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.