Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Live-Writing: A Day in the Life of a Full-Time Writer

So I looked up and realized that it was Wednesday. Well, crap. Where did the week go? I had such big plans--namely nailing down about ten chapters--and I've not done any of them.

I have a list of excuses, some of them valid. See, I'm just starting this full-time writer gig, and I've not quite gotten down a pattern yet. I actually have the next ten-ish chapters planned out, and I tend to not be excited about writing when I know what happens next. I prefer every writing day to be an ADVENTURE into the murky UNKNOWN. And I've been doing lots of writerly things--critiques, web design, calling contacts, working on something awesome for a friend (makes eyes at Heather), working with agent and editor (I squee a bit every time I even think that), etc. And some of the stuff I'm working on is going to be AWESOME for YOU--I can't wait to unveil some of the stuff we're planning and doing for ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. There is candy involved.

But the long and short of it is simply that I've not gotten nearly enough writing done lately. Today's goal: actual writing. Like, significant writing that really puts a dent in the WIP (which, yes, is Book 2).

And I'll live-blog it.

Credit where credit is due: I thought of doing this in part because Maureen Johnson, who's a rock star of words, tweeted this:

Party, did you say? I'M ALL IN.

Throughout the day, I'll be updating this post with what's going on with my writing. Come back later to see what happened next.

8:40--Wake up. Sort of. I'm not a morning person. 

9:00--Breakfast. Massive bowl of Captain Crunch. 

9:40--Look at the clock after watching THE DISH during breakfast. Holy crap. I've wasted an hour already.

10:00--Play with the dog, get dressed in real clothes, PREPARE FOR LIVE-BLOG.

10:15--Open up Scrivener. It's blinking at me, telling me to WORK. *buckles down*

10:29-- Oh, excuse me. That buckle wasn't fastened correctly. *really buckles down*

10:30--WHAT am I THINKING? I can't mean bizness without COFFEE. I'm going in.

10:39--Got coffee. Got notebook of notes in front of me. Wait, I need to feed the fish. OK, officially out of excuses. 

10:45--Word count: 14,252. Just started chapter 16.

10:55--Just wrote a chapter. Just deleted it.

11:01--You know what's a cool word? Trifecta. I wish I had a reason to use that word. Oh, wait. I'm writing a book. Riiiiiight.


11:09--I've added about 300 words (that I haven't deleted). This chapter is like pulling teeth, though. That's what I get for writing a chapter about climbing up stairs. Argh.

11:15--Hopped online for a bit of procrastination. Discovered this. OMFG YES!!!!!! That is flipping awesome--another Avatar cartoon series!!! YAY!


11:16--Must. Work. iTunes is now playing Beatles. That is a sure sign that I. Must. Work.

11:25--I am worried that none of this chapter will make the final cut of the book. It is a chapter about climbing stairs, after all. *sigh* Still, I can't work with nothing, and she does need to get up the stairs. *returns to writing*


11:49--Word count: 15,267. Finished Chapter 16. Done with the blasted stairs. But I SOOOOOO don't want to write the next chapter. Main characters are about to get in a HUGE fight, and I HATE fight scenes. Maybe now's a good time for lunch....

12:51--How did lunch take a whole hour? Oh, yeah, cause I watched two episodes of THE WIZARDS OF WAVERLY PLACE while eating potato-broccoli soup. Now my belly's full and my mind is full of Selana Gomez snark. That might be a good place to get the fight scene ready... 

12:54--I decided you needed a picture of Selena Gomez. I AM ALWAYS THINKING OF YOU. No, wait. I'm just thinking of me here. And procrastinating. *mumblegrumble* FINE. I'll start writing again.


12:56--Doesn't it look like Selena's all glaring at my procrastination?


1:04--STOP JUDGING ME SELENA GOMEZ. I just downloaded your single on iTunes. HAPPY NOW?






1:13--Oh, right. Manuscript. I should see to that.

1:23--I have no idea how to start this chapter.

1:32--I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO START THIS CHAPTER.

1:38--FINE. That'll do.

1:44--OMG my main characters are so CUTE together! ...I don't wanna make them fight...

1:52--I watched some Sassy Gay Friend to make me feel better about turning my MCs on each other.


OK, then I got distracted by this:



1:59--FINE. I'll go make the adorably cute characters have a HORRIBLE FIGHT now.

2:06--I don't wanna make 'em fight. :(   (I also had a hard time reading Harry Potter 4, when Harry and Ron fight. I hate fighting friends.)

2:19--They're fighting now. ARE YOU HAPPY YET?

2:20--I so just used the word "vitriol." I love that word.

2:27--Should I make them kiss? A kiss after a mini-make-up and just before the worst part of the fight...

2:36--It became an almost-kiss. And it's sad. :( Why do you keep making me sad, book? I should write about candy and puppies.

2:39--I will cheer myself up with more coffee.

2:57--Current word count: 16,637.

3:14--MC Girl just burned MC Boy. But I want them to snog! Stupid characters, never doing what I want them to. *mumblegrumble*

3:55--A little stuck. Next chapter starts: "The next day..." That should unstick me.

4:01--Nope. Still stuck. But actually...this is a good place to stop.

