Holly Lisle: Writer

Keeping Writers’ Hours

Just a note for your amusement — for those who equate full-time writing with sleeping until noon and hanging out in the coffee shop until midnight before sitting down for an hour of angst at the keyboard (or with pen and quill), here’s my schedule.

Up at 4:30 AM. Write 3000 words before 8:30 AM. Iron clothes, make breakfast, homeschool. Make lunch, do laundry and rushed household chores. Half-hour nap on the couch some time around midday. Homeschool some more. Make supper, clean up debris from homeschooling (a messy proposition). Hang out with family for a couple of hours, try to sound coherent. Drowse on couch. Bed at 10 PM.

At least I like sunrises.

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9 responses to “Keeping Writers’ Hours”

  1. Loyd Avatar
    Loyd

    Wow!! My wife and I homeschooled five children, so I know what you put yourself through in that area. And you get your 10 to 20 pages in daily. I guess my dad was right. "You can do anything you want if you set your mind to it." I’m going to put this entry above my desk to motivate me to start writing. At 44, I’m too old to waste any more time.

    Reply
  2. Holly Lisle Avatar
    Holly Lisle

    Thank [insert your deity here] that I’ll never be a working mom. 😀

    It’s wonderful, really. My kid and I play games, I get to watch him discover the wonders of reading and math and science and history at first hand, I get to write my books, and I wouldn’t trade any of it for anything. About the only thing I don’t get to do is sleep a full eight hours. But what the hell, I’ll have all eternity to sleep. I’ll catch up when I’m dead.

    Reply
  3. Joel Avatar
    Joel

    "3000 words is 15 pages. Which would, in fact, be right between 10 and 20 pages a day."

    Ack! [smacks hand to forehead] Didn’t have my afternoon coffee. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Rick Avatar
    Rick

    Thank [insert your deity here] that I’ll never be a working mom. 😀

    Reply
  5. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    It’s early and my brain is not really awake yet. Excuse the stray apostrophe in moms. That stuff drives me nuts when I do it. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Linda Avatar
    Linda

    lol!! That’s the schedule of a mom with a job. Actually, you get to escape some of the common pita’s most working mom’s have to put up with–the commute traffic, pantyhose and office clothes, and clock-watching because you hate your job that often goes along with working elsewhere for someone else. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Holly Lisle Avatar
    Holly Lisle

    3000 words is 15 pages. Which would, in fact, be right between 10 and 20 pages a day.

    Reply
  8. Joel Avatar
    Joel

    I thought you wrote between 10 to 20 pages a day, Holly.

    Reply
  9. Rick Avatar
    Rick

    See, I’m fortunate in that my writing hours tend to be in the evenings. And I don’t intend to have kids any time in the next 80 years, so that’ll eliminate all the homeschooling and family stuff for me.

    Does that mean I *do* get to sleep till noon and hang out in coffee shops? I mean, lunch isn’t a necessity, and those bills don’t need to be paid *that* badly, do they?

    Reply

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