End corner of new couch with pillows fluffed just right. Check!
Padded lap tray. Check!
CD player and headphones. Wait, forgot CDs. Okay, check! (No, I don’t own an ipod.)
Fresh bottle of water. Check!
My writing notebook and a pen. Check!
All set, ready to write. Whoops, drank too much water earlier! Okay, now I’m good.
Discover CD player’s batteries are on the fritz. Retrieve new ones.
Write for a few minutes and realize I’ve killed yet another pen. Get a new one. Two, just in case.
Cat decides he wants to spread across my notebook. Spend a few minutes pacifying Spunky before I shove him off my lap.
Phone rings. Caller ID informs me I can ignore it. Our answering machine kicks in and I hear this loud “If you’d like to make a call, please hang up and try again.” Get up to stop the stupid recording.
Few more minutes of writing… wait, where’s the rest of my notes? Spend a few minutes searching my office.
I finally get in some writing time and then… it’s almost dinner time and I have NO idea what I’m making tonight! Mad panic as I put away all of my writing props and run to the kitchen.
Okay, does this sound like anyone else’s writing habits?
I’d like to pass it along to six people who are still with me despite my weird absences this summer:
Stephen at Breakthrough Blogs
Rayna at Coffee Rings Everywhere
Jai at Jai Joshi’s Tulsa Tree
L’Aussie At L’Aussie Writing
Hannah at Musings of a Palindrome
Terry at Terry Lynn Johnson
I could’ve given it to dozens more! Just know I appreciate those who visit Spunky every week.
38 comments:
Congrtaulations on the award Diane, also to the people you have given it to. I had the same award myself some time ago I think it is a lovely award.
Enjoyed your post as always.
Have a good day.
Yvonne.
LOL at your writing "schedule." Oh yes can totally identify. How do we ever get any writing in with the hectic pace of life is the real question. Good that you can focus for at least a few minutes, that's probably your secret weapon!
Other than the cat and CD player, the sequence could have taken place in my home! Thanks for the chuckle this morning. And congratulations on your award!
Wow, I can't even begin to write unless I know I have at least two hours to spare. Otherwise it seems pointless. It's take me about half and hour to get into the rhythm! :o)
Don’t forget about my CONTEST!
Thanks! I needed a star today. :D
I always have a ton of pens handy and oddly enoug I get most of my writing done at the kitchen table, easy access to the teapot. And I have two desks. Sigh. One day I'll have the perfect spot until then - kitchen table!
You write without coffee? How do you mean? Of course, it encourages the up-to-pee instances, and I need a thermos, or it's up-for-refills every 20 mins. And the cat saying "sitting still, eh? (my cat's Canadian too...) Must be to show me love!"
Thank you so much for the Award, Diane. I was having one of those days today, and getting it has pepped me up no end- the star really couldn't have come at a better time.
And how can anyone ever abandon you? You are an absolute star!
And yes, give or take a couple of things, that could well be my writing day.
Oh, yes, Diane, sounds much like my writing habits. congrats on the award! You deserve it!Sylvia Dickey Smith
I'm like some of the others, I can't get serious about writing (or editing) unless I know I'm going to have a chunk of time to spend, which is much like my reading habits. I can't read for five minutes here and there, I have to set aside at least a couple of hours.
And get yourself an iPod, for no other reason than to make your own writing playlist of songs! :)
LOL, yeah my writing habits look much like this cept with kids instead of cats...lol
Lately I have barricaded myself in my office, which looks a little like a tornado went through it, and I work diligently at the computer. Fast food has become a staple. Did you know you can lose weight if you order grilled chicken, no fries, and unsweetened iced tea? I've lost 37 pounds since March.
Now if the grand kids are here, they think I'm a tree and climb all over me.
Congratulations on the award, it is well deserved.
Nancy
N. R. Williams, fantasy author
Love your schedule :) Mine varies depending on mood and real life. My favourite place is in my comfy chair in living room with my iPod playing on its player. :)
Karen, I swear every one of my books was written in ten minute intervals.
Allit, I work well under pressure.
Will, if I stop moving, I have a cat in my lap. And no coffee as I tend to write in the afternoon.
DL, I do want an iPhone when they drop AT&T as their sole carrier!
Nancy, I'd end up cleaning my office if I did that!
Awesome. Thanks for the star award. Blue is my favorite color. I humbly accept, although my acceptance speech takes about 20 minutes to go through.
Stephen Tremp
Congrats on the award, Diane.
