A Day in the Life of Anita Higman

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.

To keep up with Anita Higman, visit anitahigman.com, become a fan on Facebook (Author Anita Higman) or follow her on Twitter (@anitahigman).


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!

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Writing Advice: Becoming an Author

Anyone who has written for any length of time knows that you do not become an author overnight. It takes weeks, months, even years of learning and networking. But the one thing it takes most is discipline. You can learn the lessons, go to conferences, and know every major editor, agent and author out there, but the reality is if you don't force yourself to write, you won't, and you'll never get published. 

This might seem a small thing for some, but for others, those who talk about their dream of being published, it is a hard reality. Dreamers dream. Writers write. Writing begets getting published. You cannot have one without the other. If you don't have discipline to write, whether you feel like it or not, when you are unpublished, you will struggle mightily once you are.

One of the greatest gifts I gave myself was permission. I began to see myself as a writer. Writing became my job. No, not 9 to 5, but close enough that I adjusted my schedule so that I carved out the time needed to write every day. And, yes, whether I felt like it or not. I gave myself permission to use those three hours as as investment in a dream I wanted to obtain. It meant enough to me that I was willing to sacrifice other things I would have rather done. Let's face it, there are those days when the words don't flow and the temptation to check your email or dabble in Twitter becomes an irresistible outlet for your frustration. Forcing yourself to write through these challenges will help you prove to yourself that you can do it. The writing might not be the greatest and, yes, you might end up cutting more words than you create, but this is where you realize what a good friend editing is. 

Writing takes discipline. There is no boss standing over you and evaluating your performance on a daily basis. If you want to be an author, you will have to first be a disciplined writer. 

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