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We had LOTS of great entries in our latest giveaway contest--see the end of this post to find out who our winner is. 

As Jill shared last Friday, for our current TeachingAuthors topic we're talking a bit about our daily lives/routines as writers. Before I discuss my routine, I have a confession to make: I don't want to be writing this blog post right now.

It's not that I mind the topic, or that I dislike blogging, because I enjoy these posts and the opportunity to connect with you, our blog readers. It's just that I've been working hard, keeping "butt in chair" for the past few weeks, trying to finish the revision of my young-adult historical, and I'm almost done--"almost," as in, to start this blog post, I had to stop at page 274 of a 280-page manuscript! I really wanted to keep plugging away without interruption until I reached the end AND worked through Chapter 1 again so I could send it off to my Beta readers.

Ironically (given today's topic), I would easily have made it through those last pages if regular life hadn't intervened with a minor household crisis this afternoon. But that's a topic for another day.

However, since I'm being brutally honest here, I should also note that these last few weeks have really been more "fun" than "work." That's because I FINALLY got through the revision of Chapter 12--the pivotal chapter where the two formerly antagonistic main characters realize they're falling in love! Once I had that chapter working to my satisfaction, I was on a roll: tweaking scenes, pulling threads, deepening sensory details, adding imagery, polishing language, etc. The stuff I love to do!

If you've been following this blog for awhile, you know it's taken me a LONG time to get to this point with this current work-in-progress. In fact, I've been ready to give up on this novel countless times. Back in June 2011, I blogged about how having a "writing buddy" turned out to be the key to my getting a finished draft. But that draft still needed a lot of work--work I hope to have finished by the end of this week. Hooray!

[By the way--my blog post about having a "writing buddy" led me to write a freelance article on the topic for the 2013 Children's Writer's and Illustrator's Market (Writer's Digest Books), edited by Chuck Sambuchino. The book was just released on September 21, and is also available in ebook form.]

So, what IS my typical day like? I blogged about my "ideal" day back in June, 2009, and that ideal hasn't changed much, though I rarely live up to it.

I find I'm most productive if I get up around 6-6:30 in the morning and get to work as soon after breakfast as possible, without checking email or Facebook. Since I have a hard time resisting email, I set a timer and don't allow myself to look at it until after I've put in 2-4 hours of work, depending on what else I have going on that day. After email and lunch, I work another 2-4 hours, though I take an exercise break in the middle of the afternoon on most days. (If you haven't read about the recent studies citing the dangers of prolonged sitting, you may want to read this Forbes article: Why Sitting at Work Can be so Deadly.]

I should clarify that "work" varies depending on my teaching schedule and my work goals for the week. I'm not currently teaching any classes, so the "work" time these days may include:

• writing/revising my current historical YA novel-in-progress (that's almost done!)
• researching/planning where to submit a novel I recently finished co-writing with another author
• writing a blog post, like this one, or planning future blogging topics
• pitching/querying new freelance writing projects
• writing/researching freelance writing projects
• updating my website with information about upcoming classes, publications, etc.

Weeks when I am teaching, my "work" time includes lesson planning, publicizing classes, and reviewing student work.

Depending on how much time I spend on email and social media, my typical work day is usually 5-8 hours long, Monday through Friday, plus 4 hours or more on Saturday. (I often teach on Saturdays.) If I'm on deadline, or on a "roll" as I have been the last few weeks, I may put in some extra time after dinner. But I can't do that for an extended period. I agree with what Jill said on Friday, that we need to have time away from our work to gather the material that will enrich our writing.

I know many of you have full-time jobs that make it pretty much impossible to spend 2-4 hours per day writing. The good news is, many writers who have much less time to devote to their writing are still able to have successful careers. Esther recently mentioned a new blog by Carol Coven Grannick called Today I Am a Writer. In one of her first posts, Carol talks about how productive she's been by following the simple tenet of devoting the First, Best Hour to her work. As Carol has discovered, knowing we have a limited amount of time can sometimes help us stay focused. I'm a believer in Parkinson's law--work often does expand to fill the time allotted for its completion.

