The Best Time to Write?

4:30AM - 5:30AM Every day.

It varies for me.

I have SWD (Seasonal Writing Disorder). I write like a maniac from first frost until spring (often to the point that people call me a shut-in and I don't wear anything but pajamas). During that time I can get in a good 4000-5000 words a day. During warmer seasons I have to force myself to write, but I can still get in a good 2000 if I use a little self-discipline. (Oh...and night works best from me, but I'm a night person.)

After dark. I'm no use to man nor beast in the mornings, but no matter how tired I am, I get my second wind in the evening and write best between 10pm-2am. So that's...now!

I've been writing more than ever but the time still varies. I write when I can fit it in.

I can write anytime but I prefer writing in the mornings to early afternoon. After that, I am pretty tired and it becomes harder for me to concentrate. Though I have discovered if I am up later at night into the wee hours of the morning, I can put out some fantastic poetry.

I write best from 10pm to 5am.

I am not a morning person and I simply cannot function properly. Night comes and watch out! I will write until dawn.

Does anyone else do frantic writing runs (like...say...twenty hours straight, only stopping for coffee and potty breaks)?

kayleamay said:

Does anyone else do frantic writing runs (like...say...twenty hours straight, only stopping for coffee and potty breaks)?

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i do novel marathons. i'm addicted to them. they are 48 hour marathons. no sleep. just first word to last word...a full novel in 2 days. i love it this way!

I write my best stuff from 9pm till morning just because there are less interuptions for me during this time.

But as long as I have some awesome inspiration, I can crank it out whenever (these times I'm usually wacked out on caffeine/sugar mostly).

KTC --Holy smokes!!

Kayleamay--Uh, Wow!!

I don't write at a specific time. It's usually just whenever I'm able to fit it in.

kayleamay said:

Does anyone else do frantic writing runs (like...say...twenty hours straight, only stopping for coffee and potty breaks)?

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When I get a good flow. YUP

KTC said:

i do novel marathons. i'm addicted to them. they are 48 hour marathons. no sleep. just first word to last word...a full novel in 2 days. i love it this way!

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Oh...that would be fun. Of course, I'd be so highly caffeinated by the end someone would have to peel me off the wall and the last chapter would read something like this.

He took the...thing he was holding in the last chapter in his right...no left...no right hand then swung it at...whatever that other characters name was.
"What the hell?" she asked as her head caved in. Most people wouldn't be able to talk with their heads caved in, but she could, cause I said so.
"Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else," he said.

The End.

kayleamay said:

Oh...that would be fun. Of course, I'd be so highly caffeinated by the end someone would have to peel me off the wall and the last chapter would read something like this.

He took the...thing he was holding in the last chapter in his right...no left...no right hand then swung it at...whatever that other characters name was.
"What the hell?" she asked as her head caved in. Most people wouldn't be able to talk with their heads caved in, but she could, cause I said so.
"Oh, sorry. I thought you were someone else," he said.

The End.

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ha. i'm telling you...it's like having a spiritual moment. by the time you reach about the 30th hour you have to be vigilant not to write the nonsense crap that goes through your sleep deprived mind. it's a matter of meditating and focusing. it's a huge rush. sometimes when i am in the editing process i'll find a couple of words that seem to be dropped down from outer space...hallucination moments.

4:30-6:00 every morning, while watching Venus rise over my computer.

Come first frost, I will be attempting this. I'm expecting the result to be humorous. Unfortunately, I don't write humor.

Brutal Mustang said:

4:30-6:00 every morning, while watching Venus rise over my computer.

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Thanks for making me feel like a slacker! I stop at 5:30. (-:

kayleamay said:

Come first frost, I will be attempting this. I'm expecting the result to be humorous. Unfortunately, I don't write humor.

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There's no time like the presence. It's just funny words. Or is that words in a funny order. Oh hell...whatever. As long as you spell it humour, you're good to go.

KTC said:

There's no time like the presence. It's just funny words. Or is that words in a funny order. Oh hell...whatever. As long as you spell it humour, you're good to go.

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See? I can't even spell now...and I'm well rested. Imagine the catastrophe I could write on no sleep.

(I wrote a whole chapter in my last book with the main characters name misspelled. Cool huh?)

kayleamay said:

See? I can't even spell now...and I'm well rested. Imagine the catastrophe I could write on no sleep.

(I wrote a whole chapter in my last book with the main characters name misspelled. Cool huh?)

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lol. You spelled it right for YOUR country. I'm in Canada. Up here we have all sorts of extra U letters to use up.

Darn you Canadians and your maple leaf flag.

KTC said:

ha. i'm telling you...it's like having a spiritual moment. by the time you reach about the 30th hour you have to be vigilant not to write the nonsense crap that goes through your sleep deprived mind. it's a matter of meditating and focusing. it's a huge rush. sometimes when i am in the editing process i'll find a couple of words that seem to be dropped down from outer space...hallucination moments.

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I get like this when I'm sleep-deprived. Never tried it fresh-in-the-morning tired though.

Slightly off-topic, but...have you noticed a difference between that sort, and the 'been up for two days' straight' tired? It's more hypnotic. I get closer to the dreamworld whereas if I'm just out of bed and dozy, that's an itchy-eyes, headscratchy tired. I'm too clunky in the head to get the words out. But if I'm tired at the other end of the scale, it's like...fuzzy. Rather than fighting to wake up it's like my brain touches the dream world. My internal editor goes to sleep but my subconscious wakes up.

I forget to edit as I write and sometimes I write like a drunk woman. Putting together words and phrases I never would have thought of with a fresh, rested mind, because fresh, rested minds are so far away from the dreamworld. They don't need to touch it; they're alert and human and functional.

So yeah. I like end-of-the-day tiredness. It's more creative than the "Jeez, I'm tired but I need to have a bath and go out and do stuff," exhaustion.

KTC said:

4:30AM - 5:30AM Every day.

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Yikes! I'd be writing nonsense, yawning with my head down on the keyboard.

scarletpeaches said:

I get like this when I'm sleep-deprived. Never tried it fresh-in-the-morning tired though.

Slightly off-topic, but...have you noticed a difference between that sort, and the 'been up for two days' straight' tired? It's more hypnotic. I get closer to the dreamworld whereas if I'm just out of bed and dozy, that's an itchy-eyes, headscratchy tired. I'm too clunky in the head to get the words out. But if I'm tired at the other end of the scale, it's like...fuzzy. Rather than fighting to wake up it's like my brain touches the dream world. My internal editor goes to sleep but my subconscious wakes up.

I forget to edit as I write and sometimes I write like a drunk woman. Putting together words and phrases I never would have thought of with a fresh, rested mind, because fresh, rested minds are so far away from the dreamworld. They don't need to touch it; they're alert and human and functional.

So yeah. I like end-of-the-day tiredness. It's more creative than the "Jeez, I'm tired but I need to have a bath and go out and do stuff," exhaustion.

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Me too.