Best time to write?

[Burst]

Some people write in the morning or in the afternoon and some write at night. When do you think is the best time to write?

 

[Roc]

Anytime I feel the inspiration to write...the drive to do it. Usually in the early mornings though, on the weekends, because I simply can't find time during the week.

 

[Guru Coyote]

Recently i found it very productive to write when I am rather tired. When I am not all awake, my inner critic is not all that activeand th writing flows more easily. (I tend to over edit my own work otherwise)

Obviously that is only really useful when writing first drafts, when what counts is getting the story down.

 

[Penpilot]

I don't think there is a best time to write. There may be a best time for yourself, but that'll be different for each person, because of the rhythms of a person's body as well as their lives. I'm a night owl. I tend to like writing between 9pm-2am. But life doesn't always let me do that. I'm not a morning person, but I have to do a lot of my writing in the morning. So now, I try to write in the morning, a little more in the afternoon, time permitting, and more in the evening. I find that each time of the day gives me a different benefit.

In the morning, after tea, I feel more alert and I tend to be more on the ball with the mechanics of my writing. If I know what needs to be done, it's easier to focus in the morning. In the evening, I tend to be more in tune with the emotional side of the writing. I tend to be more technically sloppy but think out of the box more when I'm trying to solve problems. I also never do major edits in the evening because tired judgement isn't good judgement. In the afternoon, as expected, it's a middle of the road thing.

 

[Guru Coyote]

In the evening, I tend to be more in tune with the emotional side of the writing.
...
I also never do major edits in the evening because tired judgement isn't good judgement.

Yeah, that's very much how it is for me too... Evenings are for generating ideas and building the theme and the feel of the story.

What I am a bit vary of in terms of doing edits in the morning... I fear I might not be "in the feel" of the story I have written in the evening state... I've tried this with raw and un-edited versions of scenes I gave to people to read, and also with ones that I edited with a focused mind... The verdict was that by editing I had lost some of the power of the original version...

 

[srcroft]

When your excited about the pages your working on. For me I tend to work all hours when I have free time, and at work i carry i journal for notes about my story.

 

[srcroft]

Thats pretty cool, ya sometimes I run into over editing too, even during a draft. Silly hard to break habit. Feels like if you lose that change or thought you'll never get it back. Instead of having 5 chapters done, I'll have one really refined one heh.

 

[Guru Coyote]

Feels like if you lose that change or thought you'll never get it back.

That thought is a TRAP
I used to think that I had to perserve everything I ever wrote... but now I learn that once I wrote it, I can do it again. So if I get an idea, I just plot it down in a rough form. Sometimes I don't even save the draft. Having put it into words once, I can do it again, even if I tossed the original.
(This is waht "kill your darlings" really is about ^^)

 

[srcroft]

I actually lost 200 pages of my novel and am in the process of redoing the entire draft. It actually will be better for it. Easier to cut things when you have no choice heh But ya it is a trap. Now I do outlines as well, plot points, and I write it in scenes. Then it can be formed the best way to tell the story.

 

[Weaver]

I have two answers to this question:

1) Whenever you can
2) Whenever you have something to write about

I don't believe there is such thing as 'best time of day to write,' except on an individual level: if YOU find that you write better in the early morning before the concerns of mundane life converge on you, that's the time of day you should be writing. However, some people write best in the afternoon, or in the small hours of the night, and none of them are 'doing it wrong' if that is what works for them.

I share an apartment - and a computer - with another writer. I have a 'day job' as a freelance proofreader/editor, and he is currently a graduate student. Both of us have to get our writing done whenever we can: whenever the computer is not being used by the other person, whenever we don't have other work that must be done first, whenever we can spare the time from trivial stuff like sleeping... I have never been able to have a set time to sit down and write each day, and although I know of some writers who prefer a schedule, I don't believe that is is necessary for everyone. Just don't ignore your muse if a great scene for a story suddenly thwaps you upside the head at an inconvenient time. At the very least, jot down some notes so you can find the ideas later when you are able to do some serious writing. Ignore inspiration when it comes, and it will stop coming.

