What do you do to set the mood before sitting down to write one of your amazing books?
I have a fairly consistent daily ritual to balance my writing and editing life. I get up at 6:45 and feed the dogs and the horses. After visiting the barn, I come back in and make a cup of coffee. Lately I’ve been getting into mushroom coffee. I don’t know if it’s actually working any kind of magic on me—it’s supposed to be good for inflammation—but I like the taste and am willing to give it some time.
Then I sit on my favorite part of the sofa, the divan, and dive into whatever I’m currently reading. That varies between books I’ve been asked to blurb or review and those I’m reading just for fun. I recently finished the historical novel, The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn and Janie Chang, which I loved. I’m currently reading Lisa Gardner’s Still See You Everywhere, which is gripping. I highly recommend both books.
Then I go upstairs to my office and start my official workday. That means Wordle, Connections, and the Mini-Crossword.
Next, I have one of two routes to take depending on what’s going on in my life.
If I have a book on deadline, such as due to my agent or editor, I work on my current work in progress first. I usually have a goal, whether that’s a certain number of pages or a word count. To set the mood, I need a good cup of coffee (usually more than one) and silence.
The coffee part is easy, the silence is not. My husband and I both work from home and our offices are close to each other. Much of his work includes Zoom calls and hubby has a big voice!
“Just shut the door!” you say.
Not so fast. I have to keep the door open because I get much-loved visits from the dogs and I can’t do anything to interfere with that.
“Don’t you also have cats?” you ask.
True! But the dogs plop down at my feet and snooze. The cats climb around on my desk, so those visits aren’t quite as loved.
My solution for the noise is to wear my earplugs and put on white noise. I like this site: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMfPqeZjc2c
It doesn’t have to be very loud to block out the sound of his meetings, and it really does fade into the background for me.
The other important part of setting the writing mood is temperature and light. I don’t like to be hot, so if the temps are high, I have a fan under my desk. If it’s cold (and I like it cold!) I layer up with sweaters and fuzzy socks.
My laptop is next to a window facing west. Later in the day, the sunlight can get too bright, but I have a great shade I can lower so I cut off the glare without losing my entire view. I can see my horses out in the pasture from my window, and I love to be able to keep an eye on them.
Sometimes I need snacks. I’m a big fan of salty and sweet, so my go-to snacks are almonds, especially smoky barbecue, popcorn, or sesame sticks. Then, on the sweet side, peanut M&M’s are a favorite, just a few mind you, or a piece of dark chocolate.
If I have a client project on a short deadline, and I don’t have a book of my own on deadline, I usually start with client work first. Setting the mood to edit looks a lot like setting the mood for writing.
That’s the first half of my workday, then I switch for the second half. If I’ve been doing client work in the morning, I shift to working on a manuscript of my own that’s not under a deadline. If I’ve been working on a book of my own, I shift to client work in the afternoon.
Sometimes I have Zoom meetings with clients, which I like to do earlier in the day when I’m fresher. For that I stick to just the coffee, not the snacks.
The hardest part for me is balancing out all the other work that authors have to do. In between client work and my own writing, I work on social media, guest posts such as this one, updating my websites, blogging, or doing the myriad other things to network and promote my work.
In between those things I take time to care for my horses, including grooming and riding, and run errands or do other things outside the house. There are always pastures to be mown, and pet food to be purchased.
Each time I come back to my desk, I reset. New cup of coffee. The white noise back on. Adjust my blinds, turn on the fan … Once my environment is right, I find it much easier to concentrate.
It’s taken me a long time to get my desk right. The right monitor. The right chair. The right computer. It’s amazing how important it is to sit at the correct angle to prevent headaches and neck pain. I never knew writing was such a dangerous career!
But we all have to take care of ourselves, no matter what we do.
It’s been great chatting with you all, now I have to go get another cup of coffee, that next book of mine won’t write itself!
And maybe some snacks . . .
– Elena Taylor
Thank you so much, Elena Taylor, for your daily writing routines with us!
I want to start by saying, I just started getting into mushroom coffee too!!! I of course still need my 4 (to 6) cups of regular coffee first, but I figure mushroom coffee mixed in there can’t hurt!
Second, I also have cats and they also like to stand directly in front of, or on top of, whatever I’m trying to accomplish. Love the cats, don’t love the interruptions quite so much. I can imagine how distracting that would be on top of a booming hubby voiced zoom call in the next room. Thank goodness for white noise!
