Dawn and Another List

You would think that because I've been wide awake far before sunrise today, my blog would be finished -  seeing as it is after 10:00 a.m.  But once again, I got side-tracked on Face-Book and email.  Thank goodness I did not open Twitter yet: I'd still be there...


Since I was awake, I threw open my blinds and decided to catch the sunrise.  Yep,  --------->
awake before dawn, and still not finished with my list. This photo taken with my phone is not as cool as the one at the top of the page.  My son took that one somewhere here in Wisconsin.  Isn't it pretty?



And speaking of lists, I have a short one today.  Who wants to take bets that I actually get it all done and don't fritter away the day online?  Maybe I need to invent a new word for that.  Twitbook...Twitface...Facemail...  I'm sure there are many more combinations.  I saw one online some time ago that included MySpace too:  TwitMyFace   :)

<-----This is my actual list for today!  I don't make a list every day but lately I'm finding that having one does make me want to accomplish more - and the good feeling you get when you cross things off makes it that much better.  And to be honest, there are days when I have to write things down in order to remember to do them!  I hope that doesn't mean that eventually I will have to write everything down!
Here's my future list:
1. Take a shower
2. Get dressed
3. Make coffee *
4. Write

*I have to ask...have any of you seen that stupid commercial that makes it look like such a horrid chore to make coffee or stand in line for one?
Wow.  Give me coffee any day over that tiny bottle of energy.
I drink coffee for the taste, not to wake up, and really, I will never have to write that down on any list.

So, tell me about your lists.  Do you find that writing one keeps you on track? Do you write a new list every day, or are you more sporadic, like I am?

On Writing reminders: When I am in the midst of writing, I find that by keeping a notebook of the major scenes in each chapter, main characters and their descriptions, and a general time-line of events, I am better organized.  I know some writers do an outline prior to beginning a story.  I cannot do that. I discover the story as I am writing, and then must keep track after the fact!

Each novel I write is a bit different in the way it plays out too.  I knew the ending of Ravenswynd before I knew the middle.  My time-travel book is an on-going discovery and I still have no idea how it will end.

What about your writing process - do you outline first and write later?  Do you know how your story ends before you begin, or does it come to you as you write?  Curious minds need to know.

Thanks for taking the time to read!