 

[wordwalker]

One theory I've heard is that the human mind is most creative and social in the morning, and in the afternoon is just tired enough to be good at being critical. I've always liked that, and noticed how many radio stations do their talk in the morning and go all-music to soothe away the afternoon.

So in the morning I do the most organic parts of laying out a scene and try to build momentum writing it; in the afternoon I prefer to review what I've got and ask all the tough questions about what the next thing needs.

But, no question, it's always good to have a pad handy for Sudden Thoughts, and to train yourself to stop at odd moments and ask "what should I do here--" (I hate "writing" at night, but I've done a lot with odd thoughts and theories then that just kept building.)

 

[Garrus]

Hello Burst!

I tend to write the chapter outline through scenes in yWriter5 in the evenings when i'm low on energy. It'll keep me going without having to be overly detail-oriented. Then i use those scenes / outlines in the morning to write the actual material or edit what i already have.

 

[WyrdMystic]

I'm a night person. My brain doesn't really wake up until it gets dark. I work in the day and do my writing in the evenings when the monsters are asleep. I also find that’s when I’m most creative, although it helps that I have ideas stored up during the day so I can just vomit words when it comes to it.

 

[Gurkhal]

As a morning person mornings would have been the best time for me to write if it wasn't that its also the best time for me to do all the other important stuff I need to do. Therefor I'm mostly regulated to writing in the evening.

 

[Leif Notae]

I always think of it the same way you would conduct a battle. The mornings are when you are at your freshest and the evenings are always when you recover. Of course, this doesn't apply to everyone but it should be when you are awake and ready to go. It also means getting enough sleep and having some structure.

Then again, that is just me...

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

For me, writing is a solitary endeavor. I need a quiet, dark place. Preferably this place also contains a bottle of strong drink.

I do try to write when I can during the day. However, I find the constant interruptions (a.k.a. Day job) to be limiting in terms of quality & quantity.

Late at night, when the wife & kiddies are asleep, I shut myself away in the office and stay there until I reach my word count goal. Since I tend to write dark stories, I find the mood of my words are enhanced by the environment.

 

[WyrdMystic]

For me, writing is a solitary endeavor. I need a quiet, dark place. Preferably this place also contains a bottle of strong drink.

I do try to write when I can during the day. However, I find the constant interruptions (a.k.a. Day job) to be limiting in terms of quality & quantity.

Late at night, when the wife & kiddies are asleep, I shut myself away in the office and stay there until I reach my word count goal. Since I tend to write dark stories, I find the mood of my words are enhanced by the environment.

I hear that! Nice to know I'm not the only one. Incidentally, when I started reading your post, I imagined someone sitting in a dank cave, water dripping from the ceiling, and a crate of moonshine.

 

[CupofJoe]

After some coffee [okay a lot of coffee] I like to write early in the morning, until work or other real world events impinge...
The other time is about 10.30 at work... I often get a need to write then... probably my subconscious has just worked out what had to be fixed with what I was writing earlier in the day...
Just about any time is okay for world building but I like to have books around me to look things up - if I go to t'interweb I never come back...

 

[Weaver]

One theory I've heard is that the human mind is most creative and social in the morning

What about all those who are definitely NOT morning people?

My twin and I both tend to do our best "writing" (not only the actual act of putting words on the page, but also brainstorming and plotting and worldbuilding and all the rest) late in the day - at least 7 p.m. and often not before midnight. I suppose, though, that the key word in the above quote is human.

 

[Sheriff Woody]

The morning is whenever you wake up.

I like doing creative work late at night when it's dark and quiet and nobody is around and there is little sound to disturb me. Then I can be alone in my thoughts and not worry about anything else. The day is done. It's time for me, now.