7 a.m. rise and shine. Forget the shine. Just rise. Get client up. Make coffee. Have coffee. Have breakfast while checking email and answering it. Set up client to enter stories and poems he wrote years ago into computer.

9:00 Open story document. Read over last chapter to figure out where I am in story. Daily quota is 3000 words and I am already behind a day. Will try and make up a few hundred words today. Emphasis on try.

9:10 Help client with computer program.

9:15 Back at computer. Write 100 words. 

9:30 Son with broken ankle needs help. Need to make coffee. Have to clean coffee maker. Might as well start laundry while I wait for water to reheat.

9:45 Back to writing. Need to focus scene. Where do I want it do go. Do brainstorming on scene elements–goal (of character), motivation for goal, obstacles and conflict encountered and the DISASTER. How does the scene go wrong? 700 words before next interruption.

10:15 Change laundry. Grab handful of pretzels.

10:30 Email dings. Check email. Respond to letter from reader. (Love nice letters from readers). Respond to letter from a friend. Check out video someone recommends.

http://www.facebook.com/l/e307f6qdnp4u2YtI2IqaSABCndw;www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_I9ld-oDTs

Washing machine fails to start. Go slap it. All my appliances are getting old. I’m told by the repair man that the life expectancy of all appliances is now 10 years. TEN YEARS. What kind of appliances are they building nowadays? Don’t get me started on that question?

10:45 1300 words. Now switching point of view characters. Have to figure out what this characters wants. Need to do some scene brainstorming–goal, motivation, obstacles/conflict and disaster.

11:15. Up to 1586 words. Then called away to fix client’s word processing program. I can’t fix it. What did he do? I save everything and shut down everything. While I wait for the computer to fix itself, I change the washer and drier. Fold laundry. Sweep under bird cage. Make more coffee. Am I the only one who know how to make coffee? Strip sheets from client’s bed. Get word processing program going again.

11:45. Return to my writing. Try and figure out what I was doing and where I was going and what those silly notes mean.

12:00 Lunch time. 1981 words done. A far cry from the 3000 quota and the dream of more. But I’m not going to town today so maybe I’ll get more done.

I hate to admit it but it’s a pretty typical day. I wonder how much I’d accomplish if I had no interruptions and shut of the internet. But by the end of the day I did achieve my quota and a little more but I can’t do it on days I have to take people somewhere or run errands.