One question that I get asked all the time is: “What does a normal writing day look like?” And I usually respond with something like, “Well, there really isn’t such a thing as a normal day for me. Each day might include this, this, this, or sometimes even this.”

Which seems like such a copout answer, but it’s true! While there are authors who keep very strict writing schedules, my days tend to vary drastically depending on where I am in the writing process, what promotional or travel obligations I have coming up, and what else is happening in my life.

So I thought I would start this semi-regular blog feature to give you guys an inside look into what, exactly, I do all day long. (Plus, I asked Twitter if they thought it would be interesting, and got the go-ahead. So I am going. Ahead.)

My thought is to make this a monthly feature to show how responsibilities vary based on the stage of writing and marketing, but that depends on you guys—interesting? Dull? You tell me!

This was my time tracked from last Friday, July 12:

5:30a.m.: Feel strangely awake, despite the early hour. Get up, start the coffee, feed the cats, make the bed.

5:45: Sit down on the sofa to see what happened on Twitter and Facebook overnight. Read some blogs. Fall in love with Joss Whedon all over again when I read his super smart tips on Getting Things Done. Pin it. Tweet it.

6:30: Hey, where did all that energy go?! Fall back asleep on the couch. So much for that inspiring article on productivity.

7:30: Okay, now I’m awake. Call the vet and make a morning appointment because Callie Jo has had a weird skin reaction going on lately. Get dressed, eat some breakfast, brush my teeth.

8:15: Off to the vet! Turns out Callie has had an allergic reaction, requiring twice-monthly shots until it goes away. Boo. But she’ll be fine.

9:00: Back home. I quickly morph into an email answering machine! Manage to clear out two of my four inboxes.

10:00: Phone interview with a very nice journalist. This will be posted with the CRESS cover reveal which I think is happening next week. CAN’T. WAIT.

10:30: A couple more emails, then ask Twitter if they think a “day in the life” blog feature would be interesting. Two thumbs up from the Hivebrain. Start writing this post.

10:50: Distracted by the internet. Watch the new trailers for Austenland and How to Train Your Dragon 2. I might swoon over grown-up Hiccup. Just a little.

11:00: Take a look at the next two chapters I’ll be writing in WINTER. They’re brand new chapters (not being revised from the first draft), so I print out their summaries and decide to take my AlphaNeo out to lunch later to work on them.

11:15: Off to see my sister-in-law / hair stylist! Comic-Con is next week, so it’s time to make myself presentable for the public again.

11:15-2:30: Manage to read about 30 pages in between the cut and color. Currently reading (and almost finished with) The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs. I’ve been reading non-fiction lately in an effort to stay focused on the WIP and not sit on the couch all day reading YA. I’m enjoying learning lots of interesting things, but I miss fiction. I’ll be treating myself to a major reading binge in August!

2:30: Totally in love with my new hair, and impressed with my Sister-in-Law who just got back from climbing a friggin’ mountain. I head over to the restaurant across the street from the salon and order up some lunch.

2:45: Finally, it’s time to get some writing done! I whip out my AlphaNeo and the scene summaries I pulled together earlier and get to work.

5:45: Two chapters, done! Satisfied, I pack up my stuff and head home.

6:00: The first thing I do when I get home is transfer the two new chapters over to my laptop so I can see how many words I wrote. That’s my favorite part of using the AlphaNeo – you can’t keep track of your word count as you’re writing, so at the end it feels like you just racked up a whole bunch of words in seconds!

Total words written for the day: 3,073.

Evening: The evening is spent watching a movie (Sky High, in which I am super disappointed in the romance aspect) and finishing The Know-It-All.