IN THE SHOES OF… Jenny Moore
What's life like in someone else's shoes? This month Françoise Price invites author Jenny Moore to tell us about her day.
Author Jenny Moore
7am
I try to kick off the day with some exercise, even if it’s only a ten-minute YouTube workout — life as an author can be very sedentary so it’s good to get moving. It’s hard to motivate myself in the winter, but I always feel better for it afterwards. Then it’s more exercise and some fresh air on my daily walk up the hill to the train station. When my children got older I swapped the school run for the train run, escorting my husband up to the station each morning instead! I come back home the long way, listening to a podcast as I clock up some more steps. My current favourite is ‘The Rest is History’ which is really entertaining as well as informative – cue lots of grinning to myself as I walk down the street, while trying (and failing) to commit interesting snippets to memory. I’ll email myself with any book ideas that pop into my head while I’m out and about too, in case I’ve forgotten them by the time I get home.
9am
It’s time to head upstairs to my little writing room now and log on to my first Write Magic Zoom sprint of the day. Finding this fantastic group of fellow authors has been an absolute game changer for me — writing is no longer a solitary activity but a fun, friend-filled one. At the start of each sprint the host invites everyone to share their intentions for the hour, then we turn off our cameras and microphones while we crack on with the task in hand. At the end of the hour, we’ll come back to share how we got on and catch up on a bit of chat. People say it’s important to find your writing tribe and I’ve definitely found mine, getting to know the loveliest gang of writers from right across the globe.My tasks for this first hour aren’t always particularly authorly – sometimes I spend the first sprint of the day eating breakfast and doing my morning Japanese practice on Duolingo!
'I work on a PC at home – I love the big screen. I’ll swap onto a
laptop or notebook and pen if I’m writing on the move'
10am
I’ll stay on the sprints throughout the morning. I’m usually in full writing (and tea-drinking) mode by now, although ‘writing’ encompasses everything from drafting new words and working through edits, to proof-reading, looking over any illustrations I’ve been sent, preparing for events or posting book updates on social media (which always takes ten times as long as I think it will!). I usually have a few different books at different stages of the publication process at any one time, so my days tend to be a bit of a mix and match affair. My tea-drinking is much more regimented – it has to be drunk out of my giant mug or it’s just not the same!
'A charity shop replacement for my much-loved Whittard mug'
1pm
Lunch times vary but I usually break around now for a hearty bowl of salad, sprinkled with nuts and seeds and generous dollops of Greek yoghurt by way of a dressing, along with my daily helping of Neighbours. The plot lines veer between tedious and ridiculous but I’ve been eating my lunch with the inhabitants of Ramsay Street for years now and felt quite bereft when the original series was cancelled! Then it’s time for a quick walk around the block before starting work again.
2pm
I’m usually back on the Write Magic sprints in the afternoon, cracking on with some more writing. The project with the scariest looming deadline tends to take priority, although I’m easily distracted by any incoming emails. I’m a serial email-checker — you never know when something exciting might land in your inbox — and despite my best intentions will often wander off from the task in hand for another cheeky peek... and of course then, once I’ve spotted a query from one of my editors, I feel compelled to answer it immediately. Setting a word goal for the hour at the start of a sprint is one way to keep myself on track: a bit of public accountability can be a powerful motivator! Afternoon cups of tea tend to be herbal ones, maybe liquorice tea if I’m craving something sweet but don’t want to give into the siren call of the dark chocolate waiting in the cupboard downstairs!
'Sound and camera off while we’re all sprinting. Hydrangea video filters are optional!'
6pm
I try not to work during the evenings and weekends unless I have a really tight deadline to meet. Instead, I’ll catch up with my husband when he gets home and one of us will cook dinner. Being a bit of a slave to the Duolingo leader boards, there’s more Japanese practice to be done too, to make the most of my evening bonus points, and maybe another walk if I haven’t reached my 10,000 steps for the day. I also have to fit in my daily origami crane-folding... I set myself the aim of making one a day as a New Year’s Resolution so there are entire flocks of them now, spilling out of boxes and glass vases all around the house. Maybe my resolution for 2025 should be to string them all up properly!
'There’s no escaping the cranes!'
9pm
Time for a night-time herbal tea in my Edward Monkton cake mug and some television downtime.
10pm
Bedtime is when I get most of my reading done, and also the favourite time for random plot ideas to pop into my head when I should be winding down towards sleep. I keep a memo block and pen next to my bed for late night scribblings and there’s usually a generous scattering of torn-off sheets mixed up with my piles of books. If it’s a really important idea I’ll get back out of bed though, leaving it on my computer keyboard where I won’t be able to miss it, ready for tomorrow.*Header image by Ell Rose & Tita Berredo;
all other images courtesy of Jenny Moore
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Jenny Moore lives in Devon and writes for all ages, from toddlers to adults, across a wide range of genres. Her latest children’s books include the fantasy middle grade Emba Oak series, with the final book, Emba Oak and the Epic Ending, due out on October 28th 2024 with Maverick. Her funny Victorian pirate adventure, Odelia and the Varmint, is published with New Frontier and her YA debut, Slettbyrd, publishes with ZunTold on November 24th 2024.Websites: jennifermoore.wordpress.com
jennymoorechildrenswriter.weebly.com
Instagram: @jennymoorewrites
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Tita Berredo is the Illustrator Coordinator of SCBWI British Isles and Art Director of Words & Pictures. Contact her at illuscoordinator@britishscbwi.org
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