A Day in the Life of an Author

The day in the life of an author is not what most might think. Of course, it varies from author to author, just as the daily routine might vary from one accountant to another. And, when you mix horses in, the daily schedule takes on a life of it’s own.

I can’t speak for other authors, but I know that I need to write in the morning, when my mind is fresh. Usually, I do a quick read through of yesterday’s work, then dive right in. If I am writing nonfiction, something such as a book on horse training, I have an outline to follow. Those of us who publish with traditional publishers have most likely sold a proposal, a detailed outline of the proposed book, to the publisher, and the author needs to follow that outline. Nonfiction is a little easier on my brain, as I write facts, hopefully in an engaging narrative.

While other authors might outline their fiction, I do not. I know it sounds strange, but writing my Cat Enright mystery series is almost like having a conversation with my characters in my head. I sometimes even have disagreements with my characters about how the story should unfold. My saving grace on that front is that I have heard other fiction authors say the same thing.

I usually write for several hours, or until lunchtime. Then it is time to get down to the business of being an author. My booking and literary agents usually have sent some emails for me to respond to. When that has been dealt with I perform the necessary evils of social media and updating my website. I look over any contracts for speaking, horse clinics, writing, or “rights” sales (audio, trade paperback, foreign, etcetera), and sometimes speak to my co-authors about contracts and offers. In addition to horse books I sometimes co-author or ghostwrite autobiographies with well-known people. My books are published with a number of different publishers, so I take calls or answer their emails as well. On occasion, there is an interview to do.

By mid to late afternoon I am ready to head to the barn. Sometimes I teach a riding lesson or two, other times I feed, mow, groom, fix fences, haul hay, do groundwork, or even ride. After an early dinner I read over my morning’s work and make changes, then create a to-do list for my writing for the next day.

Of course, there are interruptions to this basic schedule. Conferences, clinics, book signings, and speaking engagements (and the travel to and from) happen regularly. A horse might become sick, or I get edits back from my editor and hunker down for several days to get through them. Sometimes I find I just need to take a morning to pick up and organize the chaos that has developed around my writing space. But somehow, books are turned in on deadline, horses get fed, and I can’t wait to get up in the morning to start it all over again.

Safe? Or Boring?

I recently witnessed a young woman taking a morning ride in a field. She was riding western and ponying two horses, one on each side. Also in the field were four to five other horses who were grazing. The young woman was not wearing a helmet, and was busy texting on her phone.

“Yikes!” I thought. “That is an accident waiting to happen.”

Not every scenario has to be so filled with safety hazards, but when it comes to horses, most of the people I know who have been on the injured list (myself included), were there because he or she failed to follow a basic safety principle. Stretch your arm away from your torso when longeing a horse, you might get a dislocated shoulder. Wear tennis shoes or (gasp) flip-flops in the barn, you might end up with mashed toes.

As a PATH (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship) instructor, I am all about safety. Overly so, it must seem, to my non-therapeutic riding friends. But I am proud of being safety conscious, even if some people call me boring, and claim I am no fun to ride with.

However, when it comes to writing, and specifically writing about horses, it is a different story. As writers, we often need to throw safety to the wind and get on with the amazing stories we are compelled to tell. Every reader deserves that. Readers choose to spend their precious time reading what we write, so we had better deliver.

Last week I read a highly anticipated short story. Technically, it was brilliantly written. The dialogue flowed and the plot moved forward at a good pace. But when I was done reading, I felt empty. The writer had played it too safe and the result was that the story was predictable and boring.

Not every book, article, or story has to have a grandmother riding down Main Street on a hippopotamus to grab a reader’s attention. But, the dialogue does have to shine. The plot has to be intriguing, and in nonfiction, the facts have to be presented in a narrative that sparkles.

So when it comes to safe versus boring, I choose to stay very safe around my horses. I drive my truck within the speed limit, and with alertness and caution. But, I really, really hope my writing is never boring. That determination, though, is up to the reader.

"He's a Pepper, She's a Pepper...."

Patti Brooks  

http://PattiBrooksBooks.com

Back in the day, when we were raising many foals each year, we put a lot of thought into the colt's registered name. When someone heard the name (hopefully when he won a blue ribbon!) we wanted the horse's parentage to be obvious along with the understanding the horse came from our Morgan horse breeding program.

Little Miss Pepper came into our lives when she was 18. She became our foundation mare. When she died 11 years later, she had given us 7 very nice foals who truly bought and paid for the farm. We wanted her children and grandchildren to be easily identified as her descendants. It was a given that all her kids and grandkids would have "Pepper" as part of their names.

Mr & Ms Pepperlect,
Bob Broooks, whip

Her first foal was named Mr. Pepperlect because his dad's name was Donalect. Next she had a full sister that was easy:  Ms. Pepperlect. They did great things on their own, but most people remember them as an exciting park harness pair.

Mr. Peppermarch

Little Miss Pepper's next mate was March Time. The first of this cross was Mr. Peppermarch who spent most of his life in California as a speedy roadster.  

Mr. Peppertime

 The second was Mr. Peppertime.  He stayed with                                  us, siring 105 colts on the                                      ground. We had lots of fun                                      with him, including  jumping                                    out of a horse-size birthday                                    cake! ('nother story, 'nother                                    day)

Mr. Lymelight

We went out of the box for the third because he had a very large spotlight-type star. He became Mr. Lymelight (Lyme carrying double significance because our farm is in E. Lyme)  I think Lymelight lucked out with this name because those working on the farm at the time he was born thought he should be named Mr. Pepperoni.



By then, Little Miss Pepper was know as "Granny." We bred her to Dobson, whose mother was a full sister to Granny.  This doubling up on "pepper" gave us an ideal choice. He became Creme d Pepper and his barn name quickly became "Dopper" combining Dobson and Pepper. 

I've puzzled over the reasoning behind saddling horses with names like "Never Too Late" and "The Old Duffer." It's hard to picture a hrse show announcer say, "And the winner is The Old Duffer."

Granny spent the summer months in pasture with other broodmares.  She was next to impossible to catch up. One time when it was important to bring her in, we resorted to saddling up four horses in the hopes of herding her toward the barn.

Granny outsmarted us for over a half hour, darting nimbly away from horses half her age. Then, while we sat on our horses, giving them...and us... a chance to catch our breaths, Granny moved out into the middle of the pasture and looked back at us.  She clearly said, "Okay, I'm ready to come in now." I walked up to her and led her into the barn.

March Time solved this "catching up Granny" problem. He was a really nice-to-be-around stallion. We made the decision to let him live with a group of mares. Granny fell in love with him. Since March Time was easy to walk up to and put a halter on, when we needed Granny, we simply caught up March Time and she eagerly followed him anywhere!

March Time had another great trait, too. He ruled a 5 acre pasture with his harem and their foals. From time to time we would see all the foals (6 - 10) hanging around their dad while the moms were off grazing in peace.  No wonder the mares loved this guy that willingly babysat the kids.

P.S. Be sure to catch our country's premier horse event, the Kentucky Derby today!