A Day In The Life

Posted on by A.R. Geiger

I am a full-time writer. I’ve mentioned that about a million times on this blog, along with noting that I run my own business as a freelancer. But today, I’d like to dive a little deeper into what that looks like on a daily basis.I’ll give you a hint.

I don’t actually spend my entire day writing.

Nor, strangely enough, do I spend my whole day in my pajamas, although I work from home and generally spend the majority of my time with my kitty and my newly acquired puppy. No boss checking that I’m meeting dress code here! Except for me, and I have my own policies about that. But, we’ll get into that. In short, this is what a typically day as a freelance scriptwriter looks like.

5:30 – 7 AM: My alarm goes off stupidly early. My husband sets it for me every night, usually because I’m already buried in my blankets and stick my head out to ask if he will. He’s a good sport. I like to get up before the sunrise to get a start on my day before the rest of the world is awake and jostling for my attention. It gives me some space. Now that we have a puppy in the house, I take her out on her leash to use the bathroom, then walk over to my parents’ house to jump on their rebound mini trampoline.

People always laugh at me for the jumping thing. They can’t seem to figure out why I do it, and it weirds them out. Simply put, this is my time. I stick my headphones in, and I work on my books. Stories don’t just show up, you know. You have to plan them. You have to make space for dreaming and talking with characters and imagination, and this is my space. If I don’t have this time, I don’t have books. Period. You might say this is one of the most important parts of my day as a writer.

7 – 8 AM: When I get home, I clean. Obsessively. I find it very hard to be creative if the dishes aren’t done or the floor isn’t swept, so before my day really gets started, I make sure that all the little chores are well and truly finished. This is also when I get dressed—no pajamas here. I’ve learned through a bit of trial and error that I feel 100% better if I’m dressed for work and have done my hair and makeup. It’s the little things.

8 – 9 AM: I study Spanish with Duolingo. This is one of my weirder habits—it has nothing to do with my career, probably won’t be relevant to my daily life anytime soon, and as much as I enjoy it, I probably will never become a fluent—or even competent—Spanish speaker. But it’s something new and different for my brain to do, and it keeps me sharp.

9 – 12 AM: This is my first big ‘chunk of work’ for the day. I generally have meetings during this time to discuss scripts, casting, story problems, or just provide updates for deadlines and revisions that need to happen. When I’m not in meetings, I’m writing. Depending on the day, I might be throwing together an outline for the team to approve for a script, or drafting a chapter for one of my two books in progress, or writing dialogue for a script. This is all usually accompanied by a cup of tea, trips outside with the puppy, and my kitty attempting to crawl into my lap to get the love and attention she deserves.

12 – 2 PM: Lunch, another trip outside with the puppy, and maybe if I have time, I’ll walk over to my parents house to see actual human people and jump. Another brainstorm session helps get me back in the game for an afternoon of writing.

2 – 4 PM: More writing. Afternoons are hard, y’all. This is when I start falling asleep. Music generally helps, and sprints with my writers’ group over text. When we’re all working, it always encourages me to get more words in. If I’m working on books that particular day, this is also where I will switch projects. 1000 words in the morning for one book, 1000 words in the afternoon for another. We don’t always hit that, but we try.

4 – 6 PM: I’m prepping dinner, listening to crime podcasts or an audio book, and taking the puppy out for a good romp before the husband gets home and we eat together.

6 – 9 PM: This is supposed to be free time. It really, really is. But if I’ve got a tight deadline on a script that I’m trying to meet, or if I happen to be feeling particularly inspired, I’ll curl up on my couch with my computer and get in a few hundred extra words. My cat usually sits on top of me, and my husband plays video games next to me, so it’s all very cozy. Or, if my writers’ group is up for it, we’ll toss out a few prompts through text and free write for a while—which is always good for creativity and opens up dozens of interesting doors.


There you have it! This is what a typical day as a freelance writer looks like—at least in my neck of the woods. This was an enormously long post, but if you’ve ever wondered what a writer actually does in a day, now you know!

Christmas Parties

Posted on by A.R. Geiger

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I am not generally a ‘party’ kind of person.

