A Day in the Life of Author Kathryn Springer

A day in the life of a this writer. . .

I love telling stories! It’s a blessing to able to work from home and be somewhat flexible with my schedule. I say “somewhat” because now that are children are grown, I write full-time, Monday through Friday, for six to seven hours a day. My most creative time of the day is in the morning—after about 3 o’clock smoke begins to come out of my ears!

To offset all those hours spent at my desk, I go to the gym three or four times a week. At 6 a.m.! When we get home, I’ll usually start a load of laundry, make breakfast, put something in the crock pot for supper -- basically get things in shape so I don’t have to think about them for the rest of the day!

           

After hubby leaves for work, I spend some time with God, which means praying, reading scripture and doing some sketching/journaling. By the time I finish, it’s about 8:30. If it gets later than that, Bailey and Sophie (my dog and cat) will wait for me at the top of the stairs. They have a routine, too—sleeping beside my desk while I work!

           

I know some author friends who write in their jammies but it’s always worked best for me to treat writing as a “job”. I get dressed and put on a little makeup (most days!), and then I go upstairs to my office. For some reason, it helps me make that psychological transition from “home” to “work.” Once I’m there, I don’t answer the phone unless it’s my husband or one of our three children (they know I’m there!), and I try not to check email or Facebook page until my ten o’clock break.  

           

That said, one of the most challenging things about working from home is the many ways I can procrastinate if I get stuck during the writing process! Watching the birds outside the window. Warming up my tea. . .three times. Rearranging my bookshelf. Searching for chocolate in the desk drawer. . .

    

I wish I could be one of those writers who take their laptop to Starbucks (although I would have to drive 45 minutes to get to one!), but I do my best thinking in a quiet setting. No television, no Pandora. I love music, though, and I have a playlist for every book I write. It’s on my iPod, so when I’m at the gym, I’m getting inspiration for the characters before I put my fingers on the keyboard.

    

My office overlooks the woods, so it’s a very inspiring place to work. I’m surrounded by photographs of my family and things that are special to me, like a coffee cup from the Strand Bookstore in New York City and seashells my son brought me from Hawaii. I have a small, free-standing chalkboard that I write quotes, thoughts, or Bible verses on. Right now, I have a quote from Ann Voskamp. “The way you live your ordinary days is what adds up to your one extraordinary life.” Love that one!

           

In arm’s reach are some of my favorite “tools of the trade”. The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler, Story by Robert McKee, Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell, these books sharpen my skills while Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle and One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp challenge and encourage my soul.

    

I’m kind of old school in that I do my character studies on gigantic Post-It notes. I used to be a

total seat-of-the-pants writer but after attending some amazing workshops by authors who are plotters (and writing myself into many, many corners!) I’ve started using a combination of the two. When I’m writing a long contemporary romance like The Dandelion Field, there are more characters and a lot more going on, so plotting keeps the story from bunching up in places.

           

Fun fact: When I finish a manuscript and hit the “send” button, I celebrate the next day by cleaning my desk . . . which only proves that writers can be a little quirky! J But then again, we have to be. The writing life is exhilarating and exhausting, it’s input and it’s output, it’s a career but it’s also a calling. . .all at the same time!

But I can’t not write.

“My heart bursts its banks,

spilling beauty and goodness.

I pour it out in a poem to the king,

shaping the river into words.”

                                                Psalm 45:1 (The Message) 

           

Please visit my website at kathrynspringer.com and sign up to receive my free newsletter, or find me on Facebook at kathrynspringerauthor!

  

USA Today bestselling author Kathryn Springer grew up in a small town in northern Wisconsin, where her parents published a weekly newspaper. As a child she spent hours at her mother’s typewriter, plunking out stories about horses that her older brother “published” (he had the stapler) for a nominal fee. Kathryn loves writing about imperfect people, small towns and a great big God. When she isn’t at the computer, you’ll find her curled up (in the sun!) with a good book, spending time with her family and friends or walking the trails near her country home.

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10 Tips for Writing When You Don’t Want To, by Emily T. Wierenga

I pin the colored fabric as though savoring a mango, this slice of time so sweet, and the sounds of children splashing in the pool. And all I want is to rest. To open wide this moment and step into it, to sit on a beach chair and hold my babies and breathe in their skin, and funny how, once you get what you want, all you can think about is the other.

But I am learning to write, in spite of myself.

Because I want to honor the call.

But I also don’t want to miss out on my children. Nor the man I made them with.

So how do we do it? How do we balance the laptop with the laundry and the liturgy?

Here are 10 tips:

1. Write when you feel most alive. (be it morning, before the kids wake up, or in the evening, after they’ve gone to bed, snag those seconds, those minutes, and let those fingers fly)

2. Don’t over-think it. Just write. Edit later. Stephen King has some good stuff to say about this in his book, On Writing. I don’t read his fiction, but my husband does, and says the guy knows what he’s talking about.

3. Don’t read the same kind of genre you’re writing in, or you’ll get your own writing voice mixed up with someone else’s. So if you’re writing fiction, read non-fiction, and vice-versa.

4. Drink or eat something while you’re writing. I drink coffee in the mornings and snack on raisins or chocolate throughout the day. This fuels the mind and keeps the stomach happy.

5. Give yourself rewards. For example, write for 15 minutes, and then go hug your babies. Or write for 15 minutes and then spend 5 minutes doing something restful or invigorating.

6. Surround yourself with inspiration. My friend constantly mails me encouraging quotes and artwork; if you’ll notice in this photo, I have posted these quotes and pieces of art above my desk to provide visual stimulation.

7. Work in a quiet place. Find yourself a haven, even if it’s a closet, and close the door and write. I wouldn’t use music, because silence allows you to “hear” the characters, or God’s spirit directing the words you need to say.

8. Choose a certain number of words per day, and stick to that word count. You will feel so productive when you’re done. Just focus on getting down 500 words, or 1,000, or 2,000, and then quit for the day, and enjoy the outdoors.

9. When you’re done, choose a varied team to share your work with: friends who you know will encourage you, friends who will offer constructive criticism, friends with a sharp eye, and then those who are just acquaintances and can offer some sort of un-biased perspective.

10. Pray as you write, as you edit, as you rest. Pray through it all. Because God is the Word. He gave you this calling. So trust him to work through you, even on days when the pool and the sunlight and the birds are calling. For in the end, it’s all about him. And if he doesn’t write our books, we write in vain.

“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped

and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a (poor) first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won’t have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren’t even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they’re doing it.”

― Anne Lamott, Bird by bird: some instructions on writing and life

Emily T. Wierenga is an award-winning journalist, commissioned artist and columnist, as well as the author of four books including the novel, A Promise in Pieces, releasing April 15 with Abingdon Press. She lives in Alberta, Canada with her husband and two sons. For more info, please visit www.emilywierenga.com. Find her on Twitter or Facebook.

Make sure to stop by The Borrowed Book tomorrow, when you can enter to win a free copy of A Promise in Pieces!

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