A Writer's Day

[E.G. Gammon]

As writers we all have our own routines and writing processes. Tell us yours! I'll get things going:

On an average day, I wake up around 6:30 in the morning. I brush my teeth and eat breakfast, get everything health and hygiene related out of the way before I start my activities for the day.

Around 7 I get on the computer and get all those distractions out of the way (Check emails, visit the forums, update/work on my website and visit the sites I visit every day).

I spend an hour on the computer and at 8 I jump into my writing. As far as processes go, I tend to be very organized with schedules and check lists galore. The night before, I try and lay out a list of things I'd like to cover the next day (of course I may veer from the list, but I try to stay on task). As I'm writing, I like to write things out by hand first. I just don't trust computers. The computer I am on now is the second I've had. I got freaked out when my first one kept crashing, and I couldn't get to my writing. So since then, I write everything out first and type it later (usually printing it out, too). My notebooks of choice are legal pads (the blue ones, because those yellow ones hurt my eyes after writing all day). I use Uniball pens, never pencils. I've learned never to use pencils with my writing. I have been developing my novel series for over seven years and there's one early piece of paper I wrote in pencil and the words aren't even recognizable anymore. Pens, always, even if I have to scratch stuff out.

I try to spend 8-12 on my writing and then I take a break. I go walking and do some exercising (I'm trying to slim down) and eat a snack after I take a shower. Around 1:30 I pick my writing up again and work on it another few hours, as long as I can. We eat supper here around 7 at night so that's my cut off point. After I eat dinner, I try to be laid back, and I work on the work outline for the next day (but sometimes I get caught up in my writing again, which is a good thing, but I try and avoid it because I like to have a break).

I think that organization is the best way to go for a writer. There probably aren't many like me here, but I have been working on the same story (initially a soap opera, now a novel series) for over seven years. I JUST started getting organized and it is the best feeling in the world. Keeping thoughts organized will make writing go smoother, atleast that's what I've learned from my experience so far.

Before bed, I check to see what's going on in the forums again, post a few messages and then I hit the sack.

Other processes:

Importance of projects. I think all of us writers have atleast one other project going on when we are writing our main project. I have a HUGE box full of projects. Because I have been working on my novel series for over seven years, it has obviously become my main project. Since I took major steps last Thanksgiving and decided to convert my story from a soap into a novel series, I have decided to put every other project I have going on, on the backburner. I sometimes have minor ideas for other projects, but I think that if other projects are out of the way for a while, you can shift your focus onto your main project, which is working out well for me.

Programs. We all have our own preference of what program we use to type in. I used to type in WordPerfect until it kept freezing on me. Lately I have been using plain ol' WordPad. It rids of the formatting distractions. I can just type and not worry about all the formatting and everything. (Plus I have an AlphaSmart Dana and when I transfer those files onto my computer, they open in WordPad).

Like I said, I like to write in legal pads mostly, but I also write on LOOSE-LEAF paper. I can't stand writing in wire notebooks. It's harder to pull together similar ideas if all your pages are on a big wire, destined to be in that order until your rip them out.

Well, that's just a jumping off point. I'm sure there will be more from me, once others get going. Have fun!

[BlueTexas]

My day sure is a lot different than yours!

I get up about seven o'clock six days a week. I check email and forums over coffee, and try to get a couple longhand morning pages done. I usually don't. I'm at work by nine, and home by six four days a week. Those four days I come home, tend to house stuff, find dinner, and write from usually eight o'clock until ten. Two days a week, Wednesday and Saturday, I work half days, and spend those afternoons writing when I can. On Sundays, I sleep a little later, until about 8 o'clock, and I write for a couple hours in the morning, unless there's yardwork looming, because it's usually too hot in the afternoons to do it. Usually I get some writing done on Sunday evenings, too.

Oh, and I forgot to mention: I have a daily word count. If I don't hit 500, I'm a hopeless slacker who will be an optician forever. That thought drives me to do at least 1500 the next day, even if it's just drivel in a journal. I learn from that, too. My goal for the day is 1000. Sundays I try to hit 2000, or more, if I'm on a streak.

And some days, when an idea won't leave my head, I'll lay in bed trying to sleep for an hour and then give up and write it out. Last night was one such night--I was not a friendly co-worker today, and god forbid if you walked in with broken glasses that you sat on and then got mad at me when it couldn't be fixed.

