A Day in the Life

Posted by: Karen Duvall
Working on: The first book in my steampunk urban fantasy series, MYSTIC TAXI (though the title will probably change by the time I'm finished)
Mood: Tenuously cheerful

This is going to be a short post. My life is pretty boring from a big picture viewpoint, and the writing spotty from a writer's perspective. I have no deadlines to meet. I have no new books to promote. The agent hunt was successful, so now I wait, listening to the clatter of chirping crickets that fills my empty inbox. I crave news.

So while I wait for my agent to inform me that publishers are fighting over my book, ahem, I work on a new one. I'd love to say I spend my day writing, adding thousands of words to my manuscript on a daily basis, but sadly that's not the case. I have another job, one that pays me money.

I'm self-employed, which works out beautifully for a writer who needs to make her own hours. I break up my day with writing and work, writing and work, probably to the chagrin of my clients who think they're my only priority. They ask when their project will be done and I give them a date, though they don't realize I've figured writing time in that bumps their job in the timeline.

I'd have a hard time writing straight through the day anyway. Like I couldn't only work on my graphic design projects from eight to five. I function best as a multi-tasker, moving between the two jobs, both of which are creative so I never have to shift that area of my brain to accommodate new ideas. Actually, one will often assist the other.

So as I design a new ad for an upscale fashion boutique in Seattle today, my brain chews over the next scene in my steampunk urban fantasy novel. Challenging, but fun.

If you're curious about this other career that competes with my writing, you can see samples of my design work here, here, here, and here.