Honestly, if you know anything about me, you know this. I spent my childhood hiding from parties. In my room, in the woods, in books, and in stories out of my own head.

Once, I hid in a rabbit hutch.

Someone found me.

I’m still bitter about it, if you were wondering. I think I should have been safe in a rabbit hutch.

But now that I’m pretending to be an adult, I go to parties. Apparently, that’s part of the deal. Of course, I’m still an introvert who needs time to recharge and hide away with my books, but when a party comes up, I don’t run. Usually.

This year, I hosted a Christmas party.

I was so proud of myself.

My writers’ group had our first ever Christmas party together this weekend. We ate awesome food, drank sparkling cider, exchanged gifts, and talked about books. It was lovely. These girls are my best friends, my mostly companions, and my support group. They understand my strange rants, support my flashes of inspiration, and keep me centered.

I love them.

I was also apparently preoccupied completely with our party when it happened, because I didn’t take a single picture. Not even one, although I meant to take a few, just to prove that I can, in fact, throw a party.

Oh well.

Next time.

I also had a work Christmas party this week. We played Whirlyball. Which is basically lacrosse with bumper cars. Since I’m not competitive, coordinated, or athletic AT ALL, I was a little worried that it would turn out to be an embarrassing experience. But bumper cars tend to level the playing field, and I had so much more fun than I expected.

Neither of these parties called for high extroversion or meeting a lot of strangers, but I’ve decided to count them as my quota this year. I have one more Christmas party with some younger siblings planned, then this introvert is going back into hiding. Until then . . . Merry Christmas!

Do you have any Christmas events planned? Tell me about them in the comments!

Growing Roots

Posted on by A.R. Geiger

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I have three trees growing in my house.

And a handful of acorns in the back of my fridge, ready for the spring.

So, of course, yesterday I found pine seeds scattered all over my porch from the wind and couldn’t help myself. Now they’re in my fridge, sealed in a plastic bag with a damp paper towel until they germinate.

I’m going to need a lot of pots when spring comes.

Like, a lot of pots.

Since my house is very small and there is a limit to how many trees I can plant inside it before my sister goes crazy and kicks me and my trees out, I am looking at building a greenhouse. With counter space. And a lot of pots. So I can experiment with some different species and try to grow some that I haven’t had the guts to try until now. Like maple trees. And spruce.

I’m excited.

Okay, I definitely understand that growing trees inside my house is a little weird. I mean, who has an oak tree growing on top of their bookshelves? But I love things that last. That grow slowly. That take time to get anywhere, because when they do start growing finally, it means more because of how much time and energy was put into waiting for them.

It helps me remember that all the work and effort and time I put into my books and my career as a writer isn’t wasted. That growth comes in cycles, and all the growth that happens on the surface has to be balanced out by long, long periods of seeming stasis to let the roots catch up.

And, most of all, that the things that take a long, long time to grow will be the ones that last.

So when I’m frustrated with myself and my writing and can’t seem to get my stories right, I can go back to my trees and remember that I have to let the roots catch up. I have had so much rapid growth in the last five months, and now it’s time to pause. And settle. To embrace the hard things, and not worry that the growth I would love to see isn’t there. The roots are catching up, and the cycle is starting again. When the roots are ready, the growth will come.

So, writers, if you haven’t seen the growth you’re looking for, remember to check under the surface too. Today, you may be growing the roots you need.

What is growing in your life lately? Tell me about it in the comments!

November 1st!

Posted on by A.R. Geiger

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“One must always look after one’s acorns, especially in autumn, when all the little creatures are stocking their larders and lining their nests for when Dame Winter comes a’calling.”

I ordered a proof copy of Of Bullfrogs and Snapdragons this week!

Which means . . .

*Trumpets sound*

My newest book will hit Amazon on November 1st!

How exciting is that? I can’t begin to tell you how much this book means to me, or how thrilled I am to share it with you all. Frankly, I’m not sure how I managed to find the time to format it, work with the editor and the cover designer, and finish all the thousand and seven small details that have to be done before a book hits the store.

