6:00 AM
I
have been a morning person my whole life. I’m up at 5:30 every weekday
morning—sharp—and after I eat a breakfast of granola, Greek yogurt, and fresh berries,
I usually have a short devotion time with my husband. This sets the right mood for
the day and this also gives us the spiritual strength to deal with all the many
tasks and problems that invariably come up during the course of an average workday.
After my husband leaves for work, I
go upstairs to my office to get started for the day. Once at my desk, I answer
all my emails—which usually takes an hour or two—and then I occasionally allow
myself a few minutes to read a few of my reviews.
Huge mistake.
I would not recommend this ritual, especially at
the beginning of the day. If the reviews are gushy then you might get the idea
that anything and everything you write will be like laying a nest of golden eggs.
Even though reading the honeyed reviews can give you quite the swoony rush,
it’s not an honest emotional place to be when you start on your manuscript.
Why? You’ll get the feeling you no longer have to try so hard.
But.
If you read even one ugly review, well, those
words will paralyze your spirit like a frog in frozen mud. You know I’m right. So,
my advice? Start your day with prayer, not reviews.
If I’m working on a rough draft I try to meet a
word-count target of about 2,000 words each day. When I hit my goal or nearly
there, I can play for a bit, which means I’ll run errands or do some marketing
work on my latest release.
There are some days when I don’t get
all my work done by the end of the day. When that happens, I don’t usually treat
myself to a fun movie or the chance to settle into my cozy den and read one of
my favorite authors, such as B.J. Hoff or Jenny B. Jones. It means I’ll have to
tromp right back upstairs in the evening and write some more.
Needless to say, it takes a great deal of discipline
to be writer. You have to show up every workday—bum securely fastened to the seat
of the chair—no matter what. Even if you don’t feel awake or well or motivated.
Or alive.
So, I stay put in that chair even when that rosy
halo called the muse isn’t glowing around my head. Yes, novel writing can be
relentless, tedious effort. Can we say boring? But it can also be deeply
satisfying. All the way to your soul. Especially when someone tells you that her
life was changed for the better because she read one of your stories. It makes
all the tedium, all the sacrifice, all the muscle aches and pains as well as
the exhaustion, worthwhile.
Okay, after I finish an evening of
writing I head to bed about 9:30. Of course, by then the muse is heated up and
is now as bright as a street lamp shining in your bedroom window—which means I’m
not going to sleep. My imagination as well as my next-day ta-do list can’t turn
itself off. So, after I’ve gone to bed, many times my husband will see me pop
right back up again to write something down. After one or two or more of those
rounds, I finally settle into slumber. Then, of course, my dreams take it from
there. Rarely, though, have I dreamed scenes or concepts that I could use in
one of my novels. That’s a shame, really, but I’ve heard other authors say that
have incorporated pieces of their dream world into their books. I only wish that
were the case for me.
Well, as you can tell, the life of a writer isn’t
easy. The life of a writer doesn’t always include a good night’s sleep. But the
life of a writer does mean they’ll be days—and sometimes nights—that will be
filled with that inimitable and imaginative and miraculous thing called story!
Anita Higman is a CBA best-selling and
award-winning author. Among her many accolades, Higman has won the
Inspirational Reader’s Choice award twice. She has written or co-authored more
than 30 books, including fiction and non-fiction for adults and children, as
well as plays. Higman has also been recognized for her contributions to
literacy and has raised thousands of dollars with her book I Can Be Anything while serving on the board of directors of
Literacy Advance of Houston.
Even though she’s written in many genres,
Higman does have her favorite. “I love inspirational romance. There’s just
nothing else like it for writing and reading. It naturally makes you want to
curl up on an overstuffed couch and read the day away.” Her latest release is A Marriage in Middlebury.
She loves good movies, exotic teas and brunch with her
friends. Higman and her husband live in Houston, TX.
Don't forget to stop by tomorrow, when you can enter to win a free copy of Anita's latest release, A Marriage in Middlebury!
