emergency Kittens on Twitter, “research” I’m deluding myself into believing is actually for my novel and not just to find the perfect pancetta recipe, a house to clean, weights to life, and well, you get the idea.

It’s hard being a full time writer for a number of reasons. Aside from the pay (haha) being a full time writer means that I am consistently forced to show up for myself. I am my own boss, so any excuses that I might make about a lack in my work performance come directly to me. There’s no coffee-sipping totalitarian breathing down my neck if I take a longer than normal break, no one who tells me to get my butt in gear if I’ve spent too long looking out the window. (Though, to be fair – time spent looking out the window can totally be effective and useful.)

While I enjoy this kind of freedom because, let’s face it, most creatives aren’t the best suited for a typical 9-5, I still treat my writing job just like any other.

I get up, shower, have coffee, dress for the day. Play with  my cat, take my vitamins, kiss my love hello and goodbye, and then I commute to my at home office. I set deadlines. I give myself timelines for projects. I try my best to limit the time I spend goofing off.

Of course, the more structured my day, the more I manage to accomplish before working hours are done. That’s the thing though about working as a writer … I’m never off the clock, because there isn’t a clock to start, which means that if I’m in the middle of cooking dinner, expecting a quiet night with a book and a mug of tea and inspiration strikes, then I’m right back at work. This can be tough at times, but it’s also super thrilling because it means I’m never more than a short distance away from the very thing I love doing – creating worlds, tapping words into sentences which make paragraphs, which translate experience onto the page.

So how do you work? Are you as structured with your approach as I am? Or do you prefer a more free spirit concept when you write? Join the conversation here, over on Facebook, or on Twitter. Happy writing!