Writer’s unblock
WORK • Tuesday Routine
MARY MORRIS • writer
Neighborhood you work in: Park Slope
It’s Tuesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I’m a writer, so I’ve always worked from home. Tuesday isn’t really that different from any other day of the week. Just me and the blank page. (I will say that Tuesday is sometimes a better writing day for me than Monday, when I seem to be gearing up for the week, or recovering from the weekend.)
I can work pretty much from anywhere. I love to work from hotel rooms, especially if they have nice vistas or balconies. I also love working on trains (not airplanes; too cramped). Otherwise I’m working from my home office in our brownstone in Brooklyn. My studio is on the top floor and it’s bright and airy — I’m in the treetops. In May, I turned in a novel, The Red House, that I’ve been working on for quite a while. It will be published by Doubleday in May 2025.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I got up at about 6 a.m. and had a slow start, which I love. Coffee, some reading time, my morning puzzles (very important). Then I spent an hour going through my journal. I keep extensive journals and, as I’m a bit in between projects, I’m mining them for new material, ideas, tiny nuggets, something that might be the germ of my next project.
At 8 a.m. I walk my dog. We have a large, redbone coonhound named James Thurber, who requires an hour or so walk every morning, so my husband, Larry, and I went up to Prospect Park. We like to take that hour, chatting about the day ahead as we both work from home. We got home at about 9:30 and I made breakfast. I love eggs. Ever since I read that Ian Fleming had to have eggs every morning I’ve felt less guilty about this. I made some scrambled eggs with spinach and feta (we’re just back from Greece).
In the afternoon, I’m headed to the pool. I try to go three or four times a week. When I swim, I’m working in my head. I’ve resolved a lot of plot points during a swim.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
My husband and I have a favorite local place which is basically an extension of our kitchen. It’s called Stone Park Cafe and it’s our stammlokal. (That’s German for your local hangout.) Full disclosure: Stone Park is closed on Tuesday but we go often and whenever we can. Larry gets a gin martini and I get a glass of rosé (but I drink about a third of his martini; he accepts this). He almost always orders the burger and fries. I get whatever.
How about a little leisure or culture this week?
During the week life can be crazy (also my husband works every day from 1-9 p.m.), but on the weekend we love to enjoy NYC. We keep a little folder of shows we don’t want to miss, exhibitions that might be closing soon. We try to do at least one cultural activity on the weekend (otherwise why live in NYC?). Often it’s a museum and dinner — there’s a favorite Basque restaurant, Txikito in Chelsea, where we plan to meet friends this weekend.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
Our only big ticket purchases are for travel — the most recent, round trip airfare, JFK-Athens. (We skipped the $5000/night hideaway on Mykonos. But I’m sure Jay-Z and Beyonce enjoyed it.)