Reading time: About 3 minutes
I used to be a night person who wrote best at 1 a.m. Even though I mysteriously turned into a morning lark 10 years ago, I’m still sympathetic to those who prefer nights. Here’s how to write if you’re a night owl…
Here’s what I’d do if I were the Queen of the World or had supernatural powers. I’d give every would-be writer the determination to produce at least 250 words, first thing in the morning, starting within 15 minutes of waking up.
Note: I’ve never promoted getting up at 6 a.m. or earlier to write unless you really want to. That’s why I say, “starting within 15 minutes of waking up” — at whatever time that might be.
But I also know that some writers are parents of young children or are night owls who — for a variety of perfectly sensible reasons — can’t possibly write in the morning. Today’s column is for you.
If you must write in the evening, here are five suggestions:
1-Declare your writing time and let everyone know about it
If your writing time is 10 p.m., tell your partner and your kids (if you have them). Let them know they cannot interrupt you for X number of minutes. I suggest you devote at least 15 minutes to writing and absolutely no more than 60. But wait… If you really want to write for 60 minutes, start with something smaller and build up to it. Just as marathoners don’t run 25 miles on the first day of training, you shouldn’t leave the blocks expecting to hit 60 minutes on your first day of writing.
2-Make your writing time late enough
Think about it: if your writing time is 7 p.m., you’re essentially committing to never going out to dinner with friends. Never seeing a nighttime movie. Never going to a concert. Make sure your time is really going to work for you at least five days per week. (I always advocate taking a two-day holiday from writing each week.) Make sure writing time will not compete with social or family obligations. If you read nighttime stories to your kids, take measures to ensure you don’t fall asleep in their beds while doing so. Or have someone assigned to wake you up.
3-Have a dedicated writing space
Ideally, this space should be in a room with a door you can shut. If possible, make this a space you don’t use for anything else. If that won’t work, then figure out some way of “symbolizing” that this is your writing time/space. Put a special tablecloth or mat on your desk or table. Or you might simply place a dictionary at your right elbow. Or perhaps you have a photo, bulletin board or tchotchke. Make it your writing space.
4-Know that your willpower will be lower at night
This fact is true even if you’re a night owl. Imagine your willpower as a tank with a small hole. During the day, every decision you make causes your willpower to leak out. And I don’t mean big, life-changing decisions, such as whether to take a new job or hire a new employee. I mean small, unimportant ones like what to wear that day or what to pack for lunch. When evening rolls around, your willpower is going to be lower. (Read more about willpower.) So recognize this inevitability and make some plans to shore yourself up. For one thing, make sure you’re not hungry. (People who diet use much of their willpower to control their intake of food.) Second, make your nighttime “job” more pleasant. If you can write while listening to music (I can’t), do that. Or begin with five minutes of meditation so that you are calm and de-stressed before writing. Finally, be sure to reward yourself for every session’s worth of writing. Plan what small treat you’re going to buy yourself the next day, or schedule a no-cost indulgence.
5-Bring yourself “down” before your own bedtime
Depending on how late you write, you may need to take some special measures to prepare yourself for sleep. Writing often keys me up — my brain races, and after finishing writing, the last thing I feel like doing is sleeping. Try to plan for at least an hour’s decompression time after writing. Go for a walk, read a book or flip through a magazine. Don’t watch TV or surf the Internet, though. The blue light of computer screens, iPads and most cellphones interferes with our melatonin production, making it harder for us to fall asleep. Experts say we should steer clear of such devices for at least an hour before bed. If you want to be on your computer or TV late at night, invest in a pair of blue-light blocking glasses. They are available in the US and in Canada as well. I have a pair for watching TV at night, and I find them amazingly helpful.
Regardless of when you write, you want to develop automaticity — the ability to do it without occupying your mind with the low-level details required. You shouldn’t need to decide to write. You should just write. You can best achieve this by writing at the same time every day.
Writing in the evening may be harder for many people than writing in the morning. But writing in the evening is clearly better than not writing at all.
An earlier version of this post first appeared on my blog on July 7/15.
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Need some help developing a better, more sustainable writing or editing routine? Learn about my three-month accountability program called Get It Done. There is turn-over each month, and priority will go to those who have applied first. You can go directly to the application form and you’ll hear back from me within 24 hours.
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My video podcast last week addressed how to get better at public speaking. You can watch the video or read the transcript, and you can also subscribe to my YouTube channel.
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Are you a night owl or a morning lark? How does it affect your writing? We can all learn from each other, so please, share your thoughts with my readers and me in the “comments” section below. If you comment on today’s post (or any others) by Oct. 31/24 I’ll put you in a draw for a digital copy of my first book, 8 1/2 Steps to Writing Faster, Better. To enter, please scroll down to the comments, directly underneath the “related posts” links, below. Note that you don’t have to join Disqus to post. Read my tutorial to learn how to post as a guest. It’s easy!
