A Writer’s Diary by Stacey Gustafson

6:30  Repeat five times, “Today is the day I am going to work on my NOVEL.”Stacey Gustafson

6:40  Brush teeth. Check email. Oh boy, 40 new messages. Delete 39.

6:50  Wake up son for school, start breakfast, tidy up kitchen, run a load of laundry, drive son to school.

8:00  Check Internet. Must know more about sinkhole in Florida that opened up and swallowed a man.

8:10   Phone rings. Mother shares weird neighbor story. Is it really possible to set house on fire by turning on hair dryer and washing machine at the same time? Doubtful.

8:30  Draft new blog, “101 Ways to Avoid Writing a Novel.”

9:30  Time to write my NOVEL. At least one page of NOVEL.  Okay, one damn sentence.

9:35  Mother calls back, friend confirmed it was possible to set your house on fire by turning on the hair dryer and washing machine at the same time. Still doubtful.

9:45  Put laundry in dryer. Throw out trash. Make grocery list.

10:00  Continue working on blog.

10:30  Phone call reminds me it’s a friend’s birthday, 11:30 lunch. Crap, need a shower.  Back by 1:00.

1:09  Must start working on THE NOVEL but realize bedroom is messy.  Husband notices I’m neglecting housework.

1:15  Tidy bedroom. Vacuum and dust. Cleaning shower is boring.

2:00  Time to sit down and work on THE NOVEL. I hear voices in my head.

2:10  Type a few sentences, Chapter 10. Knocking at front door. Who is it? Tear down the staircase, dog on my heels. Tom Turkey and lady friend peck on glass door. You’ve got to be kidding! Turkeys!

2:12  Send Mom picture on iPhone. She’ll love this!

2:20  Check Facebook, Twitter, blog http://staceygustafson.com/

2:30  That’s it. Thirty minutes to write before I pick up son from school.

3:00  I did it!  Wrote 200 words of my NOVEL.