My life is full of distractions, it always has been. It’s one of the hazards of working from home. These days the distractions are mostly delightful and indulgent. First of all we have a new puppy, Harry, a springer spaniel and for the time being his needs come first. At the moment he’s snoozing in his bed at my feet but mostly he’s biting at my files and books and I am constantly telling him NO. He’ll learn.

Once I’ve fed him and myself I’ll get to work on something easy like a blog post, just to get the writing flowing. If I start with emails it’s all too easy to get distracted so I leave that for later when I need a brain break.

I’m working on a book about my experience with my daughter’s eating disorder and the effect it had on the family. It was the kind of book I needed when we discovered how ill she was. It’s hard work as it brings back the awfulness of the situation so after about an hour I’m looking for something lighter to play with.  I might edit a couple of chapters of my novel or work on the second Nelly’s Jellies picture book for children, or an article or short story. I write for magazines such as You, (South Africa), That’s Life Fast Fiction, (Australia) and most of the UK women’s magazines.

After lunch my daughter usually appears with my grandchildren, Elsie and Hadley. The kettle goes on and we sit and chat and generally let the grandkids call the tune. So it might be CBeebies with Mr Bloom and Show Me, Show Me, or an hour in the garden. Sometimes my son comes over with his wife and my grandson, Huxley, and then the house becomes full and noisy and before long I want to escape to the quiet of my office and get back to work.

 I tend to use the afternoons for admin or going out for lunch with my husband. I can’t say long suffering husband as it’s been the other way around for years and now it’s my turn to pursue my writing career. When he goes out to the golf club  I might work for an hour or two in the office, editing a short story unless I’m teaching in which case I might arrive early to class and work on something or catch up on reading and research. I try to use as many ‘bits’ of time as productively as I can to work on my writing as for years that was all that was available to me. I think that’s why short stories are perfect if you don’t have a lot of time to write. You don’t have to hold so much in your head all and yet you have the satisfaction of seeing your work in print. A quick fix if you like.