My Fantasy Writing Day
And my newest writing distraction
Happy Sunday!
Today’s post is quick because we’ve been busy with our newest family member. Readers, meet Gary:
Gary is a four-month-old kitten who loves attention, belly rubs, and screaming in the middle of the night.
He is less fond of our squeaky floors, shower noises, and the smell of coffee.
While he’s been a distraction this week (how could he not be?), I already know that Gary will be an essential writing companion. Look at him helping me take notes!
Back to writing…
Last night Mark and I went to a talk with Dolly Alderton — the author of many books, including our first book club pick, Ghosts.
She was charming, insightful, and wearing these iconic Sex and The City shoes.
One question I loved from the evening was “What is your fantasy writing day?”
Dolly answered immediately with a detailed play-by-play. Hers included: deep writing time, a yoga class, positive feedback from her editor, and no phone distractions.
Her list is seemingly attainable, but also so so so rare.
A big part of the writing journey is coming to terms with the work not being romantic. It’s less “wistfully starting out a coffee shop window” and more “throwing my phone across the room because dear god you must finish this piece before 12pm even though no one will read it and who cares anyway but if you don’t put these words down you won’t get better and you won’t have a readership and all great novelists start somewhere and can you just stop panicking for two seconds and think about the next sentence.”
You know?
For fun, I thought I’d share my answer to this question, too.
Jamie’s fantasy writing day:
Wake up at 7:30am, unprompted
Have coffee in bed with Gary while reading a chapter of something imaginative and exciting
Get up, sit at my desk, and write a realistic to-do list
Spend 1-2 hours on a chapter or outlining a few tricky scenes. I don’t second-guess any ideas I have
Check my email and see a bunch of paid speaking gigs and freelance requests that I didn’t have to seek out
Take a guilt-free break to go to the gym and listen to a writing podcast
Come back rejuvenated, inspired, and hungry for a huge brunch that Mark has conveniently already made.
Spend another 2-3 hours banging out 1500-3000 words of pure gold. Gary is on my lap the whole time.
Go for a walk with Mark and talk about something I’m stuck on or excited about (this is my favourite part of the writing process)
While Mark starts dinner, I make some tweaks to my pages and Pinterest a mood board for my next scene
Check my phone and 3 people have told me how much they loved my last essay
Have dinner, clean up, and update my to-do list, which only has one item left (likely something social media-related because I hate that part)
An unexpected burst of energy propels me to draft 2-3 social media posts about my children’s book, freelance work, essays, or WIP. None of them are cringey and I feel 100% proud to share them
Now that the to-do list is complete, I make tea, light a candle, and read in the bath. I enjoy the book and don’t compare myself to the author at all
Watch a show with Mark and Gary
Jot down a few ideas/notes/lines before bed that make me feel ready to tackle the new freelance projects and empty my brain out before sleep
Go to bed between 10:30 and 11pm. Gary purrs in my ear all night
That sounds doable, right?!?!
My Side Plot
Bookclubbers! How’s it going? Reminder that next Sunday will be our final review of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.