Sunday, February 19, 2012

Different Strokes for Different Folks


I’m a morning person. Most days, as soon as I wake up, I’m alert and ready to start my day. After coffee, of course. That’s why I choose to write in the morning; I’m fresh and at my best. When I’m writing, whether it’s the first draft of a manuscript or a rewrite, I focus on that. I don’t even check my email or answer my phone until I’m satisfied that I’ve produced the day’s writing. It’s too easy for me to get sidetracked, responding to emails, posting on Face Book and commenting on other writers’ blogs. I like to get up early but not as early as Louise, one of the characters in Mixed Messages.
Louise had tossed and turned all night long. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table: 4:58 a.m. The alarm would go off in two minutes. She reached over and turned it off. I don’t know why I bother to set it, she thought. No matter what time she went to bed, every morning for more years than she cared to remember, she had awakened at exactly the same time. Intuitively, her brain knew that it was time to get up.
But that’s not for everyone.
I have several friends and family members who, whenever possible, stay up until all hours and then sleep the morning away. And, I’ve read interviews with other writers who claim they’re the most productive at night. Just like Lawrence, another character in my book.
Lawrence was a night person. Long after his mother had gone to bed, he would stay up, reading or watching television. He loved the peace and quiet. It was “his time.” He wasn’t “on call” for his mother and there weren’t any of the little disturbances there were during the day such as telemarketers calling, the annoying noise of lawn mowers, leaf blowers and cars honking their horns. At night, there were no interruptions; he could do what he wanted to do.
What works for you? Are you an early bird or a night owl?

26 comments:

  1. Great post, Patricia. I am definitely a morning person. By evening my brain has turned to mush and I'm only good for reading or watching a DVD movie.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Enjoyed your post, Patricia. I wrote my first novel entirely between the hours of 10 pm and 2 p.m, for a sold month. It was a dreadful novel, but the writing adrenalin kept me high. Over the years I changed, and in the mid-nineties I wrote a novel entirely between the hours of 4:30 and 6:30 a.m. Like the first, this one never got published, but I had a great time writing. Now I write only on Sundays, all day Sundays. Whatever works.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John,
      You're much more versatile about your writing time than I've ever been. It's always been mornings for me. When I worked full-time, I only wrote on Sundays - definitely one of the reasons that it took me "forever" to finish "Mixed Messages."

      Delete
  3. I, like you, am definitely a morning person. I can get caught up with the bus'y'ness of the internet too. That said, my muse tends to whisper to me on the train. My iphone notes, tiny writing pads and sticky posts are filled with my jottings which I then transfer to my beloved pc. I'm thrilled to see your book cover here!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Theresa!
      Ah, notes! I may write only in the morning but I jot down notes throughout the day and evening. Actually, I keep a pad of paper and pen by my bed - for those ideas that pop up during the night.

      Delete
  4. I prefer mornings--if I can get to the computer before my husband grabs it. We have to share. I love the quiet without the television in the background, the street noise, and such questions as, "Honey, have you seen my other gym shoe?" I will write, however, whenever I get a chance. The back of a napkin will work. If there were such a thing as writers anonymous I would qualify. Wouldn't join though. This addiction is healthy

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Terry. I'll see you tomorrow night at our critique meeting.

      Delete
  5. Used to be a night person - wife said I came alive at midnight. But not any more. I do a little writing in the morning but mostly in the afternoon. I take a two-mile walk and let the current novel run thru my mind. Then I sit down and the words flow pretty well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dac,
      I find that I come up with my best ideas when I'm out walking or doing something else physical. I just have to remember to have paper and pen handy because otherwise, by the time I get home, I can easily have forgotten my "great" idea!

      Delete
  6. Night owl for work, early bird on days off. I can't wait for a copy of your book! Your cover is nice, and your snippits are pulling me in.
    Joe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joe,
      So good to hear from you! Thanks for your compliments and, most of all, your support!

      Delete
  7. There was a time (long, long ago) when I was a night person. Years as wire editor, when I had to be the first in the office, changed me to a morning person. I hoped retirement would give me opportunity to sleep in and go back to old habits. Didn't happen. I'm still awake at the crack of dawn.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John,
      A friend of mine doesn't understand why anyone, who doesn't HAVE TO get up early, would. He's one of those night people I wrote about.

      Delete
  8. Gosh, how I wish I had your discipline and did not allow myself to be distracted from my writing by pets, people, phone calls, emails, Facebook posts, feathers from the duvet, dust specks on the hardwood floor in the hall-- just any excuse at all to not face the empty page! You're an inspiration.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by, Marta.
      I'm a person who needs to totally focus, preferably on one thing at a time; I'm not the world's greatest at multitasking. So, realizing that, I gotta do what I gotta do if I'm gonna get done what I wanna get done! :)

      Delete
  9. Two words - office hours. With two babies and two hundred students, I have to grab the moments when they present themselves. That being said, I have weekly quotas I have to hit. Otherwise I feel great shame.

    William Doonan
    www.themummiesofblogspace9.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. William,
      I remember those days! You write when you can. You're obviously doing something right because, despite all your other obligations, you have a quota and you stick to it. "Mediterranean Grave" was awesome!

      Delete
  10. Right off the bat I have to wonder what Lawrence is up to at night. You got my attention.

    I'm a morning person, but somehow I manage to let those disruptions get in my way. It wasn't all that long ago that I never let all the little things distract me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Believe me, Marja, when I'm not actually writing or rewriting, I let distractions get to me too. I've been so involved with marketing for awhile now and, at some point soon, I need to get on with the rewrite for Book 2.

      Delete
  11. I´ve always been a night person -- still am. I´m also guilty of letting distractions keep me from my writing -- e-mail, telephone, house chores. I even try to schedule my teaching for afternoon or evenings. Right now I´m in Puerto Vallarta for this weekend´s writer´s conference. as a presenter, and I´m dreading being up and out of my hotel VERY early this Saturday and Sunday to be at the Biblioteca Los Mangos and look sharp! My three workshops start at 9 a.m. Pray for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Puerto Vallarta! How exciting! I'm so envious! I hope you have a great time - even though you do have to get up early!

      Delete
  12. I am more of a morning person and it is sad but I am ready for bed as soon as my 20 month twins go to sleep!
    I love the cover ofthe book and can't wait to read it!
    Carol Whalen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carol,
      Thanks for stopping by! I know the twins keep you busy; I admire you for doing all that you do.
      I'm glad you liked the cover for "Mixed Messages." I'm really pleased with it. Post Mortem Press did an excellent job.

      Delete
  13. I'm more of a mid-afternoon to early evening kind of writer, which drives my husband nuts because dinner time often gets shoved aside, unless I have crockpot meal in. I try to get the chores and gardening out of the way before I sit down at the computer. Once the computer goes off in early evening it has to stay off or I'm done for. I have been known to pull an all-nighter if I start writing too late in the evening. Boy, does that through the old schedule off! LOL

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Don't you just love those crock pots? I don't know what I'd do without mine.
      I agree with you about setting limits with the computer. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, we all have tons of other things (besides writing and marketing) that we need to get done.

      Delete