This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
You can listen to Anna’s podcasted novel over on her website www.annabellwrites.com and follow her on twitter @annabell_writes.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN AUTHOR
I'm sure you’ve got an inkling by now that I daydream about being a fulltime writer. So when I realised I had lots of leave left over at work this year, I decided to play out my little fantasy of booking days off just to write and pretend to be a fulltime writer.
The first time I did it, I was utterly convinced of the many thousands of words I was sure to write. My day started with a little treat; having a read in the bath. Then my dog got a longer than usual walk round the harbour; it was such a beautiful day and I couldn’t waste all of it in doors. And then there was breakfast, which had to be more elaborate than the piece of toast I usually shovel down on my way to work.
Despite having got up at 7am, it was 10.30am before I logged on to my laptop . Which was about time for a nice cup of coffee, checking my emails and twitter and a little bit of browsing. By the time I opened up my word document it was 11.30.
But I still maintained in my head that I could still write thousands and thousands of words.
I should have mentioned that my fiancé works from home, as at about 12.30 after I’d written for an hour, he suggested taking the dog for a walk together. We had a lovely trip to the beach and when we got back (feeling all Mediterranean in the nice weather we were having) I cooked us a Spanish omelette. By the time I’d washed and tidied the kitchen and settled back down to my laptop it was almost 2.45.
After writing for only an hour I realised I needed to pay a cheque into the bank and pick up some food for dinner. By the time I got home again it was pretty much time to cook. Dinner was followed by another walk of the dog (yes I know he’s spoilt) and a trip to the pub to meet my friends. I’d arranged it as a reward for having spent the day chained to the desk writing (if only!).
The end of day one off to write: 1,500 words completed. Which is about the same as what I can do in an evening if I put my mind to it, and that’s after a whole day at work.
It’s ironic that I spend the whole of my time wishing I had more time to write, then when I’m handed it on a silver platter all I do is look at ticket prices to festivals and browse for shoes. Neither of which I particularly want. I guess that’s the problem when you’re pretending to be a full time writer, you have to pretend you’ve got deadlines.
I’ve now decided just to take my time off and not play out my author fantasies, instead enjoying my day off. And what do you know, I still manage to do the same word count!