My life revolves around writing. That’s what I do. It’s what gives me pleasure and fulfilment. We all need some reason to get up in the morning. Mine’s writing.
My first task is to check my emails and social media; to answer messages and check out anything that has come through.
I then check my book sales and look for new reviews (I know – sad). New reviews give me a boost. You have to learn to ride the occasional bad one. You can’t please everybody. Sometimes a bad review can stimulate me to return to a book and check. I’ve rewritten one book on the basis of one bad review.
Having cleared the decks I set about writing.
I don’t distinguish between types of writing. I might write a piece for my blog or develop an idea in a novel.
If I am writing a novel I usually get immersed. It takes over. I wake up in the night with ideas. My mind is constantly churning through characters, plot and action. I begrudge any minute not spent writing it down. The ideas flow and take over my life. I’ve learnt to control myself or I wouldn’t have a marriage. I have to moderate.
If I am writing a more factually-based book I might do that in chunks. I will research one aspect and write that up. Not so all-consuming.
I’m very goal orientated. I like to complete a project.
When I am writing the hours flick past. I forget meals and can work deep into the night. It becomes like a meditation. The words are like links in a chain; they pull other words up behind them. Ideas do the same; one leads to a bunch of others. I am a one finger typist but I work at pace. I can type faster than I can write long-hand.
I am usually working on a bunch of projects – novels and books. I always have a poetry book on the go. I have a book called ‘The Death Diaries’ that I add pieces to every now and again. If I an editing I do that in sections then have a break to write something else. I need to do that to keep my mind fresh and focussed. Editing/rewriting is hard. Being objective does not come easy.
Every now and then I break for chores, cooking meals, cleaning, tidying, washing up, shopping. We share a division of labour in my house. It works.
In the evening I try to find time for my wife Liz. We usually watch TV dramas together. Then I might get back to work writing. I find that my energy levels and focus aren’t as good as they were. I can’t work late into the night like I used to do.
I take breaks to listen to some music, to take a walk. I was taking a daily two hour hike but that has lapsed into an hour. I fit my reading into short spells. I always have two or three books on the go.
I suffer with time pressure. There just aren’t enough hours in the day.
Not every day’s the same. We do fit in gigs, theatre and friends – though not as often as used to be the case.
That’s it.
The life of a writer is very solitary – but it’s not lonely! Too much going on in my head to be lonesome.
