If you’ve been following this blog for a while you’ll know there is a team of us who write the daily posts. We live in different places, spread across three continents. We are of different ages and stages of life, some are harried mothers of young children, others walk the balance as parents of teenagers, some occupy the privileged role of being grandparents. Some of us work, some don’t but we are all passionate about seeing great books in the hands of children, especially books that teach, empower or inspire kids to grow in their faith in Jesus! And that, I’d say, is why we write what we do.

But what does a day in the life of a children’s writer look like? Here’s what an average writing day looks like for me. (Maybe some of our other authors will share their routines in later posts.)

My writing space.

7:00 – Wake up. Get the family organised for the day. This includes lunch making, breakfast encouraging and tidying the kitchen for the start of the day. 

8:00 (ish) – Get into the car and begin the school run. Big kids and neighbors at their school, little one at his (Yes, I LOVE my 7 seater!)

9:15 – Back home again. Put on the kettle, check emails, Facebook etc. Get a load of washing out, do a bit of general housework etc. 

10:30 (ish) – Grab some morning tea and gravitate towards my writing desk. I usually begin my work session with a Bible reading (or typing – I like to type whole chapters of scripture into my laptop as I find it slows down my consideration of the text.) If possible the reading has some connection with what I’m writing. Then I get out my current project. At the moment I’m working on a new Bible Study for tweens to join my Dig-In Discipleship series. 

12:30 (ish) – Lunch! (Although if I’m on a roll and getting heaps done I won’t notice ’til after 1pm that my stomach is growling louder than the keyboard tapping!) Sit outside and soak up some sun while the mind runs over the writing project, or just relax and considers how beautiful God made the sky!

1:00 – Hang out a second load of washing, stick a meal in the slow cooker, or try to think ahead for an evening meal of a different kind. (If I’m lucky. I’ll often forget this important step in family survival, especially if I’m deep in my writing project.) Make another cuppa, then back to work.

Battle Gear – a tween study of Ephesians 6:13-18

2:30 – Start winding down. Make notes regarding what was achieved today and where the manuscript is heading, or any questions/thoughts I have for the next writing session. 

2:45 – Back in the car for the after school run. Collect the little one first, then the big kids. Off to various after-school activities or back home to chill out as a family. 

6:00 – Dinner time, hopefully on time, but that’s not a guarantee in my household! Then put the little guy in bed with stories. Big kids set up for HW time. If all is going well I might pop back to my desk for another half hour or so. 

8:15 (ish) – Big kids head into their bed time routines. I take back the computer to schedule Facebook updates for author pages, follow up playgroup and school visit requests or follow up a book order. Then it’s time for the daily Big Kid D&M’s and down time for the grown ups. Maybe something light recorded on TV, a little bit of crocheting perhaps? 

9:30-10:00 – My bed time. PJs, a book and dim light at the end of the day. (I know a lot of authors, especially with children, write well into the night. But I’m not one of them!)

So, that’s my typical ‘writing‘ day. But there are lots of other days in my calendar including school visit days, playgroup visit days, fun with my little guy days, too busy to write days, date with my hubby days and the inevitable too sick to write days. I find it’s also important to include don’t even think about writing days and go out and do something completely different days as these help maintain the creative pace in my life.

If you’d like to learn more about the writers contributing to this blog, and check out the books they have written, just click the Authors link above. Happy browsing!

Penny