But even if an hour is more than you can muster, you may be surprised at what you can accomplish by writing simply fifteen minutes a day. Every August, award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson hosts the "Write Fifteen Minutes a Day Challenge" on her blog. Here's an excerpt from what she posted on the last day of the challenge::

Life happens whether you are writing or not. You don’t have to wait for the right time, or that Muse-blessed idea or a fellowship to a writing colony or a winning lottery ticket or anything. You just have to give yourself permission to take seriously your writing dream.

So I hope you'll give yourself permission to take your writing dream seriously. Why not start today, by setting aside some regular writing time?. Even if you missed Anderson's Fifteeen Minutes a Day Challenge last month, there's nothing stopping you from using her posts to work through your own month of writing fifteen minutes a day. Day one begins here.  

And now, time to announce the winner of Lisa Cron's Wired for Story: The Writer's Guide to Using Brain Science to Hook Readers from the Very First Sentence (Ten Speed Pess). Our winner is:

Mary Jo

Congratulations, Mary Jo! (Please respond to my email so we can get the book in the mail right away.)

If you didn't win, never fear--we have more giveaways coming SOON!

And now, I'm going back to my novel.
Happy writing!
Carmela

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This post is in response to reader Tara, who wanted to know more about the writing life.

Before I was a writer, here's how I pictured the job:  A wild-haired writer sits at a desk, typing madly, interrupted every now and again with a call from her agent, who wants to know how her book is coming along or report sales figures or discuss her upcoming book tour. Sometimes she removes her glasses and taps them against her teeth while gazing thoughtfully at the ceiling. She stands to stretch and yawn, looks out the window, maybe goes for a fresh cup of coffee or a contemplative walk before settling in for another few hours.

Confession:  I still think this is what life is like for blockbuster authors. Alas, I am not one of them (knock wood and never say never).

My writing life, by contrast, is very sporadic. I might write three to five hours one day, then not at all for two or three days. Or more. For years I felt guilty about that non-schedule. After all, a Real Writer would follow Steven King's advice (in his On Writing), which was basically:  1) have a writing space with a door you can close, 2) set daily writing goals, 3) don't come out until you've met them. I do have novelist friends who pretty much stick to this model.

But I've made peace with my own jackrabbit writing style because of two things:

1) I wholeheartedly believe that every bit of our lives away form writing – every book we read, every person we speak with, every place we visit, every hobby we enjoy – soaks into our beings and feeds our writing in ways big and small. Maybe some of us have wells that go dry faster than others? *shrug* So what might I be doing when I'm not writing? Lately, there's quilting, a hobby I'm just getting back into after years away. My latest project, a wall hanging:

I might be running errands. Seeing a relative. Dining out with friends. Reading. Traveling. Baking. Taking a class (right now:  Basic Drawing - loving it!). Participating in a church function. Watching a video or catching up on Facebook. Writing for this blog. Enjoying a writing retreat. Sitting in a board meeting. Answering e-mail. Visiting a school. Teaching a workshop. Walking the dog.

2) I am primarily a picture book writer. Writing picture books is very much a process, and parts of that process work best if you take mental breaks. Every story needs a cooling off period, followed by a lot of revision. A lot. So the fact that I'm not in my office 24/7 doesn't mean my mind isn't still grappling with whatever story problem has me stumped. Some (most!) of my best ideas and aha moments come to me when I'm away from my computer.

All that said, I have had a totally different routine lately, thanks to a couple of short-deadlined projects. Here's the first, due out in mid-November from National Geographic:

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I offer a resounding Ibid!, not to mention a Thumbs Up, to the solutions and suggestions my fellow, oh-so-wise TeachingAuthors shared concerning Time Management these past two weeks. They answered Pam T.’s question, and then some.Prioritize. Of course.Focus. Absolutely.Remove all distractions. That goes without saying. I would also add, though: determine and honor your Modus Operandi.Are you a

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As Mary Ann mentioned in her last post, we received an Ask the TeachingAuthors question regarding time management. Pam T. of Illinois asked for advice about how to allocate time between actual writing, reading, improving your craft, etc.Like Mary Ann, I don't feel I really have "the answer." My ideal writing day (when I'm not teaching) would look like this:1 hour -- meditating/praying/spiritual

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*that would be five minutes at a time. Read on for clarificationOne of our readers asked how much time the Teaching Authors devote to writing, how much to career development, our individual websites, professional reading etc.I am THE worst person to ask, so of course, I am the one to address this question first!There are people who are organized. They keep schedules, tidy desks and have all their

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