I Have a List of Rituals Around Here Somewhere…
I asked Larissa if there was something in particular she’d like to see from me for this post, and she suggested I write about my writing rituals. I admit, I snorted when I saw the suggestion, and the cats all gave me the stink-eye for waking them up with such a crude sound. Cats are so prissy.
You’ll understand the snort by the time I’m finished explaining all this.
I’m a planner. I plan everything out before I do it, whether it be the plot of a book, a road trip, or a trip to the bathroom. Don’t judge me. We’re nowhere near where you should judge me, yet. That’s coming.
So, yes, I have rituals, including elaborate plot charts on my three whiteboards, piles of index cards with characters and subplots, and multiple documents with outlines and summaries. Here’s my schedule for each day:
7-8 AM: Feed cats, make coffee, make husband’s lunch, have coffee with husband before he leaves for work.
8-9 AM: Have breakfast, shower, dress, take a walk
9 AM -1 PM: Write a minimum of 3K words
1-2 PM: Have lunch
2-5 PM: Work on edits and/or social media/admin
This is where the snorting and other unladylike noises come in. Because my day never looks even remotely like the above plan. It starts out the same, then quickly devolves into something totally different.
7-8 AM: Feed cats, make coffee, make husband’s lunch, have coffee with husband before he leaves for work. (At least this stays the same. Unless we oversleep. That’s a whole new problem.)
8-11 AM: Check email and sales stats, read friend’s blog post, check for new reviews or mentions, get engrossed in some weird meltdown another author is having, accidentally “like” something on Facebook which alerts two or three people that I’m there so they start having a conversation with me, harvest Farmville crops, wonder why I’m so hungry.
11AM – 1PM: Wander in and out of the kitchen trying to decide on something to eat, consider getting dressed, watch a YouTube video about how to cut a pomegranate without dying your fingers pink, drink a protein shake to avoid having to decide what to eat.
1-5:30 PM: Realize I’ve accomplished nothing all day, work in a crazed frenzy to write All Of The Words, realize I’m still not dressed and husband is on his way home.
5:30 – 6:15: Shower, dress, throw something quick in the oven for dinner or order pizza, sit back down and write more words, irritated at the interruption because I’m WORKING, so why do I have to do everything around here?
Does that happen every single day? Nope. That’s a sample of what might happen on any given day. Other days may include a frantic 4 PM run to the grocery store, working for six hours straight at a coffee shop without stopping, or driving around aimlessly in the country for two hours so I can work out a plot problem.
I have no real rituals. No day is ever the same as any other day. I plan. And then I don’t follow the plan.
How the hell I’ve managed to write four books in the Monster Haven series plus a pile of short stories in the last three years is utterly beyond me. You can go ahead and judge me, now.
Do you have any rituals I can buy from you at a reasonable rate? I promise not to overuse them.
I make plans too... and don't follow them... sometimes intentionally but often because my plans just don't work out. I think it's awesome that you've written 4 books and multiple short stories! I'd love to read your books... they sound like wonderful adventures. It's be awesome to win one or all three to get me started! Thanks for the giveaway!
Hi! Your Rafflecopter doesn't seem to be working... could you check it please? When I try to submit an entry with it... (and I've tried multiple entries...), it returns: Aw, shucks. We didn't get your entry. Plz try again.
IF it helps, I've tried using Explorer & Chrome and I've refreshed the screen multiple times.
Thanks for the fun post and giveaway! This series looks so fun :) Thanks for sharing!
@lindalou
Im sorry... I chwcked and it doesnt show any issues... It might be something with them... But i think your entries did compute....
I would love to read this series. Thanks for the giveaway.
I love this series. I've been waiting for Fairies to come out and it's on the top of my wish list. It doesn't seem like her lack of organization is causing R.L. any problems with completing stories. Whatever works!
ALL of the covers are just superb.
I loved book 1 and 2 would love #3! Thanks for the giveaway!