But, besides a few last quality checks, it’s ready!

I am so ready to have this book in my hands. I love fairytales with all of my heart, and these are especially important to me. They are my retreat—the books that I am allowed to love without someone looking over my shoulder and wondering if this detail or that plot point should be done differently. Now that I work full time in a professional environment, it’s hard to sit back and actually enjoy what I write. My scripts/outlines are written with the anxious niggle in the back of my mind that when I finish, someone is going to read through it and come back with pages of notes on how to fix all the problems I somehow didn’t notice. My main book series is a constant progression of editing, revision, and sending out query letters only to be rejected again and again. I always have a new plan for how to increase marketability and get them noticed, and yet—seven years in—they are still waiting for someone to come back with a yes.

And then . . . I have my fairytales.

And they are just for me, and the few of you who find them as soothing as I do.

This book especially was a joy to write. Autumn is and always will be my favorite season, and it was such a treat to linger in it for all twelve chapters, seeing it from the simple perspectives of a gnome, a fairy, and a snapdragon.

Of Mice and Fairies was a series of stories introducing my characters, but Of Bullfrogs and Snapdragons will be a little different. It’s an ongoing story with a central plot, characters that continue on from one chapter to the next, and a villain—of sorts. I can’t for you to read it!

What kinds of stories do you reach for when the world feels stressful and you need a break? Tell me about them in the comments!

“…All At Once, Summer Collapsed Into Fall”

Posted on by A.R. Geiger

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Don’t you just love that quote by Oscar Wilde? It never fails to make me feel cozy.

Seriously though, this year fall seemed to come in with October, and we have had a nip in the air and yellow leaves ever since. I love fall with all of my cozy heart, and my sister and I have certainly been embracing the fall days. We’ve got a pumpkin in our pantry, several types of squash in the fridge, and enough wood to (hopefully) last us all winter. We’ve had fires at night, hot chocolate, and I have piled so, so many blankets on my bed to keep from freezing at night.

So, yes, fall is here.

October always seems to go by much too quickly for me. It’s my favorite month, and every year I blink and it’s gone. This year will be no exception, I think. I’ve got a lot going on this month, and already the first week has sped past. I’ve got a book coming out this month, I’ll be out housesitting for more than a week, and I’m headed down to LA at the end of the month. (What?)

In the midst of all the bustle and hurry, I am also trying hard to just enjoy October. The chilly nights and warm days are my paradise, and I want to take as much time as I can to savor it before winter sets in and those fires I mentioned become messy and start getting me up every two hours in the night to put more wood on.

So . . . I am lighting candles. And not begrudging myself a mug of hot chocolate when I curl up to read. And taking long walks down our dirt road with my sister when I get home at night. I have Anne of Green Gables sitting on my side table, complete with a bookmark, because I, too, am so glad that I live in a world where there are Octobers. I have my eye on several lovely acorns just outside my workplace in town, two or three of which I intend to ‘rescue’ as soon as they are ripe and ready. I’ll wrap them in damp tissue, stick them in a plastic bag, and pop them into the back of my fridge for the rest of the year, and they’ll be my new round of trees in the spring. I have new boots and sweaters and scarves for work, and I am stockpiling cardigans because working in an office during the winter is cold business. I also have been cooking more, enjoying the simplicity of soups and comfort foods. Yesterday, I spend the entire afternoon making homemade sweet potato gnocchi.

I haven’t decided how I like it yet, but making it was definitely an experience!

So! There’s my fall agenda. I should have release dates for my new book so, so soon, but until then, I hope you all enjoy your October! Have a glass of apple cider or hot chocolate and think of me!

What are you doing to celebrate fall this year? Anyone headed to a corn maze or a pumpkin patch? Tell me about it in the comments!

Headed For Home

Posted on by A.R. Geiger

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I’m going to be honest with y’all.

I’m writing this while we drive.

I think we’re in Alabama right now. Somewhere near Birmingham, I think, although I am directionally challenged and it’s very possible that I’m wrong.