[authorernieroy]

What is an average day for me?

Up by 5:30 a.m. and make my routine of forums, e-mails, and other internet related issues until about 8:30 a.m.

Head over to the kitchen table and knock out ten to fifteen pages (written in pen) on my latest project. Depending on when I finish with that aspect, I relax until anywhere from 8 - 9 at night when I once again hit the e-mails, forums, and my website to see who's been there. At around 10:30 I hit the keyboard to knock out ten to fifteen pages of text on the same project.

Everyone has different methods for writing success, and what works for one does not necessarily work for another. Some like solace, others soft music. What is right? What works for you is what's right.

Author of:
Destiny of the Divas
Destiny of the Divas II - Angel of Mercy
Overturned
Mountain of Love

Present project: Kashmantou

Author ernie Roy - "ERNIE'S PLACE" http://authorernieroy.bravehost.com (http://authorernieroy.bravehost.com/)

Are you a writer who has a website? Would you like to have your site added to my webring for writers, with no strings attached? Feel free to e-mail me at: authorernieroy@yahoo.com I'd be glad to add yours to my growing list.

[Julian Black]

When I'm actually writing, my only routine is to produce a minimum of 2,000 words a day. I may do them in the morning, but I'm more likely to do them in the afternoon, or late at night.

Since I'm self-employed, I can dictate my own hours. That's good, because while I can sit down and get a tremendous amount of work done in one sitting, I've always had trouble doing it by a clock schedule. Believe me--I've tried being productive and useful at a specific time every single day, and it has never, ever worked for me. I seem to be thoroughly clock-resistant.

What does work, and that allows me to get a lot done no matter what time the clock says, is having a routine in the way I organize ideas and information. As long as I keep all the supporting bits of paper moving in a logical, orderly manner, I have no problem sitting down to work at 11am, 3pm, or 2am. My fluid sense of time would probably drive most people crazy, but for me it works because I know exactly what I need to do, and where everything I need to do it is.

I keep a "diary" devoted to each project (a spiral-bound, hardcover, 7x10" artists' sketchbook), and nearly every day I go either to the library or my favorite coffeehouse and sit for two hours, making notes to myself. I write about ideas I have, or themes I want to address, or questions I want to answer. I consider potential conflicts, and work out the kinds of characters I think ought to populate the story. It's free-form, brainstorming time, where I play with the story until something clicks. It's a lot like doing the Morning Pages exercise from The Artist's Way, only I give it a lot more time and it's focused on the project at hand. Much of the first hour is usually a lot of farting around, but by the second hour things always kick into gear. A lot of my best ideas come during that second hour, and if I'm lucky, they keep going into a third.

Right now, I'm doing preliminary research for a historical novel, and trying to uncover the basic plot. I knew the period I wanted to write about (1660s London), and the kinds of people I wanted to use as characters (Highwaymen and other rogues) when I started, but it wasn't until yesterday's session of writing in the diary that I finally "met" two of the most important characters and got their respective backstories. That was a huge breakthrough, and today I spent more coffeehouse-time working through some ideas about where each of them is headed and who they meet along the way; I now sense a third character, and possibly a fourth, lurking around the edges. Maybe they will decide to show up tomorrow.

Once I get to a certain point, I put the diary aside and turn to notecards. Today I dug out the 4x6" index cards I use for research notes and began writing down questions that relate to these two men's lives in that particular period. I also pulled out some of the 3x5" cards I use for plotting and wrote some of the ideas I had for the story (which led to more research questions). I always carry notecards with me now, and usually I have the diary in my bag, too. That way, no matter where I am, I can write down my ideas in a usable format, rather than scribbling things on old envelopes or receipts (where they get lost).

I also keep lists of possible reference materials in the diary (including their availability; the date I checked them out, copied, or bought them; and whether they proved suitable or not). I also draw maps, sketch interiors and characters, and draw diagrams of how various devices are put together and how they work. The diary is a hodgepodge--it's a dumping ground of thoughts, rants, information and ideas--but it is all in one place.

While the diary is for trying on ideas and playing with them, the note cards are for information and plot points I've decided are worth using. When I go to do research, I don't want to have to dig back through the diary to find that one question about pistols, or etiquette, or cookery. It's on a 4x6" card labeled and filed under Weaponry, Manners, or Food.