Mine is a similar routine, except it takes place in my "office." I've got so much stacked around that it's hard to find stuff, let alone a blank space. And no cat. Just a husband who keeps hollering down at me from upstairs, asking me questions.
Glad I don't have to go to that much trouble to write.
Congratulations on the award.
Those sound like good writing spots. I seem to be stuck in the kitchen chair at the table with the laptop...
Searching for a Starry Night: Friendship, mystery and a mischievous Dachshund!
Love your writing schedule!
I can't write with loads of people around - I'm too easily distracted. Plus, I'm a creature of routine and I find I need to have my own space and silence!
Thanks for the star! I needed that one, just like you.
Your writing habits sound just like mine. And I still don't know what I'm going to eat tonight.
Jai
Diane - That was hilarious. You are one talented lady!!! To get books written amid that kind of schedule - I'm impressed. Luckily, my schedule isn't like that. I like quiet.
On the Sunday Sillies - I love the Febreeze one. So FUNNY!!!
teehee--that is EXACTLY why I write in the bathtub... none of those distractions can be my problem in there! I do usually bring a double dose of beverage with me... no music. Music makes my mind wander...
What a great post and a cool award, congratulations! That's one I've not seen around before.
I could so relate to your writing procedure- though I am one of those people that if I sit down and say "Okay, NOW it is time to write!" I usually get stuck and end up thinking about old song lyrics and how the cat needs his claws clipped soon before he shreds me into finely crafted confetti.
I can try to do it and sometimes it works- but usually, what happens is I'll be processing what I've been working on in my head while I'm doing other things then suddenly an idea just takes over and I have to stop everything and jot it down before I lose it- and if I don't, I WILL lose it.
Love hearing about how other writers work!
~bru
This is so true, Diane. If it's not a pen out of ink, then it will be a leg cramp, spilled iced tea, or the manliest of tree guys singing girly songs while they work. :)
Patricia
congrats on your award and thank you so much for passing it on!
I like to write anywhere that it is extremely quiet. Not a lot of places are.
Congrats on the award. And the mad panic heading to the kitchen is *so* me too. I get caught up in what I'm doing, and never realize it's dinner time until it's almost too late! (Or should I say, everyone is complaining that they're starved!)
Karen, I'm sorry!
Stephen, you do that and your star will fall!
Helen, you haven't trained your husband not to do that?
Jai, we had leftovers from our traditional Monday Night Spaghetti.
RaShelle, I love the Febreeze!
I can see my work going down the drain right now, Hart...
February, I wish I could stop everything and write!
Patricia, you should've taped that and put it on YouTube!
Some of my writing sessions are similar to what you described, lol.
CONGRATS on the award! Have a great week!
Diane, congrats on the award, you do indeed deserve a star. Thank you for passing it on to me. Yes, I deserve a star as my office opens onto the kitchen, but luckily I'm usually the only one who uses it, ha ha! I like to have a block of uninterrupted time, but if not, I catch up on my blogging friends while maintaining that glassy, preoccupied look that says, don't talk to me!
Best, Denise..:)
Your daily schedule is interesting. :) I shut myself away in my writing room and forget the world, except when the cat decides to walk across the keyboard and hubby decides it's time to talk.
Congratulations on the award.
That's about how scattered my writing process is! LOL.
I wish my laptop had battery life... I'd love to try to write somewhere fun, like a coffee shop or at Borders. I usually end up either hand writing in a notebook on my couch (or at a red light), or here at my plastic fold out table/desk. Not too comfy.
LOL; close enough for handgrinades.
........dhole
I can certainly find my share of distractions when I'm trying to write.
Lee
Tossing It Out
totally sounds like me.. cept to add check blogs, check emails, ignore screaming kids in other room.. try to ignore banging on floor or slamming doors from room lol..
Then back to what I'm missing on twitter or dryer buzzing. :)
Ah- good stuff
LOL, great check list. Mine? Laptop booted up? Check. No viruses or Trojans? Check. OK, write!
Teehee...
And kudos on yet another award?
Your routine sounds a lot like mine (only trade out the water for coffee). :) I just got a padded laptop tray earlier this month and I'm loving it!
Congrats on your award!
Okay, good to know I'm not the only loony writer out there!
We all come and go, and we're all crazy! At least this attempt at writing is a habit!
Congrats on your award. You ARE a star! :P
Michele
Emily Dickinson biographer on SouthernCityMysteries
Preparation is important, after all!
Congrats on the award!
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