Stephen King has a routine, as do many writers. For Mr. King, mornings are for writing. Afternoons are for walking and reading.

This is a plan I am adopting in this, my new life as a full-time novelist. As a morning person, I’m embracing Mr. King’s routine.

Summers are especially productive. As early as 5:30 a.m., I can escape to my deck with my coffee, my laptop, and a stack of papers. Up until now, I’ve always done this with a little bit of guilt, knowing that I should be doing something else or that something needed to be cleaned or cooked or organized or messaged—all those life obligations that every wife, mother, and employee feels.

But now mornings are my “professional” time. My office time, as it were.

So as the blue jays chirp, the cardinals chip and the squirrels fuss in the trees around my deck, I am in the place I have always wanted to be.

And I am loving it.