Jenny Lundquist is the author of the young adult novel The Princess in the Opal Mask and its sequel The Opal Crown, and the middle grade novels Plastic Polly, Seeing Cinderella, and The Charming Life of Izzy Malone. Her latest novel is The Wonderous World of Violet Barnaby, a follow up to The Charming Life of Izzy Malone.

You can learn more about her by visiting her website, her Facebook page, or following her on Twitter, or Instagram.

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Describe your workspace

I’d love to say my workspace was in a huge suite in my house but—alas!—my desk is stuck in the corner of our family room. My computer doubles as the family computer in the afternoons/nights when the kids are home from school. This means I’m in constant fear that I’ll accidentally lose work because my kids hopped on to play Minecraft before I managed to shut down and save everything.

Describe a typical workday

My day usually starts somewhere between 6-7am. I spend the next hour or so pleading, begging, and nagging my two preteen boys to Please, for the love of all that is good and holy: stop bottle flipping and eat breakfast, find your shoes, put your deodorant on (now put more on), and brush your teeth. I do this several times over until I can finally get them out the door and to school on time (hopefully).

After fighting that battle, when I come home, I just want to sleep the rest of the day.

I don’t, though; being a Mama Writer means my golden hours are from 9:00am – 3:00pm and so most days I try to have my butt in my chair by 9ish. That doesn’t mean I spend all those hours writing. Sometimes I’m writing, sometimes revising, sometimes I’m marketing. And, let’s be honest, sometimes I’m just screwing around on the internet. But regardless of whatever I have, or have not, accomplished during the day, at 3:00pm I’m heading to my kids’ school to pick them up. After that, if I’m not on a deadline, I’m Mom for the rest of the day and my afternoons and evenings are filled with permission slips, extracurricular activities, homework help, and fights over whether or not my boys should have to suffer the huge inconvenience of being made to shower Every. Single. Night.

But, if I am on a deadline, I pretty much ignore everything and everyone and hope that my house doesn’t end up resembling a scene from Lord of the Flies.

List three of your most favorite things in your workspace and why they are meaningful.

My favorite thing by far is the marquee sign hanging over my desk that says CREATE. I have a thing for marquee lights; I’ve always loved them and wanted one of my own. But I really wanted a custom one that would help inspire me as I write. Thankfully, my husband is a talented woodworker, and he made me one.

Next, it’s definitely my record player. I’m a big fan of vinyl, and I listened to records last fall when I was working on revisions for The Wondrous World of Violet Barnaby (the sequel to The Charming Life of Izzy Malone). Violet is set in December, so I’ve spent a lot of time listening to Vince Guaraldi’s Peanuts albums, particularly the Christmas one. This might sound strange, but it’s really relaxing for me to hear the feedback on old records. It reminds me of when my mom would play her records when I was a kid. And frankly, when I’m on a deadline and tempted to stress eat my way through our entire fridge, anything that relaxes me is a great thing.

Lastly, I have a glass jar on one of my floating shelves. Inside, I put random pieces of paper where I’ve jotted down story ideas. I like to think of them bubbling away like soup in a pot, until they become stories I can actually work with.

Do you have any rituals in your work habits? If so, describe them.

Does being constantly distracted by the internet count as a ritual?

What do you listen to while you work?

Vinyl records—instrumental jazz is my favorite, as it’s hard for me to write my own words when I’m listening to someone else’s.

What is your drink and/or snack of choice while you’re working?

Coffee, definitely. I literally think better when I have a hot cup sitting next to me.

What keeps you focused while you’re working?

Um . . . I’ll answer that one when I’ve actually learned how to stay focused. Anyone have any suggestions for me?

Do you write longhand, on a computer, or another way?

I have to write everything by longhand first in my journal before transferring it to my computer. That might sound slightly romantic, but all it really means is that I have to do everything twice. I so envy writers who can think well while they type! Blinking cursors suck the creativity right out of me. There’s something about putting pen to paper in a journal that allows me to get better in touch with who my characters are and what they want.

How do you develop your story ideas? Do you use an outline, let the muse lead you, or another technique?

I’m a combination of a plotter and a pantser. I like to noodle around with an idea and spend time brainstorming and free writing. At some point I’ll have a half-baked synopsis that I try to follow. But mostly I just have to write my way through several terrible drafts before I really know what story I’m actually trying to write. Outlines? Never. They’re way too confining for me.

If you were forced to share your workspace but could share it with anyone of your choosing, who would it be?

I would share it with George RR Martin; but I don’t know how productive that would be for me, since I’d be spending all my time trying to read his pages.

What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever heard or received?

The best piece of advice I’ve ever heard comes from Stephen King: “Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration, the rest of us just get up and go to work.”

I’d love it if I woke up every day filled to bursting with inspiration and words that I just needed to get on paper. But since I wake up very differently (see above) when 9am rolls around I just have to take a deep breath, sit down, and trust that the words will come.

And they do.