My Golden Hour . . . for Writing

Part 1: What’s a Golden Hour?   ​

I googled, and Wikipedia said, “In photography, the golden hour is the period of daytime shortly before sunrise, or before sunset, during which daylight is softer than when the sun is higher in the sky.

Cinematographers call it the magic hour, but it’s really only 20 – 30 minutes before sunrise, and, before sunset.

​Source: Golden hour (photography) - Wikipedia
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​Part 2: What is My Golden Hour?   Mine is much longer than 30 minutes! Thank goodness because it’s my ‘primetime for writing.” It’s when I’m at my best, when my brain is in top form.

I don’t get up at sunrise . . .  more like 10:30ish! I read and eat breakfast Then I look at my emails and Facebook. I take my pills.  THEN it’s . . . the Golden Hour!

I write until I’m hungry for lunch. I stop, eat, and get back to work. I usually don’t stop until dinner. I’m so glad I have hours, not minutes! That’s when I do my manuscript writing. That’s when I work on those stories I want to publish.
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Lately it’s been the 4 manuscripts for the agent audition challenge. I won’t finish in time for February, but I’ve been given as much extra time as I need. 
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SAFETY POWER SUPER STARS is almost ready. It’s the farthest along, even though it’s only been through 4 rounds of critiques. Lynne Marie, the Picture Book Mechanic, is the toughest critiquer I’ve met, but her suggestions have moved my stories farther than anyone else. I trust her judgement!
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She said it’s time to send if off to Rate Your Story. The last time SAFETY POWER got a 6, not so good. She thinks it will get a much higher score this time. My fingers are crossed!
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My duck story has changed titles since I started the audition challenge. It used to be PEACE AT THE DOCK. Now it’s DUCKS AT THE DOCK. The main character’s name changed too, from Drake to Liam. They’re small changes, but small changes add up!
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The ducks have been through 5 rounds of editing. They’re closer. The bones are good, but they still need a little fine tuning . . . so I’ll keep editing and revising.

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​My Nativity story has been through 5 rounds of revision. Lynne Marie did the last 2 so I’m making major changes. It’s good, but it’s also a struggle.

We did a zoom call when the ducks gave me fits. It helped. I looked at her Nativity comments and knew it was time to zoom again. I took notes, then left them in the computer while I finished work on another manuscript.
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I gave yesterday/today’s golden hours to the Nativity. Both days I doubted my revisions. Funny, but when I reread yesterday’s changes, I felt better. I hope it will be true tomorrow too.
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My dog story has also been through 5 rounds of revision. I have a feeling I didn’t go far enough with Lynne Marie’s suggestions. I tried. I did the ones I felt comfortable with. I pushed them as far as I could with my golden hours last week.
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I sent it off tonight. Now it will sit in the computer and wait to see what Lynne Marie thinks. In the meantime, the Nativity and the ducks will bask in my golden hours.



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Poor Blue! He’s a poison dart frog, and he’s gotten very little golden time. He’s part of the sequel I’m planning for Zoe. Her lake scavenger hunt is coming out March 9th. I hope next spring the zoo scavenger hunt will come out too.
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For now, the other 4 stories come first, but I managed to work on the zoo, during non-golden hours. I roughed out the outline, researched my animals, and wrote the first chapter. It’s a start, but there’s so much more to do.


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​Poor ants! They’re part of my middle grade chapter book. They haven’t been touched for the last 3 months. They’re on the back burner for now, but I have a plan. It’s waiting for the end of the agent audition challenge. Then those ants will get the golden hour attention they deserve. 

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