I was under the weather last week. I went into the vet's to get my teeth cleaned on Monday, and they had to do some extractions. (They extracted quite a bit from Robin's wallet while they were at it.) Judy Miller's post last week on Writes of Passage told us that I used to have 42 teeth. No more. The best thing about the whole experience was that I needed to take antibiotics, and I REFUSE to take pills. But Robin gives me these yummy treats called Pill Pockets. Mmm, mmm, mmm.
Well, enough about me. I thought I'd give you a dog's eye view of what it's like to live with a novelist. Okay, maybe not all novelists, but my novelist. After eight years of observation, I've become somewhat of an expert on her. Here's what I would call a typical day.
My novelist rarely sets an alarm, but she's naturally an early riser. We are normally up around 6:00 or 6:30. Sometimes a bit earlier. Sometimes a bit later. Once she's made herself presentable for the day, we head to the kitchen where she starts the Keurig Coffeemaker brewing her first cup of coffee. While the coffee trickles into a large mug (she's got one that says "Drama Queen"), Robin lets me out and then puts food into Pinky's bowl and my bowl and opens the blinds to greet the day.
Next, mug in hand, my novelist heads into her office. I usually follow her there and curl up in my bed. Unless, of course, Pinky gets there first. (I hate it when that happens.)
Robin starts her day reading and studying the Bible. Sometimes she closes her eyes and talks aloud. Sometimes she sings. She says she's part of the "joyful noise" section of the choir, but I kind of like her singing. Sometimes she writes in a journal, too.
Next she turns to the computer screen and opens her email and deals with anything that needs a quick answer. She drops by Facebook, too, and leaves little comments and thoughts for her FB friends. (You do know that I have a FB Page too, right? I mostly talk trash about Pinky. That's really fun.)
At last, it is down to the business of writing. With Pages (for her manuscript) open on the left side of her screen and Scrivener (for her character cards and research) open on the right side of her screen, my novelist goes to work. She tries to get up and stretch every hour, but if it's going well, sometimes she forgets and then she complains about sore muscles later.
Robin usually breaks for lunch when The Closer reruns are on TV. She really likes that show. I've heard her say she relates to Brenda Lee's sweet tooth. (Let's not talk about teeth.)
My novelist writes some more in the afternoon, but when she makes her word goal, she switches over to what she calls "the business of writing." She takes care of more emails and phone calls and answers reader mail and updates her web site and enters expenses in her accounting program and lots of other miscellaneous stuff like that.
By 4:00 pm, her brain is usually fried. That's when she often gets on the treadmill and walks while reading the blogs she subscribes to and/or watching a movie on her iPad.
I like evenings around our house the best. That's when my novelist sits on the sofa and I snuggle up against her hip and she pets me and tells me what I good dog I am. And who am I to argue with her?
~Poppet
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