When I get further along, and am ready to establish the plot and subplots, I will already have the 3x5" cards with various scenes on hand, ready to stick up on my bulletin board until I find the right order.

I also use the same color ink for everything relating to a given project. The Restoration London project is purple, the Contemporary Urban Fantasy is burgundy, and the Pirate novel is green. That way, there is no getting notecards mixed up. I use the smaller 3x5" notecards for plotting because keeping descriptions brief helps. I need more room for research notes, and writing them on 4x6" cards also keeps them distinct from plot cards.

When it comes time to actually write, I prefer doing it at home because I end up reading what I've written out loud a lot of the time, and that really annoys coffeehouse and library patrons. The best writing time for me is usually either in the late afternoons, or very late at night. If I'm writing at 8am, it just means I haven't gone to bed yet...

[Kallahan]

Get up anywhere from 7 to 11 am, depends on when I start work. Get home no later than 9pm, depending on when I start work. Then from 9 to 11 I screw around on forums, playing games, ect. from 11pm to 1am I write. Days I get out before 9pm or days I do not work I usally spend screwing around with friends until 9 or so. Nobody I know stays up past 11pm here so I write from 11 to 1 when there are no distractions.

I'm not in the least bit organized, but I have quite a good memory, so I usally don't worry too much about finding anything or missing appointments.

[edfrzr]

DANGER DANGER DANGER!!!!

I checked out your website. Pretty cool, except for one thing. I saw where one of your MSs was under contract with ST Literary Agency. You might want to check them out on http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/. Not so good.

I also, was a victim of ST (crowd in room -- Hello Ed)

Don't trust me, ask others.

Best of luck.

[black winged fighter]

Well, my day starts at around 6:45, when I get up to get ready for school. Yes, I'm still a student, and it's a huge barrier to my writing.
I usually have maybe ten minutes before I leave to use the computer.
I get home after five, have a snack, and depending on the day, either do some homework (such fun) or go to my self defense class. Get home, dinner with family, finish homework.
This is the point where I start typing and don't stop until someone yells at me, my eyes fail, or I collpase. *Grins* This is the best part of my day. I try to write around 2 hours each day. Hitting 2, 000 words a day is a good feeling, but sometimes I have to settle for as little as 500.
In summer, this all changes of course. Way more exercise and a lot more typing.
I plan my next scenes as I drift into sleep - it makes for interesting dreams.

[Fillanzea]

Until 6:00 is taken up, variously, by school, work, gym, errands, housekeeping, homework, commuting, etc, whew. After supper I goof off a little, then settle in to either whatever undone homework I have left, or the writing, which usually goes from 8:30-10:30 or so. That's for both first drafts and rewriting--a lot of the marketing gets done while I'm doing errands. After 10:30 I try to get in some pleasure reading, then bed, wash, rinse, repeat.

That said, I think I only have about 1500 words a day in me, and I don't think I would prefer to write full-time. Though I would prefer it if I didn't have homework.

[Mark]

I like to write on the way into work on the train. My ride is almost an hour, so I use my laptop to get about 800-1000 words in. Then I do the same on the way home. If I feel up to it, I may do a little more before bed. I like my goal to be 2,000 a day, but somedays I get more.

On weekends, it is totally random.

[Azure Skye]

I'm way too ashamed to reply. Lately, I've been soooooo busy looking for a job and doing all the research that comes along with that (resumes, cover letters, interview questions) which is leaving me little time to even want to do anything else.

I do want to point out though, that you all have just inspired me. Thanks.

[Mike Martyn]

I'm still new to this but my routine is already set in stone. I have a computer dedicated entirely to writing. There are no games on it and it's NOT connected to the internet. That way my crazy 18 year old won't download a bunch of crap thereby causing the whole system to crash. i save what I've writtenboth onteh hard drive as well as a floppy disk and memory stick which I can stick in my pocket and carry with me.

Before work, I read the paper and cut out any bizzare news storiews which I paste into a note book for future storey ideas.

I can only seem to write in the bedroom basement from noon to about 2 since I take a nice long lunch hour. I'm happy if I write 1000 words a day. I'll only outline after I've done the first draft.

Generally later in the evening after work I review what if written and take a moment to admire my deathless prose :)