We’ve talked about where people write, but reader Roberto Soto was the first to pose this one: when do you write?
Are you like Jeff Abbott in the early days, getting up at 4am with a little suspense writing to start your day?
Or do you write when the inspiration strikes?
Lots of people have asked me this question since last Thursday, and let me just say that while being an agent is indeed a hectic profession I know for a fact I am not nearly as busy as some of the people who read this blog (for one, I don’t have kids). And as those of you who are insanely busy know, there’s always time to write. You might just need to force yourself to write during the times when every atom in your body would rather be doing something else.
What about you?
Megan says
I do my most productive writing on my laptop right before bed; however, I write random bits and pieces throughout the day in a small notebook I keep in my purse. I'm working on my first novel, so finding a routine is still something I'm hashing out.
iamfrightenedtoo says
i am sporadic, different times different days. i don't write productive things everyday, a lot of time i just diary my sports thoughts until something hits me.
most of the time i will sit and look at a blank piece of paper and day dream about things, forgetting to type or write anything for hours
therese says
I write when I'm rested, fed, watered, fluffed and the muse is gently dancing on the keyboards.
But as a professional writer with a desire to be a published author, I work primarily between 10A-3P and take a break for a few hours for chores so I can be fed, with a roof over my head, clothes on my body.
Then I will work again in the evenings, if left in peace, in my office. Eventually, I will entice the muse with a glass of wine, and contemplate writing something, but only if the muse agrees to keep the wine off my keyboard.
Seidel says
I take a break from work in the morning, usually around 8:30 and go to a coffee shop and write longhand in a, yes, wait for it, a black & white marble composition notebook. Then I type and edit at night, about 10 PM, with a goal of adding 2000 words.
Literary Cowgirl says
Reading about all of these late nighters reminds me of Tennessee Williams. He worked insane hours in a factory and used every other moment for writing, living on double steeped tea and creativity. The stress of going long periods without sleep led to him collapsing. Unfortuantely, his sister was very fragile and it took a worse strain on her than it did him. Legend has it that her condition inspired BLUE ROSES.
SFixe says
I take my laptop almost everywhere and write whenever I can fit it in during my day, which most days is after 11pm when I finally have the house to myself.
But even when I'm not physically typing the words that go through my mind all day long, I'm thinking about writing–sometimes when I should be thinking about my kids.
Carla Gade says
When don't I write? Actually, I like to write at night. I'm a night owl.
Cindy says
I write any time I can catch a spare moment in the day. When I worked, I would do it on breaks or find little piece of paper or napkins to write myself notes or specific scenes. Now that I stay at home with two children, I write a lot at night or during naps. I go through scenes in my head when I'm doing mundane things (like the laundry) and let it build until I can get in front of the computer. Usually then it just pours out.
Lani says
I write when I have a deadline, or can make myself believe that I do. Then I'll write in whatever hours or minutes are available, usually with a mug of tea and a bag of carrots at my side.
Lea McKee says
Whenever insipartion hits and on rainy days, it just seems like the perfect time and my writing mindset seems to agree.
Tim Heath says
My best writing time is first thing in the day, so anything between about 8am and 12pm, usually in at least a three hour chunk.
I don't even bother try writing any other times.
Reba says
Late nights, weekends, holiday breaks. Whenever I can, really. I do a lot of "writing" as I drive across the prairie, so sometimes I rush into the house and hop on the computer so I can jot down plot points or snippets of conversation before they fade. It's a good thing my husband can cook and my kids are used to eating a bit late.
T.Wolfe says
I always seem to be writing. I write at night at work, when I get home, and in the car when inspiration strikes. I just cannot put the pen down.
Hank says
I'm glad to see someone else gets in around 20 minutes at night. I teach Kindergarten… God those little buggers have a lot of energy! By evening, i have little to none!
Veronica Barton-Dean says
Because I'm like most unpublished, but working-to-be-published writers, I have a day job. This lovely job, which supplies me with many interesting characters, also requires that I work 60 hours a week. I'm also very busy with two active children. Usually once the kids hit the bed around nine, I spend two to three hours working on my projects. My days off are typically through the week, so it allows me to use those days to write while my children are in school. I actually just addressed this topic in my own blog.
John says
When I have completely run out of excuses. The apartment is clean, the trash is out, emails done. Nothing left to procrastinate with.
