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When to Write?
Morning, Day, Evening or Night?

(finding time to write)

When to write? Which is the best time of the day to work on your book?

We all have different daily rhythms. Some are morning persons, some can concentrate best in the afternoons. Some writers do all their writing in the evenings. And of course there are the famous night owls.

This may have nothing to do with the fact when you wake up. If you have a day (or night) job, you have to get up based on your work shift. Your job may not be in harmony with your inner clock at all. It could be that the time you can find for your writing is a time when you are too tired to write well. 

What you need to do is to keep track of your days and see when you are most productive writing-wise.  Try to find time to write new words during those times.

You may have a time slot for writing when you know you don't have the energy to concentrate on the actual story / book. If this is so, use the time for writing-related things. Routine maintenance if you will: emails, research, social media (I mean here creating a presence as a writer on social media, not liking cat videos).



When to write your book?When to write your book? Morning, day, evening?

when to write - what is the best time of the day for you?

morning

Mornings are often a good time for writing - you mind has rested, and ideas pop out easier.

Try to do your writing as early in the day as possible, without looking at your emails, before life throws its demands at you. It may mean you need to get up earlier. Not necessarily every morning. You may even plan waking up earlier during your free days if your weekday mornings are impossible. If you use your workday mornings, remember to go to bed  earlier the previous evening. If you are sleep-deprived, your writing won't be the best. Not to mention you'll probably start snapping at the people around you at some point.

daytime

No, don't write during your working hours - you can guess twice how much your boss would like that... But perhaps you could come a little earlier to work and write a few words before your work day begins? Especially if your mornings are a recurring household emergency.

Also you might consider writing a few minutes after your working hours end? (Just clock out before you do this so no one can say you use actual work hours.)

Use your breaks at work: coffee breaks, lunch breaks. I started the habit of using my breaks when I studied Egyptology. Two coffee breaks during the day gave me almost half an hour to work on my assignments and essays. I could then flesh out these on my free time. For five years I used all my breaks for studies. Once I received my Diploma in Egyptology it was not difficult to use those breaks for planning my novels instead. My mind had learned to write in short bursts already. 

Surprisingly, your workplace may be just the place where you are not disturbed as much as you would be at home. Depends on many factors of course - if you need to fetch the kids after your work, don't keep them waiting.

evenings

When to write if  your life is so packed that you only really have time to write late in the evenings or at night even? Well - it seems that is your only option. But you are tired, most likely, so it is important to plan beforehand when you will write. When you are tired, you are easily distracted into activities that give instant gratification - such as social media, games and chats. Not to mention the good old TV...

Take a little rest, and don't put the TV on. Place your notebook / laptop / pad - whatever you write with - next to you. And after a little rest get up and get started. Don't wait for inspiration. It probably only comes when you start writing. Don't demand perfection from your writing. Editing comes later. 

I often have my pad in my hands when I watch the news. I'm not writing a story, but I may be planning one. I can't do this if I follow a series, but news broadcasts are something I have heard during the day many times so I just glimpse if something is of interest. But then again I have always worked on noisy environments, with constant interruptions, so I am used to it. Background noises don't bother me much. But I do recommend you stay away from TV if you work in the evenings. Too easy to give in and be entertained by it when you should be writing. 

Back to Homepage from When To Write

Back to Finding Time to Write main page from When to Write



Click on the Leenasbooks Newsletter headline above  to go to the newsletter blog's first page on Substack to see what it is about.

You can read the past posts there, and check if you are interested in listening to the audio chapters of my published books, or follow my stories as I write them.

Upon subscribing you will get the Prequel to Nephilim Quest: Angel.

Over two hundred years before Nephilim Quest 1 / Shadowhunter the roots of the story are planted.

A little girl missing her mother, in the palace of the mightiest of the dark Nephilim, hoping for an escape ...  

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