Tally of today's productivity:
  • Number of Sassy Gay Friend videos watched: 3
  • Number of times I listened to "Round and Round": 59-ish
  • Final word count: 17,032
  • Number of chapters written: 4 (I write really short chapters, btw)
  • Words written today: 2,780

Hmmm...not terrible, but I know I can do better. But the good news is I've gotten past the plotted fight scene, and I'm back into the murky unknown depths of the plot. And this has certainly given me a bit of a kickstart. I'm still struggling to find the balance between writing, other authorly stuff that needs to be done (I've got 41 unread emails currently), and procrastinating. 

31 comments:

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Ha! Even though I intend to write all day, except for certain chores-which-must-be-done, I will keep tabs on you today. Eyes are watching!

Unknown said...

Oh noes! *puts on serious face* :)

Sandy Wills said...

lol

Love your updates. Kind of describes my morning routine of, um, not writing.

Gotta any extra seatbelts?

Unknown said...

*passes Sandy a seatbelt*

Although sometimes I feel more like a crash-test dummy than a driver...

Patti said...

I prefer every writing day to be an ADVENTURE into the murky UNKNOWN.

Totally agree with you there. I have a much harder time writing when I know what's going to happen. Good luck today.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

You wrote a chapter in 10 minutes??? *headdesk*

Candyland said...

I'm not a morning person either!!! And I'm the same way-it's hard for me to get going.

Unknown said...

Oh, no, Tricia! Just a scene! A short scene!

JEM said...

I have to work and lamentably can't join you in the write-in, but someday in the future I will have a write-in and hopefully write a blog post that lives up to the funny of this one. Good luck!

Kelly Polark said...

I love this! I'm glad I'm not the only procrastinator. But now that you are writing this for all to see, that will probably make you buckle down more than usual, no?
Sometimes I need deadlines or online sites like The Practice Room to get me in gear.
Keep on writing!!

Tere Kirkland said...

I wish I could write all day, but I have to work. Boo. Have fun!

Anonymous said...

I'm doing it this morning too!
Can't wait to read your snippets on my breaks! :D

Jemi Fraser said...

I've spent all morning reading blogs! Now I'm feeling guilty - off I go to write :)

Marcia said...

I was wondering how the full-timing was going.

You wrote a chapter in 10 minutes? Yay, you!

I love the live-blogging the process idea. And how brave of you. :)

Rose Cooper said...

Love your live-writing! It so reminds me when I write and all the distractions that take place. And excuses. I'm so not a morning person either! Love following this!

Anonymous said...

I love the videos you posted.
"So he can sit on your face!?"
"Genetically-modify yourself for that stranger."
This is awesome. :D

Eric said...

Okay, I was totally enjoying this until you got onto the Selena Gomez stuff. You do realize she's a puppet on the Disney strings, right? That freakin' Disney is trying to shove her and the rest of the idiotic Mouseketeers down our throats via their overbearing marketing campaign. Grrrrrr!

Yeah, I'm so not a fan. Sorry, didn't mean to rant all over your comment block. Anyway, I like reading through your day. It's funny and you're mostly productive :) Oh, and thanks for the Mermaid vid. That was funny.

lisa and laura said...

oh my god, i'm crying right now. the new sassy gay friend combined with advice from a mermaid princess is KILLING me. will you procrastinate more? this is fun!

Lindsay said...

Lol. Stop giving me ideas to procrasinate with. Not that I really need much help with that, I should be writing now. :)

Unknown said...

The mermaid post was hilarious!

Sandy Wills said...

I really think you need to prioritize procrastinating.

:-)

Chandler Craig said...

haha loved this and love Selena Gomez/Wizards of Waverly Place an embarrassing amount.

need to work on my seatbelt fastening skills these days

Tyhitia Green said...

Awesome, Beth. Thanks for sharing. That was totally hilarious too. :-D

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Wow, I wish my procrastinating was as productive as yours!!!

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

you're still doing pretty good..

gave you an award today on my blog :)

Natalie Aguirre said...

I have to work too so can't come. But it's definitely hard being productive enough whether you work or not. Hope you get into a good routine.

KA said...

I just went and checked to see about the new Avatar cartoon just to make sure you weren't starting evil internet rumors. Wahoo! It's true!

Vonna said...

Wow! I didn't know there was going to be another Avatar series. I am psyched!

Seriously, you are brave to live blog your progress.

Rebecca T. said...

hehehe! I love when people share their day like this. It makes me feel so much better about my own procrastination techniques (she says as she procrastinates by reading blogs)

S.A. Larsenッ said...

You are amazing, Beth, really. Go do some word crunching, and then have a relaxing weekend...if you can stop crunching. LOL. Love this post. Well done.

Amy said...

AHH you watched the original Avatar animated series? I LOVE IT SO MUCH. btw Zuko <3 ok that's all. The fact that it's taking place 70 years in the future is mind boggling. (so is Inception, btw) I mean like, the original characters are all going to be 80-something-year-olds! And Aang is dead! D: Wow sorry I go off on rants so easy...


Anyways, that fight scene and subsequent almost kiss sound utterly ENTICING! MUSTREADYOURBOOKNAOWAAAHHH. Btw, I was looking at Penguin's Winter 2011 catalog the other day and I SAW A PICTURE OF ACROSS THE UNIVERSE'S COVER! Maybe it's not the final one, but I saw one. And it looks pretty gorgeous :D