Are my editor and/or agent reading this? Then this is my answer:
I tend to wake up bright and early with the sun. I eat a quick breakfast that I can hold in one hand while the other scrolls through all the work I put into the manuscript the day before. I allow myself one cup of coffee to make me alert, and then I jump to the end and start writing furiously. 10 minute break for lunch. 5 minute snack break. Fifteen minutes for dinner.
I would never even think of taking a day off, because I'm so focused and driven and such a good client.
The end.
Okay, are they gone? This is what it's REALLY like.
Wake up. Pray to the caffeine gods that my roommate has already made coffee and there's a fresh pot waiting in the kitchen. That only happens about 50% of the time. If there is coffee, getting out of bed is easy. If there is not, it's more of a struggle. It involves lots of grumbling, an inability to pull myself out of my room, occasionally walking into walls, getting distracted, forgetting what I was doing, etc. Eventually, I make my way into the kitchen and brew the coffee. And then, when I fall asleep while waiting for it to brew, I inevitably lose out on the first cup to my roommate. And everyone knows the first cup is the best.
After no less than two cups of coffee, I am finally awake. Typically, I break my writing stuff up into sessions. I'll either work off and on for a few hours, in between doing other things, or I'll be super diligent and start doing 30 minute stretches of NOTHING but work on my project. Whether it's Word or Scrivener, it goes on Full Screen and I'm not allowed to X out of it until I've reached my goal. Then I take a short break (usually 15-20 minutes) and repeat for several hours.
Most days, though, it's more relaxed. I'll try to get a bunch done early, before I realize that I'm actually awake and ruining my reputation by being productive before noon. I'll give myself a daily word goal to keep me motivated - if I have to go to the day job, then I will write about 1,000 words. Every other day it's 2,000. If I have other stuff to work on, like promo materials or answering emails, I try to sprinkle those out in between.
I live with another writer, and both of us work in our bedrooms, so if/when something catches our attention, we'll cross the hallway to talk about it. Most of the time this involves publishing news, something funny one of us saw on Tumblr, emails we've received, etc.
The goal is typically to be halfway done before the afternoon is over. So that way I can do a late night push and get the rest of my words in. If I have managed to get all my words written for the day, then I bump up my goal by 1,000 words.
If I get stuck, or I'm having a hard time with the writing/editing, I tend to clean a lot. I get manic and a little spastic, and so I'll start cleaning something in the kitchen only to move to the bathroom and start another project just to put that on hold to start vacuuming. It's a process. Sort of.
Usually once or twice a week, my roommate and I will go out to dinner (instead of throwing something together at 9pm because we both forgot about dinner) and end up talking writing, publishing, or whatever is going on with us at the moment. A lot of times those dinners out help either put things into perspective, or spark an idea on how to move forward.
Late night is really where I start to unwind. I don't end up writing so much, but I will scribble down notes for the next day if something occurs to me. Some of my favorite lines come out of context only to be worked in later.
And then I go to bed sometime late in the evening, only to get up and start it all over again!
Moonset, a coven of such promise . . . Until they turned to the darkness.
After the terrorist witch coven known as Moonset was destroyed fifteen years ago—during a secret war against the witch Congress—five children were left behind, saddled with a legacy of darkness. Sixteen-year-old Justin Daggett, son of a powerful Moonset warlock, has been raised alongside the other orphans by the witch Congress, who fear the children will one day continue the destruction their parents started.
A deadly assault by a wraith, claiming to work for Moonset’s most dangerous disciple, Cullen Bridger, forces the five teens to be evacuated to Carrow Mill. But when dark magic wreaks havoc in their new hometown, Justin and his siblings are immediately suspected. Justin sets out to discover if someone is trying to frame the Moonset orphans . . . or if Bridger has finally come out of hiding to reclaim the legacy of Moonset. He learns there are secrets in Carrow Mill connected to Moonset’s origins, and keeping the orphans safe isn’t the only reason the Congress relocated them . .
After the terrorist witch coven known as Moonset was destroyed fifteen years ago—during a secret war against the witch Congress—five children were left behind, saddled with a legacy of darkness. Sixteen-year-old Justin Daggett, son of a powerful Moonset warlock, has been raised alongside the other orphans by the witch Congress, who fear the children will one day continue the destruction their parents started.
A deadly assault by a wraith, claiming to work for Moonset’s most dangerous disciple, Cullen Bridger, forces the five teens to be evacuated to Carrow Mill. But when dark magic wreaks havoc in their new hometown, Justin and his siblings are immediately suspected. Justin sets out to discover if someone is trying to frame the Moonset orphans . . . or if Bridger has finally come out of hiding to reclaim the legacy of Moonset. He learns there are secrets in Carrow Mill connected to Moonset’s origins, and keeping the orphans safe isn’t the only reason the Congress relocated them . .
Scott Tracey is a YA author who lived on a Greyhound for a month, wrote his illustrated autobiography at the age of six, and barely survived Catholic school (and definitely not for the reasons you might think).
He is the author of WITCH EYES, chosen as one of Amazon’s Best LGBT Books of 2011, as well as an ALA Popular Paperback in the Forbidden Romance category. The final book in the WITCH EYES trilogy, PHANTOM EYES, will be released in the fall of 2013.
He is also the author of MOONSET, a new series which will be released April 8, 2013, as well as a contributor to the SHADOWHUNTERS & DOWNWORLDERS anthology, edited by Cassandra Clare.
His career highlights include: accidentally tripping a panic alarm which led to nearly being shot by the police; attacked in a drive-thru window by a woman wielding a baked potato, and once moving cross country for a job only to quit on the second day.
His gifts can be used for good or evil, but rather than picking a side, he strives for BOTH (in alternating capacity) for his own amusement.
The giveaway for this tour is for a copy of MOONSET to FIVE winners. The giveaway is US only, ages 13 or older to enter.
Week One
Mar. 25th - Me, My Shelf and I - Guest Post
Mar. 26th - Book Brats - Interview
Mar. 26th - In the Best Worlds - Review
Mar. 27th - Once Upon a Twilight - Guest Post
Mar. 28th - BookHounds YA - Interview
Mar. 29th - WinterHaven Books - Review
Mar. 30th - The Book Cellar - Guest Post
Mar. 31st - Magical Urban Fantasy Reads - Review
Week Two
Apr. 1st - I Am A Reader, Not A Writer - Interview
Apr. 2nd - TSK, TSK, What to read? - Guest Post
Apr. 2nd - Paranormal Book Club - Review
Apr. 3rd - YA Reads - Review
Apr. 4th - A Book and a Latte - Interview
Apr. 5th - Fade Into Fantasy - Guest Post
Apr. 6th - In the Next Room - Interview
Apr. 7th - DforDarla's Definite Reads - Review
Week Three
Apr. 8th - Tynga's Reviews - Interview
Apr. 8th - Bibliojunkies - Review
Apr. 9th - A Dream Within A Dream - Guest Post
Apr. 9th - BookPics - Review
Apr. 10th - JeanBookNerd - Interview
Apr. 11th - Short and Sweet Reviews - Guest Post
Apr. 12th - Reader Girls - Guest Post
Apr. 13th - Unabridged Bookshelf - Review
Apr. 14th - Fiktshun - Interview
As I've read all the Witch Eyes books so far it must be the Lansings and the Thorpes but I'm looking forward to the young coven idea in Moonset.
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