These semi-regular “A Day in the Life” posts are my attempt to answer the frequently asked question: “What does a typical writing day look like?”

At least with a better answer than: “I have no typical writing day.”

Enjoy!

7:00: Wake up, have some coffee, eat breakfast. I spend some time checking my inbox, seeing what happened on Twitter while I was asleep, and reading a few blogs.

8:00: Write and post to my blog. Today’s topic: Book swag!

9:00: Brush my teeth and head off to the gym. I’ve been trying to take advantage of their free fitness classes and today is “Body Works plus Abs,” and hoooooooly cow, I’m going to be sore tomorrow.

11:00: Shower & get dressed. While I’m in the shower I get a few great ideas for this keynote speech I’m giving at a Teen Librarian Summit in October. Seriously, what IS it about showers that knocks so many ideas loose?

11:30: I spend about an hour writing down my keynote speech ideas, brainstorming new ones, and making a preliminary outline for the speech and powerpoint presentation. I also make a list of topics I want to research for it next week.

12:30: Lunch time! Today we’re having gourmet grilled tuna sandwiches, made by my at-home personal chef. (Okay, not really, but one can pretend.)

1:00: After lunch, my husband and I walk down to the mailbox and discover that I’ve received my first advance check for the book that will follow the Lunar Chronicles (the Secret Nano Project 2012 that I’m sadly still not allowed to talk about). Nevertheless—celebration! I put a bottle of champagne in the fridge.

1:15: Time to tackle the shipping pile that’s been stacking up. Package, print postage, and send off: 3 swag packs, 2 ARCs, 1 book for a charity auction, and 1 subrights contract heading back to my agent.

2:30: I read through the first chapter of the newest manuscript one of my critique partners is working on. It’s phenomenal. Can’t wait to read the whole thing!

3:15: All right. I should probably get some writing done. Open Scrivener. Stare at the screen.

3:45: Jesse comes into my office to ask how the writing is going. I laugh, somewhat hysterically. Proceed to stare at the screen some more.

4:00: Okay, really, let’s get some writing done.

5:15: Oh thank heavens, I’ve finished a chapter! I’m still feeling a little rusty from my vacation month in August, but I’m happy with the word count. I even write a couple sentences on the next chapter so I’ll be able to jump right in tomorrow. You know, in theory.

Words written: 1,362. I give myself a gold star.

The rest of the evening is spent enjoying our celebratory champagne, making dinner, and getting caught up on this season of Project Runway. (I’m rooting for Dom. Go, Dom, go!)