Christine H says
I have some questions, if y'all don't mind:
1. If you write in very short intervals, how have you trained yourself to turn off the muse when it's time to stop?
2. If you write (or think about writing) all the time, how has this affected your family and/or productivity at work?
3. If you write in the late evening or very early morning, how do you compensate for the lack of sleep? After all, caffeine only goes so far.
Roberto says
I suppose I should ask what I've asked 🙂 (BTW, I think Nathan's mail reader ate my first surname)
I write better late at night, when my girlfriend has gone to sleep and everything is quiet. I like to get up early, but somehow, when I do, the creative juices do not flow. They seem to thaw during the day and be completely fluid by night.
Myrna says
I write when the kiddos are sleeping. Unfortunately, the youngest is still up.
Gargi says
Work takes up 10-12 hours a day, and the toddler takes up the evening. So writing time is usually around midnight to one am.
Word ver: ermnoun
A hesitant noun?
Maya / מיה says
I actually like to write in the middle of the day, right after lunch.
Deidra says
I wish I had the time to write every day. Unfortunately, I don't do well writing in little bits and pieces. I need a block of time all to myself with nothing else on my agenda. I am a weekend writer and will sit for hours at a time on a Saturday cranking out new chapters.
Joseph L. Selby says
The time I write is dictated by the place I write. I write on the commuter rail, so I write in the morning and again in the afternoon. I write at the local diner counter, so I write on the weekends in the late morning during breakfast. Sometimes I am so overcome by the need to write that the time doesn't matter. I just gotta get it out or there will be no peace.
David says
Whenever I'm at the computer and can get myself started – and don't get lured by the internet.
I try to write every day.
s.w. vaughn says
All. The. Time.
Especially now. I have a revision deadline (Monday).
Then what am I doing here reading Nathan's blog?
Procrastination. I does it. 🙂
kitty cat says
I get up around 4am, after a little coffee, I settle down to write. It's so quiet. No phones and no interuptions, that is the best way for me to keep focused. Sometimes I will edit while watching English football, or major league soccer.
Terry says
I write early mornings.
When I first starting writing fiction I was waking up at night all the time and losing sleep. So I broke myself of the habit.
But sometimes still a scene will wake me, and try as do to ignore it, it haunts me so much I'll get up and write it.
Karen says
My writing time is tied directly to where. In bed. Early morning is the best time for me, before I begin anything else. I sleep better at night knowing I'll be up early. I grab the laptop as I rub sleep from the corners of my closed eyes. Then I open one eye at a time waiting for my pupils to adjust to the brightness of the screen. With the bong of the Mac start-up, that's the alarm that triggers the writer in me.
Lisa R says
I'm so encouraged to see all these other writers doing the same things I am doing, especially writing "when the kids are asleep"! I actually carry a small notebook around in my pocketbook and I write literally whenever I get a spare moment even if this means standing in line at the grocery store. I actually take it into the bathtub with me at night after my toddler is asleep and the husband is firmly ensconced in front of the TV. I type up what I've written later when I can carve out larger periods of time but for the sake of just getting it out I am constantly scribbling in my notebook (waiting at the bank drive through; waiting in the car while the husband "runs in" to the Home Depot while the child is asleep in her car seat; sitting next to the bath tub while the child plays in the tub; if my boss lets me go 15 mins early from work, I write in the car instead of rushing home.)
Bigby says
I bought a vibrating alarm watch so that I could wake, silently, to write, draw, or otherwise create for two hours before my wife and kids arise. There's something affirmational about setting that alarm and going downstairs, laptop in hand, while they sleep on–as if I'm saying to myself, "I am going to be productive, I am going to work on this manuscript, I am going to finish the sketches for the picture book, etc."
In looking through these posts I'm astonished at all the other parents who are able to write at night. All of you are clearly made of tougher stuff than I. By my kids bedtime, I'm so exhausted that trying to write is just about impossible.
Etiquette Bitch says
5 or 6 am is best for me. I like to go until 7:30, better if I can go until 9. Then I get on w/ my day. I'm most creative during the super-early hours, and my ego isn't awake either to send me all those BS negative messages.
Mara Wolfe says
I write when I have time periodically throughout the day. I can't write for more than thrity minutes at a time, so I break it up.
