10 May 2008 79 views 10 Comments

How I love the feel of the early mornings.  It’s great to wake up to the freshness of a new day with all those writing hours to fill.

What puts me off getting out of bed is the thought of all the things I have to do first, before I can sit down at the computer and transfer my thoughts to the screen.  I’m actually quite fond of deadlines if they mean I can allow myself to move directly from bed to keyboard without even getting dressed.

Unfortunately can’t do this on a normal day.  My mind is distracted by guilt at the thought of all the waiting chores.  And what if someone came to the door after 9 am and found me unwashed and still in my dressing gown?

But long ago I decided that, if I couldn’t be writing, I must seek inspiration from my personal relationship with mornings.  Here’s a typical morning.

When I can’t put it off any longer, it’s off with the duvet and my feet hit the floor.  It’s no good bathing or showering before exercising, so I’ll get that out of the way first.  Oh heck, I can’t walk past that laundry basket without taking it to the washing machine, scrubbing the shirt collars and searching for other stains that need treating before I can switch it on.

This wakes up my muse, so I retrieve notebook and pencil from my dressing gown pocket and write: Poem - Wash Tub Blues.

After my shower, I do my hair and make up if I’ve time before hubby comes in for breakfast.  I’ll sit and eat with him for 20 minutes and perhaps the mail will arrive.  If something’s been accepted, it’s not too early for a bucks fizz.  Rejection notices will have me crawling to the fridge to find some little extra delicacy to cheer me up.

Here’s that muse again: Article on comfort eating for women’s press + more general one for content site.

Before I head upstairs to the office, there’s the washing to hang up and the kitchen to clear up.  Gosh, I almost forgot - what can we have for supper tonight?  Do I need to get something out of the freezer?

Inspiration: Article title - Fast but Healthy Food From Your Freezer.

Oops, there’s the phone - it’s my sister who’s recently retired and thinks a little chat would stave off the boredom for a while.

Hello muse, what now?: short story about someone newly retired.

Finally I sit down in front of my VDU.  My mind is clear for work, but I’ll just check my emails first, to see if I have anything else to celebrate, like an on-line sale.

Prompt: another article: How Writing for Websites Differs from Writing for Print.

At 10.45 am, I click on Word and the screen fills with my current project. Once that is completed, I’ll get out my notebook to make plans for the next pieces to write.  Not such a bad morning’s work really.

Jean Knill is an talented writer and I’ve adored reading her lively and genuine voice. You can read more about Jean and her writing life on her blog, Jean’s Musings and at WriteLink.