Guys. Alabama is hot. Like, ridiculously hot. Like, if it wasn’t so beautiful I would never come here again kind of hot.

But the trees have flowers and leaves instead of needles and the grass is lush and green, and everything is beautiful. Also, the dirt is red. And today is cloudy and misty. So I’m trying to ignore the heat.

We’re headed for Texas right now. Then, tomorrow, our wheels will be pointed toward Colorado and home.

I’m excited.

I miss my cat. And my family. And my house.

I can’t swear that anyone misses me, but I have a little—possibly vain—hope that my cat missed me. A tiny bit. A very tiny bit. Like, she went to sleep at night in my big empty bed all alone with no one to cuddle with and thought, “I wonder what happened to that one person who used to feed me and would whine back when I whined at her.”

I’ll admit, that’s a little bit of a stretch. But I can hope.

As much as I am excited to get back home, this has been a trip and a half. We’ve been through twelve states so far and have four more to go, and I have loved seeing the country change along the highway. We’ve crashed in hotel rooms, been hosted by wonderful friends, eaten way too much fast food, baked on beaches, swam in the ocean, in hotel pools, lakes, and backyard ponds. My brother made friends with a lizard, I found baby clams and ate my first Po’Boy sandwich, my dad drove us through the town where he grew up and showed us where his dad’s mechanic shop had been and the house he’d lived in. We saw flooded rivers, Florida swamps, the sea, and a telephone pole shaped like Mickey Mouse.

It was wild.

And now we’re headed for home. Tomorrow night, I will sleep in my own bed, and one week from today, I will start my first full-time office job and get paid to be a writer.

Life is crazy, y’all.

Anyone have any crazy road trip memories to share? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!

Coffee Dates: Overwriter

Posted on by A.R. Geiger

Good Morning, Creatives!

Can I confess something to you guys? Like, heart-to-heart?

Good. Because I’m going to anyway.

I am a chronic overwriter.

Are you shocked? You should be. It’s true. I have a serious problem. My poor, poor editor is constantly having to cut things back and tell me to rein it in a little. (Hi, Beth! You’re my favorite!)

This week’s question is to soothe my own ego a bit. Or convince me to start a support group. Either way. Are you an underwriter or an overwriter? (If you’re not sure, judge it this way. When you finish a manuscript, do you have to add words or cut them out? Which do you have a harder time doing?)

I’m supposed to cut them out. I usually add them.

My Process

I love words. I love worlds. I love my worlds. So, because I love them so much, I love to spend a whole lot of time exploring them and showing all the little details, the cultures, the cities, the languages, and the people. I love to build cities and construct architecture and grow deep forests with lore that extends back to the beginnings of time.

One of my favorite authors is Victor Hugo. If that helps give you an idea of how bad I’ve gotten.

My Struggles Within That

Readers get bored! Stories need action, they need swift plots that plow through a lot of material and keep their readers engaged! As much as I enjoyed the chapter in Les Miserables about the Paris sewers, it didn’t move the plot forward.

Yes, I loved it.

Someday, I’ll write a book about those black labyrinths.

I’m strange that way.

But! Readers have to be engaged! And they don’t like pages and pages and pages of OVERWRITING! So I’m learning to cut back and do some of the exploring only in my mind. This issue is actually one of the reasons I started writing short stories. It taught me to say a lot in a very little amount of time.

Your Thoughts

What about you? Are you an underwriter, always struggling to flesh out your chapters and fill out your word count? Or are you constantly cutting sentences and struggling to get down to a certain point? Tell me about it in the comments!

Coffee Dates: Houses

Posted on by A.R. Geiger

Good Morning, Creatives!

Okay, all ya’ll are about to laugh at me. And not because I said all ya’ll. I’m allowed to say that because technically I was born in Texas and thus have the right to say ya’ll. And there are more than five of you, so it’s definitely all ya’ll.

I know these things.

Anyway, this week’s question is going to make you laugh at me. It’s silly and ridiculous and totally inconsequential, a question with no merit and no deep meaning.

I’m really excited.

