I like to talk to other writers about their good writing days, and most of the time, when you talk to any creative person they have a routine (or the vision of a routine) that they believe will help get them into the flow. For a lot of people I’ve met, they want to go out into a cabin for weeks, maybe months, alone and hammer out their novel. Or, if they’re a painter, they want to spend a summer in Paris, doing nothing but drinking wine and driving out to the countryside to get some sunsets on canvas. So, while I was out on spring break, I thought it would be fun to do a writing day where I could spend it getting as engaged with my writing as I could.
I started with sleeping in until 8:30. I have a one-year-old, so this is the latest I’ve been able to sleep for a while. Feeling well rested and relaxed, I took off to Black Crow Coffee, which is by far my favorite local coffee shop in St. Pete, especially before it gets hot for the summer. For me, there isn’t anything better than being in a cool spot, with nice music, and chill people on a random weekday morning. Sitting alone in my office, hammering away at a keyboard can be isolating and discouraging. Even being around people, even if we aren’t directly communicating makes the work feel easier.
I spent about an hour and a half doing editing, and managed to get through a few chapters of my work-in-progress novel, Tomato Can. I also revisited my query letter that I plan on sending out in the coming months for the book as well. It was a very productive morning, and I can’t remember the last time I got through so many chapters so effortlessly.
I came home and spent some time with my wife, Laura, and daughter, Alice. Alice and I went to the park and had a fun time playing outside on the swings. We went on a long walk before coming home so she took a nice nap. I, however, went out to the pool. I swam around for about an hour, drinking Coronas and thinking about my book, and where I can improve it.
Around 3:00 I went inside and got back to the novel. I managed to get through another chapter before I moved onto another project, my Youtube Channel. I haven’t spent a lot of time working on this, but I do know that the video I posted for a previous blog post on Dan Harmon’s Story Circle has been getting more attention than I anticipated online. I outlined a few other videos and worked on the blogs for some of my Creative Pinellas Grant, before I felt like my eyeballs were going to fall out.
I ate dinner with my family around 5:00. It was taco night, one of my favorites! I walked down to the water (just a few blocks from my house) and wrote a little poetry relaxing and looking out at the bay. When I came home, I continued listening to an Audible book, specifically, Nobody Wants to Read your Sh*t to help improve my writing.
It’s not often I get the opportunity to just spend the day focusing on my craft. Usually, I don’t get more than thirty minutes at a time, and it can be a struggle to try and get anything done. But, days like this remind me why I love writing so much. There are few days this year where I felt so good and relaxed, and I can’t think of a better way to spend a day of my Spring Break.