I totally agree about the right layout of a desk and angle of a chair and computer screen! I used to work a desk job and I would get terrible headaches if something was off and my neck had been straining too long. Definitely a priority to take care of ourselves, our muscles will thank us later!
Thank you so much for sharing!! Your work day sounds like the perfect balance of hard work and fun, and I can see both of those qualities shine through in your books!
Read my full review of A Cold, Cold World
A female sheriff tries to fill her late father’s boots and be the sheriff her small Washington State mountain town needs as a deadly snow storm engulfs the town, in this dark, twisty mystery.
The world felt pure. Nature made the location pristine again, hiding the scene from prying eyes. As if no one had died there at all.
In the months since Bet Rivers solved her first murder investigation and secured the sheriff’s seat in Collier, she’s remained determined to keep her town safe. With a massive snowstorm looming, it’s more important than ever that she stays vigilant.
When Bet gets a call that a family of tourists has stumbled across a teen injured in a snowmobile accident on a mountain ridge, she braves the storm to investigate. However, once she arrives at the scene of the accident it’s clear to Bet that the teen is not injured; he’s dead. And has been for some time . . .
Investigating a possible homicide is hard enough, but with the worst snowstorm the valley has seen in years threatening the safety of her town, not to mention the integrity of her crime scenes – as they seem to be mounting up as well – Bet has to move fast to uncover the complicated truth and prove that she’s worthy of keeping her father’s badge.
Genre: Police Procedural, Mystery
Published by: Severn House
Publication Date: August 6, 2024
Number of Pages: 256
Series: A Sheriff Bet Rivers Mystery, Book 2 | Each is a Stand-Alone Mystery
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Severn House
Tour Participants:
07/29 Interview @ Literary Gold
07/29 Showcase @ Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense
07/30 Review @ Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting
07/31 Review @ Novels Alive
07/31 Showcase @ Books, Ramblings, and Tea
08/01 Interview @ Novel Nerd Blog
08/01 Showcase @ Silvers Reviews
08/02 Guest post @ Why Not? Because I Said So Book Reviews
08/02 Review @ fundinmental
08/03 Review @ Reading is my Superpower
08/03 Review @ Why Not? Because I Said So Book Reviews
08/04 Review @ Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
08/05 Review @ martinkm_reads
08/06 Review @ ashmanda. k
08/07 Review @ Cassidys Bookshelves
08/08 Guest post @ Cozy Home Delight Book Reviews
08/08 Review @ Avonna Loves Genres
08/08 Review @ Guatemala Paula Loves to Read
08/09 Review @ dianas_books_cars_coffee
08/09 Review @ elaine_sapp65
08/10 Review @ FullyBookedInKentucky
08/11 Review @ Paws. Read. Repeat
08/12 Showcase @ Celticladys Reviews
08/13 Showcase @ Binge Reading Books
08/14 Review @ Wall-to-wall Books
08/15 Review @ fuonlyknew
08/16 Review @ Melissa As Blog
08/18 Review @ The AR Critique
08/20 Review @ Catreader18
08/23 Review @ Teatime and Books
Elena Taylor spent several years working in theater as a playwright, director, designer, and educator before turning her storytelling skills to fiction. Her first series, the Eddie Shoes Mysteries, written under the name Elena Hartwell, introduced a quirky mother/daughter crime fighting duo.
With the Bet Rivers Mysteries, Elena returns to her dramatic roots and brings readers much more serious and atmospheric novels. The series introduces Collier, Washington, with its dark and mysterious lake, tough-as-nails residents, and newly appointed sheriff with her sidekick Schweitzer, an Anatolian Shepherd.
Elena is also a senior editor with Allegory Editing, a developmental editing house, where she works one-on-one with writers to shape and polish manuscripts, short stories, and plays. If you’d like to work with Elena, visit www.allegoryediting.com.
Her favorite place to be is at Paradise, the property she and her hubby own south of Spokane, Washington. They live with their horses, dogs, and cats. Elena holds a B.A. from the University of San Diego, a M.Ed. from the University of Washington, Tacoma, and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.
Catch Up With Elena Taylor:
www.ElenaTaylorAuthor.com
Elena’s Blog: The Mystery of Writing
Goodreads
BookBub – @elenataylorauthor
Instagram – @elenataylorauthor
Twitter/X – @Elena_TaylorAut
Facebook – @ElenaTaylorAuthor
This is a giveaway for: An autographed physical copy + $20 Amazon card; US ONLY
Hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Elena Taylor. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.
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