A writer's life

I’m disciplined, so forming a writing routine was easy.  I’m also self-employed, so I can keep at least one day a week free to write.  I write either in my office, surrounded by photos, pendulums, pictures and post-its, or in my caravan out in the garden – depending on the weather!  My cat is never far from me, and neither is a cup of coffee. 

I sit down to start writing at around 10am, trying not to get side-tracked by social media.  I’ll write solidly until lunch, and then do another hour before going out for a walk. It does me good to clear my head – and I’m never more inspired than when I’m sweating out in the fresh air!

Once I have an idea, I just need to get it out, so I could probably write 3,000 to 5,000 words in a day.  Once I have the initial idea onto screen, I then start the process of editing.  In a previous life as an overseas development worker, I wrote many many reports, and so developed a logical approach to managing a lot of words.  When I received feedback on Spaghetti Head, from my first wave of readers, I felt overwhelmed by having to figure out how to make changes to 85,000 words without losing track.  I sat down in front of the manuscript and stared at it, and stared at it, until I figured out the most logical approach.

I never write at weekends.

I find writing therapeutic – so I’m never happier than when I’m tapping away on my laptop.