A Day In The Life of An Author - Hawai'i Edition: A Guest Post by Sara Ackerman
I’m on maternity leave! During this time, a few of my favorite authors offered to step up and write guest posts so that this blog would remain active while I adjust to my new role as a mother. I may also be a bit slower to respond. Thanks for understanding and for being so supportive of me, my family, and my blog. Want to donate a few dollars to keep this blog running or perhaps contribute to my diaper fund? You can do so on Venmo or Paypal.
A Day In The Life of An Author - Hawai'i Edition: A Guest Post by Sara Ackerman
I must confess that I start work while I’m still in bed–even before I open my eyes! When I first wake up, I often just lie there and think about my story for a while and see what arises. It always feels to me that in those early morning hours, I’m closer to my unconscious mind than at any other time during the day. After that, I pull out my Macbook Air, prop myself up on a whole bunch of pillows and begin where I left off the previous day. The words don’t always come easily, sometimes it’s a real slog, but the rule is I can’t get out of bed until I’ve written at least 300 words. Most days, my dog is snoring away nearby (she’s lazy in the mornings) and my cat comes up and snuggles with me. I used to be a teacher, so I am extremely grateful for the freedom that comes from working at home, and from bed.
Once those initial words are down, I get up and make myself a green juice or hot cocoa or a decaf oat latte (I’ve never been able to drink caffeine, it makes me crazy), and check emails. Waimea, where I live with my boyfriend and our animals (his kids are off to the Mainland for school), is a quaint ranching town on Hawai’i Island at almost 3,000 foot elevation, so it’s cool up here and tends to be misty and rainy and perfect for writing. After breakfast, I go for a walk in the hills behind our house, or on a nearby trail that runs along a stream. There’s just something so magical about the sound of running water! The beach is a quick 15 minute drive down the hill, so a few days a week, I’ll go for a swim or paddle on the Kohala coast. It’s pretty much summer all year round down there, which is lovely. Fresh air and time away from the computer are so important for me, so I rarely skip. Next up, I blend up one of my delicious smoothies for a healthy boost of energy (recipe below).
How my day looks from there depends on what else I have going on. As an author these days, you really have to be up on your social media and publicity. I gravitate to Instagram and the bookish community there, but also have Facebook, Twitter and now Tiktok, though I’m just just dabbling at this point. I guard my writing time fiercely, so I make sure not to spend too much time on these other things. I have a hard time being intensely creative for extended periods, so I’ll usually write again mid morning then take lunch and do another burst mid afternoon. That’s just how my brain works. My goal for each day is 700 words, but as I near the ending of the book, I usually up that to 1,200-1,500 a day. I use a writing software program called Scrivener to help me track my word count, and I would be lost without it. While writing, I love to be near a window, so I can look out and get lost in thought if I need to, and the best room in the house for that is our dining room. Our house is nestled at the base of the Kohala Mountains and we look up at green rolling hills dotted with horses and cattle. It looks more like Scotland than Hawai’i, but I love it.
To end the day, I try to get in some yoga (either at home or a class at Waimea Yoga) because it helps me stretch out the kinks that can arise from so much time sitting in front of the computer. Or if I skipped a morning walk, I’ll take a late afternoon stroll with my sweet dog Lucy. I never write at night. That time is spent with friends and family, enjoying a sunset beer or glass of wine, and relaxing. But honestly, when I’m writing a novel, my brain seems to always be working on the story on some level. I tend to be lost in daydreams and absent minded, which sometimes drives those around me crazy. I guess the mind can only juggle so much information at once.
So, there you have it–a day in the life of one author. This is how my life is during the six months of first draft writing. Aside from that, there are many more months of plotting and research prior to starting, and more months of revising and editing afterwards. I love the editing process, which feels very different from the writing stage. When I finish the draft, I print it out and mark the whole thing up with a red pen. At this stage, I cut out overused phrases and awkward lines and try to smooth the story out. My agent gets it next, and she gives big picture feedback, which I then take and work into the novel before we shoot it off to my editor. It is a wonderful thing to have a savvy editor offering suggestions to make your book really shine. But when I first get that edit letter–which can be loooong!–I usually feel like crawling in a hole. I often cry, and then I sit on it for a few days, making notes and thinking “how on earth am I going to pull this off?” Then I dive in. I usually start with the quick and easy first and work my way up to major changes. A major edit usually takes a couple months. The difference between writing and editing is interesting, because I can literally spend all day editing with only a couple breaks here and there.
And then…I repeat the whole process over again with each new book. As of this writing, I’ve just completed the first draft of my sixth historical novel and sent it off to my agent. This novel is different from my other five in that it’s not a WWII Hawai’i story. Book 6 is loosely based on the infamous Dole Air Race in 1927–a race to cross the Pacific to Hawai’i right after Charles Lindbergh made his legendary flight. Eight planes took off but only two made it. And as I nervously await my agent’s feedback, I’m plotting future books. The work never stops, but for me it’s not work because I love it so much!
ALOHA,
Sara
Sara’s Smoothie
Two big handfuls of frozen blueberries
1 handful of frozen strawberries
½ -1 frozen banana broken into pieces (I prefer apple bananas)
A big handful of fresh spinach (you can’t taste it at all)
1 spoonful coconut oil
1 big spoonful almond or peanut butter
1 big spoonful cacao nibs or powder (or both!)
1 Scoop Orgain Organic Protein vanilla (from Costco)
Oat, soy, macadamia or almond milk as much as needed to make creamy
Blend and enjoy!
A Day In The Life of An Author - Hawai'i Edition: A Guest Post by Sara Ackerman
