Some people write best in the morning, probably because they are morning people. They awaken and are ready to write. Their brains aren’t sluggish or filled with thoughts or worries from the day. Everything is fresh, like grass covered with dew. That time is precious to them. They try to safeguard it.
Unfortunately, life isn’t always conducive to writing when one writes best. Morning people don’t always get to write in the morning, and afternoon and evening people don’t always get to write in the afternoons or evenings. They have jobs that require them to be at the workplace by eight. They might be married. They could have kids. Their best writing times conflict with their other responsibilities and possible joys, so they cope as best they can. They sneak away for a few minutes at night to write. They awaken earlier and earlier in the morning. They use their lunch breaks as writing breaks.
They could complain that they don’t get to write when they write best, and it could be a valid complaint. Most writers know when their work is sub-par. They have certain spaces and times in which they write best, and they recognize them. Those writers also know that not writing is not an option. They have to continue writing, even if it means writing when they’re tired or drained. They have to safeguard what time they do have available to them. Their writing – and possibly their sanity – depends upon it.
Image: Greg Turner (CC BY NC SA 2.0)
I write best in the middle of the night with insomnia!
evelynalauer I’m glad you can! My brain only races when I have insomnia, but it doesn’t usually produce anything worthwhile when it comes to writing.
I have two favorite times.
The first is almost every day between eight and ten in the evening. I rarely miss that writing block.
The second is during the day, if I’m out and about and at a restaurant, coffee shop, or bar. Writing in public gets my writing juices flowing. If I spend all day at home, I’m more likely to think about the next chapter and mull it over, but not actually write until after eight.
The only time I write in the morning is if I haven’t been to bed.
ExtremelyAvg I think that makes you more of a night owl. 🙂
I’ve had to learn to write at night even though it’s not, by any means, my best time to write.
I’m with ExtremelyAvg both on writing at night and in public places. Although I probably go a little later at night. Being a writer is San Francisco is not bad at all – a good place for writing in public and generally the weather is pretty agreeable to writing outdoors. (Of course, I’m no longer in San Francisco…)
barrettrossie ExtremelyAvg You two are the polar opposite of me when it comes to peak writing times and places. 🙂