Since we were talking about personality tests last week—specifically the Myers-Briggs test—this week, I wanted to ask about a different personality test. Specifically, Hogwarts houses.

My Process

I am pure Ravenclaw. I love books, I think too much, and I am not a biggest fan of having one ‘right way’ to do things.

Okay, ‘not a big fan’ is an understatement.

If there was one right answer to every question, no one would actually need to think.

My Struggles Within That

I have struggled deeply with this one. (Not really.) I wanted to be a Hufflepuff. I was so, so sure I was a Hufflepuff. My whole existence is a Hufflepuff kind of existence. They just seem like such warm-hearted, gentle, brilliant kind of people. The kind of brilliant that doesn’t quite make sense to most people.

But no. Knowledge is power. So I am a Ravenclaw.

Your Thoughts

Are there any Harry Potter fans out there? What is your house? Any other Ravenclaws around? Tell me in the comments!

Coffee Dates: Myers Briggs

Posted on by A.R. Geiger

Good Morning, Creatives!

Does anyone else need caffeine this morning? I do. Maybe not a straight cup of coffee or espresso, but I would not say no to a few cups of black tea with a little cream and honey. Just to get my brain moving in the right direction.

But! The weekend is near, O people of the pen, so take heart! We’re going to make it through!

Now, before I ask this week’s question, I want to clarify that I do not think any sort of test can put people in a box. We are created as beautiful, infinite beings with endless potential and ability to change. Our minds and our choices are our own, and what we decide to do with them shapes our brains.

However, sometimes the tests are fun. Personally, they make me laugh, and sometimes it really is fun to read through the descriptions and snicker over how close they came.

So, that said, today’s question is all about personality types! According to the Myers Briggs test, what is yours?

My Process

I am an INFJ, which stands for Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Judgement. I have never been one to search too deeply into ‘society’s definition’ of what that means, but for me, it means that I spend a great deal of time alone, I am incredibly empathetic and can almost always tell when someone is having an off-day—sometimes just by glancing across the room—and it takes me a very long time to connect with and trust someone.

I also have an enormous amount of patience for a long task, thus my writing career.

My Struggles Within That

I hate public events! Parties are the worst. Especially if I don’t have one person I can latch onto and dig into the deep parts of life with, instead of struggling through small talk. I hate talking about myself in job interviews and meet-and-greets, and I hate pitching my novels! But I do it. Because I am an adult, and I do things I don’t necessarily like to do.

Your Thoughts

What is your personality type? More than that, what do those four letters mean to you? Are you outgoing and the life of the party, but struggle to maintain lasting friendships? Do you write, but scream sometimes because you need human interaction? Do you, like me, HATE pitching your novel? Tell me about it in the comments!

Coffee Dates: Night Owl or Early Bird

Posted on by A.R. Geiger

Good Morning, Creatives!

Can we just have a round of applause for those of us who made it through this week? Like, seriously, congratulations! It’s the weekend! We get to rest and write and read books!

Hopefully. Sometimes weekends get booked solid and life gets in the way. But we do our best.

That’s one of the reasons that I love writing in the morning so much. I’ve found over the years that I do my best writing between five and eight in the morning when the world is quiet and the sun is still rising.

Which leads to today’s question! Are you a night owl or an early bird?

My Process

I am definitely an early writer. I like to get up while it’s still gray and misty outside, switch on my fairy lights, and sit down with my kitty to read my bible before the sun rises. Then I go straight to the computer, and most mornings I can fly through 500-1000 words before I even get up for breakfast. Such a good feeling!

My Struggles Within That

Early mornings don’t always happen! Sometimes I really am too tired to move, and that snooze button on my alarm starts looking very nice. Other days, I can’t sleep in to save my life. 5:30 rolls around, and ding, my brain is awake and ready to go, no matter how I happen to feel about it. Sometimes—especially on vacation—it really would be nice to sleep in a bit!

Your Thoughts

What about you? Are you a morning writer, typing with the sunrise and enjoying an early cup of tea to welcome the new dawn? Or do you haunt the deepest watches of the night and compose your words by starlight and moonlight? Tell me about it in the comments!