I realize that my last post probably got you closer to understanding what I do every day, but that it still didn’t get you all the way there. I plan to eventually tell you a bit more about my day-to-day routine, but I thought it would be MUCH more fun to tell you what I used to think life would be like as a writer.
Before I became one.
A Day in the Life of a Writer (Fantasy Edition)
9:00 am – Wake to the sound of birdsong. Rise and meander to the kitchen; put on the teakettle. Idle on the deck for a while, overlooking the downtown skyline, teacup in hand.
9:30 am– Enjoy a leisurely hot shower; slip on something stylish; apply makeup.
10:15 am – Turn on the computer. Check email; send witty replies.
11:00 am – Write page after page of pithy, insightful… words.
12:30 pm – Meet writer friends for lunch; talk about writer-ly things. Discuss who has what plum international assignments. Say things like: “I’m scheduled to be in Europe that same week! Let’s meet up in Budapest!” Linger over an espresso.
1:45 pm – Stop at boutique on the way home; find fabulous vintage-inspired coat.
2:30 pm – Pick up mail. Open handwritten notes from friends; stack letterpress invitations to exciting art-theater-cultural-related gatherings on desk; glance through advance copies of books written by friends and friends of friends.
3:00 pm – Return to desk. Read congratulatory email from client and/or publisher fawning over most recent draft. Continue writing clever, erudite… words.
4:15 pm – Take phone call from editor and/or client who offers fabulous assignment. Sigh; reluctantly accept, but only after the offered amount increases.
4:50 pm – Send off draft work to client and/or publisher.
4:51 pm – Tidy up desk. Turn off computer. Stretch. Pluck artisan chocolates from handmade box.
5:15 pm – Meet editor for drinks at warmly-lit, swanky-but-not-in-a-tacky-way bar. Share gossip about other writers. Discuss the fragility of life. Quote Proust.
6:30 pm – Return home; draw a hot bath. Select something ambient but vaguely exotic from iPod playlist. Read first chapter of next week’s #1 NYT Bestseller while soaking in the tub. Have a sudden brilliant insight, mid-soak. Scribble idea into Moleskine sitting conveniently on bathtub ledge.
7:15 pm – Begin dressing for dinner. Don fabulous coat purchased earlier in the day.
8:00 pm – Open the door to find tousle-haired intellectual-but-hot boyfriend holding an enormous bouquet of exotic tulips. Take his arm; walk out into the sparkling night.
8:30 pm – Discuss earnest, important topics over dinner at fabulous-but-in-a-local-sustainable-way restaurant while sipping an earthy, voluptuous, charming bottle of Bordeaux circa 1998.
10:45 pm – *edited*
11:30 pm – Show boyfriend pages from secret writing project. Feel thrilled when he claims that it’s “your best work to date.”
12:05 am – Jot notes about the day on thick, creamy pages of rustic leather-bound journal. Mid-sentence, have revelation about a piece currently in progress. Dash to computer - type in rapid, stream-of-consciousness-like way. Realize that the piece was good before, but is now amazing.
12:55 am – Fall asleep to the sounds of music written by an obscure-but-meaningful classical composer.
9:00 am – Start all over.
