14 August 2018

MY WRITING ROUTINE



Author mornings are a little different to the Before Baby Days, now a glorious yet blurry time in my mind when I'd wake up at an acceptable hour, go for a walk before work, hell, maybe even make it to 9am without yoghurt in my hair.

I might get rudely awoken by two tiny emperors these days, and I definitely don't have time to take anything more than a cursory look at my face slash outfit, but I'm always excited to get to my desk and feel incredibly lucky to be able to count book writing as part of my career. So I thought I'd share with you how my working mornings pan out...


Wake up call pre-6am. Sometimes pre-5am. 😫 Cheers lads. Crawl out of bed bleary-eyed, scramble about getting the guys ready and breakfasted. My husband's working hours vary but if there's a second pair of hands around first thing, I might get a run in or put a wash on (!) or do a 20 minute yoga class on YouTube.

On working days, angels (my parents) arrive to occupy the little ones so I throw myself in the direction of the shower and leave my hair to air dry while I make a breakfast smoothie. I do enjoy a smoothie, as evidenced here and here.

At my desk by 9am. The first thing I do is try really hard not to look on the sidebar of shame because ugh. Then I'll open my manuscript and have a read-through of the last few hundred words. It can be anything from a day to a week since I last wrote, so I always like to refresh my mind on what I've got to work with.

Two minute sidebar of shame break. Damn it, willpower.

Head to the kitchen as a distraction tactic, make a coffee and come back to my desk, then tap tap tap off I go! Endless writing for hours and hours and hours. Okay, that only happens on exceptionally creative days. Sometimes I write for twelve minutes and then

P  R  O  C  R  A  S  T  I  N  A  T  E

On these occasions I'll allow myself a few mins on Instagram, which turns into seven (underestimation). Still, I have probably learned that a former colleague had a side of cheesy mash with last night's dinner and an old school friend is on the most envy-inducing holiday ever... so, essential information for my brain.

Write write write OR jot down ideas, develop characters, plan plots. I do love a bit of stationery so really any excuse to whip out some coloured pens and a nice notebook is good for me.

I take a break to give my boys lunch and prep my own. (Usually salad with various bits and bobs from the fridge and always jalapeños. Always. I get through a jar a week at least. It's a problem.)

Then I'll head back to my desk, scoff lunch and have a quick faff online. Current favourite sites are Rightmove because we're house hunting and Refinery29 because I'm OBSESSED with their Money Diaries (such a brilliant and insightful idea).

Then it's back to #werk.

What's your morning work routine? I'd love to hear it.

The Year of Saying Yes
Just My Type


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