Day in the Life of author Schledia Benefield
Thanks, Ali,
for inviting me to share what a day in my life is all about. My days vary due
to my job at the middle school, as well as where I’m at in the writing process,
so I will share a typical workday in the midst of writing a novel. FAIR
WARNING…my days are kind of boring, but they are busy!
While I’m
working on a project, I wake up between four and four-thirty a.m. Most days, my
husband makes the coffee and wakes me up to a nice, hot cup, but if he happens
to be running behind on getting ready for work, I make the coffee and bring him
a cup. I sit down at my laptop with my coffee in hand and quickly re-read the
previous chapter I had written and go over the chapter summary for the chapter
I intend to start that day.
Once I have
done that, I get dressed for work. At five-thirty I set out what I plan to cook
for supper and start breakfast and lunch for my bunch. I have five children and
four of them still live at home, so I’m usually in the kitchen until six a.m.
At that point I wake the kids up for school. My oldest son, Colby, is a little
difficult to pry out of bed, so it takes several trips to his room. My baby
girl, Trinity, is eight with hair past her waist, so I spend a good bit of time
brushing and fixing her hair for school.
At
six-forty-five mom hugs and kisses them bye and sends them off to the bus stop;
then I gather my things for the day and head out the door to work. When I get
to the school, I go over what the kids are to do for the day and make any
preparations I need to make to have their stuff ready to go. Then I spend my
day with middle school kids trying to maintain as much order as possible. During my off-period, I pull out my notebook
and paper and begin writing the chapter I had reviewed earlier that morning. During
the beginning of a project, I may get one-fourth to one-half of the chapter
written in a day, depending upon how it all flows. It is only a fifty minute
time period, so I don’t pressure myself to write an entire chapter during that
time frame.
When three
o’clock rolls around, I head home to type what I’ve written before putting a
load of clothes on the wash. I start my supper preparations while the kids are
working on homework, that way I’m right there to help them if they need it.
While supper is in the oven, I pull the load of clothes out of the washer and
put them in the dryer. This is usually the point where the dryer stops working!
Then it’s heading out the back door to hang the clothes on the line and calling
a repair man. (Ok, it doesn’t happen every
day, but it seems to be that everything falls apart while I’m working on a
novel).
We all sit
down and eat supper as a family, blessing and all. This is the time that my
family uses to converse about the day. My middle son, Trent, is a natural
comedian with his sense of humor and wit, so we always have laughs. People who
have joined us for dinner have always commented how the Benefield table is
NEVER dull!
After supper
my husband and I load the dishwasher and have the kids get their baths and
bring their dirty clothes so we can get another load washed and dried. Once we
get past the daily routines, we send them off to bed and head to our room to
wind down for the night while watching a couple of episodes of The Big Bang
Theory.
Well, that’s
pretty much how my day rolls. I stay pretty busy, but I’m particular about not
allowing my passion for writing to interfere with my family time. Of course,
there are times when you have a deadline and have no choice but to order pizza
for supper and shut yourself in your room all night, but I try really hard not
to take away from my children and my husband. After all, they are the most
important thing in my life!
Schledia Benefield was born and raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. She presently lives in Big Point,Mississippi with her husband and four of her five children. She is the author of three YA novels: Plain Jane, Pretty Boy, and her newest release, Wildflowers. She also writes middle-grade fantasy under the pen name S B Scrillum. In her spare time she enjoys reading a good book, scrapbooking, sewing, spending time with her family, and visiting over a cup of coffee.
Have you ever feared what may be hiding deep within you? Darkness often skulks in the blood of unsuspecting victims, but Aster McGrath is acutely aware of the violence coursing through his veins. After all, he is the son of a murderer, and everyone in the town of Bayville, Mississippi says he will end up just like his father. When Susan Blackman moves into town, Aster has already embraced his brutal nature, but her gentle spirit draws him in and slowly melts the icy exterior of his heart. Taming his savagery, she professes her love, but will the good within him be able to overcome the evil lurking deep inside? Or will the fiend break free of its fetters and seek blood
