Too often people have a wild view of what the life of a romance writer is like. While I'd love to think of myself as living a life of luxury, enjoying having a maid clean my house, do my laundry, do my grocery shopping and put it away, and then carting kids around, I don't. The only difference between me and my readers is that my day job allows me to work in my pajamas instead of pantyhose. Don't get me wrong, I see that as a major perk to being a full time writer.
So today, I decided to give you a little glimpse into the world of a full-time fiction writer. You can decide how close to your own life my life is or how "glamorous".
You know how it is. We all have housekeepers who make our houses spotless while we sit in our huge beautifully decorated offices (boa wrapped around our neck) drinking Manhattans and eating chocolate as the words just flow from our fingers right on the computer screen.
Get real. THAT only happens in the movies. If you’re lucky
enough to have a housekeeper, my hat is off to you. I wish. If the kids drop
dishes in the sink, or the counter…or the kitchen table…they’re staying there
until my scene is written, which may or may not happen before Project Runway is
on, depending on how busy the day is. Thank God for the DVR!
I don’t own a boa and would hate one wrapped around my neck
as I type. It would tickle my nose and distract me. In truth my writing day looks more like this…
6:00AM Get up with the kids, put on coffee, make sure every
has what they need before they head out the door.
6:30AM Kids are on the school bus. I’m searching the house
for “hairball presents” the cat left me during the night. Then check the front
porch for any “other” cat presents. (Oh, joy, the dead rodent is the reason why
my daughter screamed on her way to the bus.)
7:00AM I’m cleaning breakfast dishes (which means the
kitchen will be clean until 2:30 when the kids get home), picking up the pile
of clothes my daughters decided not to wear after 10 wardrobe changes and
straightening the bathroom sink of makeup, hair products and electrical hair
appliances. (Yes, that’s plural!)
8:00AM Sitting at my computer and drinking my first cup of
coffee which is already getting cold and bitter because I made the pot at
6:00AM.
9:30AM Done with emails, Twitter, Facebook, and putting out
any fires that need to be put out. Make a second pot of coffee.
10:00AM Deep into my WIP.
11:00AM Letting the dog outside because he’s whining at the
door.
11:15AM Letting the dog back in because he’s whining outside
the door.
11:30AM Yelling at the cat because I can hear him scratching
the couch.
12:00PM Making my bed because the dog AND the cat want to
sleep on it while I write. (Did I mention my “office” is in my bedroom? No glam
office for me.)
12:30PM Having a fight with the cat because he insists on
jumping on my desk and sleeping in front of the monitor. I lose, so I take a
break for lunch.
1:00PM Cat is snoozing under my desk and dog is snoozing by
my feet. I am writing.
2:05PM I jump in the shower. (Unless I’m on a deadline. Then
all bets are off. Can’t waste precious time before kids get home.)
2:30PM Kids get off the school bus and start asking me to
take them (Fill in the Blank).
The rest of the afternoon is usually a mix of driving kids
to work or boyfriend’s houses and then picking people up. I make dinner, that
is if I wasn’t smart enough to put something in the crock pot that morning.
Have dinner with whichever member of the family happens
to be home at the time. Clean up and then sit back down at the computer to get
whatever writing time I can squeeze in before tackling laundry.
I can almost guarantee your life is more glamorous than
mine. No? Make me feel better and tell me what your glamorous day, writing or
otherwise, is like!
I love hearing from readers so you can email me at LisaMondello@aol.com, visit me at http://www.lisamondello.blogspot.com
and find me on Twitter at @LisaMondello.
Posts
