A Glamorous Day in the Life of an Aspiring Writer

6:00
"Mama, I need to go potty." My alarm clock just went off. Hubby rolls over and burrows into the covers.

6:30
Negotiations over whether to do yoga stretches first or homework first. I insist milk and cuppa tea first. Meditate for five minutes—gosh, that really felt like the full thirty minutes.

7:45
Roust Hubby, who should've woken up a while ago, reluctantly from bed. Put snack and lunch together. Breakfast.

8:30
Hubby not ready yet, drop kid off to school. Elect to skip today's Yoga/Curves, because didn't get enough rest in the night, feel twinges in the back, oh-goodness-so-much-to-do stress.

9:00
Enconse myself in the study armed with a fresh cuppa tea—coconut or lychee if the day outside is especially cold/wet/dreary/all-of-the-above. It's Seattle.

10:00
I meant to be writing an hour ago, but spent it chatting online. Justify the online romp as necessary to cajoling self into good mood. Ponder how some writers get so much done. Send them admiring e-mails.

10:30
Run a load of laundry. Start the dishwasher. Run the pressure cooker, because kid doesn't like the loud sound of the whistle.

11:00
Ignore sandwich hollering my name and determinedly walk back upstairs to the study.

11:30
Researching online was great fun, but hard, hungry work. Head downstairs and make sandwich. Switch laundry from washer to dryer. Double-check that the pressure cooker was indeed turned off half an hour ago and hasn't exploded with food on the ceiling. Proceed to eat sandwich, while discussing with various other aspiring and newbie writers about the writing life, points on craft, etiquette about entering contests, and the potential list of workshops and outfits for the National conference.

12:30
Realize have a long list of chores to do today. Accomplish those outside chores by driving around like a lunatic and racing down store aisles like they're going out of style. Pick kid up from school.

2:30
Take kid on playdate. Wait in a cold car, thankful for book in purse.

4:30
Return home. Chat with kid. Play. Fold laundry. Put dishes away. Cook. Harangue kid to do some homework. Manipulate kid into reading one book by promising to read one book back. Surf online to catch up on all the goings-on I've missed in the afternoon. Facebook for the 6th time. Tweet for the 17th time.

6:00
Dinner and bath. One final round of the web. Realize back's now stabbing pain. Take meds. Regret that didn't get much writing done today. Think again of those super-organized, super-disciplined writers. Read one of their books. Hope hardworking ability and storytelling talent passes by osmosis from book to palm to blood to brain.

9:00
Meditate with eyes closed. Lying down just puts body at ease, so mind is free to concentrate on mantra.

11:45
Wake up with a start to find bedroom lights blazing, book open facedown on chest, and Hubby working away on his laptop on the easy chair. Stagger from bed to kid's bedroom, take kid to bathroom, brush my teeth, stagger back into bed, grumbling to Hubby to sleep soon.