Anonymous says
I also write late at night. There's not much to distract me (traffic, family, dogs, phone, etc). As tired as I am physically, I feel most productive at that time.
shiraz13 says
I try to write all the time, but it seems as though my "best" writing happens late at night before I go to sleep. So much wants to come out, but my mind and drooping eyelids are usually playing tug-of war. :o(
YourFireAnt says
Any time I can. I get best results from doing it during other things. Like in class during an exam. In a meeting that I am recording. At dinner with a friend. Etc.
T.
Amber says
My best writing is in the morning, between 7am and 9am. If I can drag myself out of bed and have a yogurt, then that's the time I'll do it. 🙂
Christine H says
I never really answered the question. I'm a college professor and mom, so I'm pretty busy. But I do have several weeks between semesters, so I usually do most of my writing during those semester breaks.
At least until I can establish a better routine.
Thomas Burchfield says
The morning, when I'm fresh. In this case, I eat dessert first.
goldchevy says
I write when I am inspired which is usually at the least opportune moments like when I am driving the curvy country backroads to work or when I am in the middle of teaching a lesson for 40 high school seniors. They will just all of a sudden say something that will light up the muse.
Francy says
To me writing is a round the clock activity. I think,"Squeeze the ball,then let go". I nourish myself with whatever is pressing on me. This becomes the story/the poem/the blog/the novel. I also wait to remember things that seem important/ideas that reoccur over a period of time. By the time I hit the computer/I know what I'm going to say. My life is writing/but unless I've engaged the community/there is nothing to say. Francy Stoller
Nathan says
I typically write when I'm inspired. Forcing myself to write almost always results in something that closely resembles chocolate chip cookies without the chocolate chips.
Christine H says
I used to feel like that, Nathan. But I found that inspiration is a fickle thing. I've been surprised how the chocolate chips seem to suddenly develop when I spend a little time baking.
I'm feeling quite inspired by all these people who say that they write in short stints (like only 20 mins per day) and are still able to be productive. I've often thought that if I just disciplined myself to stop and start at the given time, I *could* get into a routine.
sharonedge says
I'm supposed to be writing now, but I'm answering emails (a form of writing, one might argue).
When I was teaching school, I tried to write 15-30 minutes every morning before I left for work. In this way, I could write the rough draft of a novel in a school year and revise during the summer. I had no time for marketing these novels, however.
It is better for me to write a few minutes every day and keep the story going than to carve out large chunks of time every few days.
Christine H says
Being a math person, I couldn't help tallying the responses so far.
Please note that some people mentioned more than one writing time so the total here will be more than the number of comments:
Early morning – 22
Block of morning time – 15
Block of midday time – 12
Lunch hour – 5
Afternoon block or during kids' naps – 19
Evening (5-9 pm) – 26
Late night (10pm – midnight) – 48
Wee hours (midnight – 3 am) – 18
When Inspiration strikes – 15
All the time, or whenever I can find time during the day – 51
Blocks of time on weekends – 14
Creative bursts (holidays, mid-semester, days off, etc.) – 13
What was not captured here was whether the individual responders were being paid to write or not. I suspect that most of those who are under contract have regularly scheduled blocks of time.
Lia Mack says
not that you'll read this comment after the 283 comments before this one…but I write when I can't sleep, late at night, early morning, and anytime that inspiration hits and I can put everything else away…sometimes that'll equate to 2 hours a day, sometimes 4…sometimes less than 5 minutes! I have two kids and two jobs, but like you said, there is always time to write when it's your passion…
Nathan Bransford says
I read all the comments.
Wild Child says
When ever I have a free moment, which is usually about 9:30-midnight. Being a full time job holder and a full time mother makes it a challenge.
margaretdilloway says
I have three kids, and luckily they're all in school, so I drop them off and then write for an hour or two or three.
I must write first thing or I obsess and worry about the fact that I SHOULD be writing all day long.
Anonymous says
I try to write at some point in time every day– it changes depending on what my schedule is. Writing in the morning never really works for me on novel-length even getting up early, but writing short stories in the morning is fine.
I'm not sure why but I always find myself the most productive from around 7 or 8 in the evening onwards. I can write early in the morning but it always feels forced, like it's one more thing I've got to do during the day. Writing in the evening almost feels like a treat, weirdly enough.
DCS says
First thing in the morning. The house is quiet, my subconscious has been percolating for several hours. I actually get ideas while in twilight sleep. The I load on one cup of fresh coffee and get busy!