My Writing Routine

A Really Bad Poem by Susan McBride

How is it done? I'm often asked

About the task

That’s my love and my livelihood.

Are you chained to your desk,

Not leaving your nest

Until your word count’s in the can?

I wish I could say,

“Hey, this is the way”

I always tell my stories.

But every book’s a new deal,

I don’t know how I’ll feel

Or what’ll crop up and annoy me.

When deadlines loom
Emails boom
And laundry piles up.

Something breaks or leaks
My husband freaks
And I wait for the repairmen.

I have author friends

More disciplined

Who write everyday like clockwork.

Some in car pool lanes

(which I think is insane)

or at Starbucks while the joe perks.

I admire the ones

Who don’t miss a beat

With second jobs and kids at their feet.

I just try to keep

My butt glued to my seat

And hope nothing gets out of hand.

But crises always arise

Things I never surmised

That throw me off my game plan.

So when I’m asked

How I do this task

I don't always have an answer.

“I don’t know,” I'll admit,

It’s a mysterious bit

Then I'll shrug and say, “It’s magic.”

***

Susan McBride is the author of Little Black Dress, The Cougar Club, and the forthcoming The Truth About Love and Lightning (William Morrow Paperbacks, 02/13). At nearly eight months pregnant, her writing routine is pretty well shot to hell, which is good practice for after the baby comes.