Will my work habits never be described in Poets and Writers because they don't match the habits of the typical writers described in P&W ("I start my writing at six and write through the morning ... then I break for lunch before sending emails to my agent and publicist ... then spend the afternoon editing") or do my work habits in and of themselves prevent my writing from ever becoming something written about in P&W?

If I were to describe a recent Wednesday - the weekday I set aside for writing - it would go something like this:

"My writing day actually starts Tuesday night. The phone is shut off and I leave a message on my voicemail telling folks that I'm out until Thursday. I stay up late writing and reading, trying to get something in place that I can work on the next day. This is so I won't face a blank page when I start on Wednesday. My process works better at night, I come up with more ideas and it's good to have the engine warmed up for the next day. I wake up Wednesday morning around eleven ... I don't like to wake up until I'm completely rested and since I was up until two the night before, I'd rather sleep in. I hate mornings. I put discs by Graham Parker, AC/DC, Earth Wind and Fire, Angel City, and Prince into the CD player and hit shuffle. I work throughout the afternoon and go through three-fourths of a pot of coffee followed by one or two Diet Mountain Dews. I usually type up the notes I was working on the night before and also do rewriting or editing on other projects.

"I check my email often and fire off notes to friends. I take frequent breaks to pause and listen to certain songs like "Shining Star" or "Mercury Poisoning" or "Live Wire." I also take a break to call my pal Chris to 1) reminisce about an accounting class we took in the fall of '84, and 2) talk about hockey. I continue typing and rewriting and creating through the afternoon until my empty gut and light feeling in my head reminds me that all I've had to eat so far is a couple of bowls of cereal and a granola bar. I promise myself to make a significant dent in a couple of pieces by 6:00, then I can get some Chinese take-out to be eaten while watching Seinfeld. This is followed by reading some chapters of a Norman Mailer novel, followed by a Stanley Cup playoff game with some Leinenkugel's. After the game, I listen to Lifter Puller on headphones and fall asleep on the futon. And that's my day of writing."

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