You know that adage that has been circling the last number of years in the financial management world? The advice has been to pay yourself first. You've heard this, right? When you get your paycheck deposited into your bank account, you make sure you set aside cash for yourself first: savings, a retirement fund, purchase goals like a family vacation or a new car. Then, you siphon off the portion of your dough you'll need to cover the bills. Mortgage and car payments, the utilities, the groceries. Whatever's left over, well, that's your fun money. Use it to go out for dinner or see a movie, buy a book or some songs on iTunes, heck, get a mani-pedi. Whatever you're into.
Does this model sound familiar? If it doesn't maybe this analogy won't make sense to you...but here goes.
I used to write mostly at night. In the dark, alone, while the house slept. I had youngsters so I was up often through the night anyway. Why not do the writing then? It's not like I was getting the sleep of champions. And guess what? That worked great for a period of my life. I was stressed and my days were so full with a young family and a full-time job (separate from writing). I had a house to look after and so many extended family obligations too.
Now, my children are a bit older and they've taken to getting up early. They no longer wail at all hours of the night, but the reverse has happened. I'm off to bed shortly after they are and then I'm up with the sun. I either throw on a pair of running shoes and get some exercise to clear my noggin and dream up some new madness to write about, or I sit at the computer or curl up with an iPad to actually write down some of that madness.
When I was writing at the end of the day, say, late evening or in the wee hours of the night, I had some incredible runs. Really, I did. Some folks have even liked what I wrote. But now that I'm not tacking my creative need on to the end of my day, I seem to have more energy for it. I'm paying myself first, or, rather, I'm working on my wants and needs ahead of the demands made on me by life. Somehow, some way, every one else gets their due from me. Don't worry. The kids get their milk and some Dad-time. I pay the bills and fix the leaky washing machine. But I'm not absolutely exhausted by the time I get some time to do what I need to do: write. But I do it first, before the day starts shrieking for me to get things done.
I think the writing is fresher. I think the guy who's clacking away at this blog post at the moment is fresher too. And I think he's a little easier-going, if you can believe it.
In truth, I've had an incredible well of creativity the last while, as I've adapted to this new way of doing things. Life changes. We need to roll with it if we're going build anything meaningful. That goes for any creative pursuit, or life in general, don't you think?
My question to you all, writers or creators or citizens among you: When do you write?
What a great post! We must be living parallel lives, j! Well, except the part about fixing the leaky washing machine (that one's not in my bag-o-tricks, unfortunately)...
ReplyDeleteI began writing after the birth of my now three year old son, picking off hours in the night because I thought that was all I could get (oh, yeah, that WAS all I could get), but now, like you, taking advantage of the early start, and paying myself first with hours of day, is really paying off.
Its great to get a glimpse of what works for other writers. Thank you j!
Oh, by the way, your toes look really nice :)
Very similar indeed, Ann! Thanks for your delightful comment. You know, You're the tenth person today who's commented on my toes. Hmm. I wonder why.
Deletej. //
Good post Jason. I try and snatch a few hours during the week, but travelling for work makes that awkward. I tend to hit it on the weekends; Friday night until about 2 a.m., Saturday 10 - 2, lunch & chore break, afternoon nap, write again until about 2/3a.m, then Sunday afternoon until I get dragged out of my pit to eat dinner & socialise with the normal human (aka non-writing house-mate) for an hour. I don't have kids or a spouse to worry about, so I can write any time I'm not at work or on the road.
ReplyDeleteAmazing, J! You have a writing schedule. I'm impressed and jealous all at once! Thanks for sharing!
Deletej. //
Great post Jason - I can relate. I have a full time career+kids+wife, so writing time comes at a premium. I most often get time (a) late at night or (b) at sunrise, when everyone else is asleep. Occasionally when I am out of town on business, I get a large block of writing time, which I try to capitalize on while I have it.
ReplyDeleteMichael
It's a difficult balancing act, Michael. I appreciate you taking a moment away from all those demands to share your approach!
Deletej. //
I am a night owl when it comes to writing. When I was out of work for a while, I did used to get some writing done during the day, but now I'm back in full time work, the only time I get to write is late at night. Actually, I haven't written that much in the past few months, only some song lyrics and a short story. I've been editing my soon-to-be-released novel, Haunted, and am about to start on a new revision of that in the next few days. I have been doing a lot of reading. I've always been like that, I go through times when I read a lot and then times when I write a lot. I do think creativity is bolstered by doing other things, though, so although I always say I'd like to write as my day job, I wonder whether my sources of inspiration would be as abundant if I was in the house all day just writing...
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read more about your writing journey, Jason :)
My writing vs. reading vs. other things is cyclical too, Maria. I had a period earlier this year where life was so overwhelming that I wrote almost nothing. But I need to get out and about for inspirations and to see people in order to feel like I have something to drive the writing process. It's all a balancing act between various pulleys and weights, isn't it?
DeleteThanks for sharing, Maria!
j. //
I had the same schedule change as you did once my daughter was born. Now that she's almost four, I still can't return to writing at night as I used to. I like my sleep! I write during the day while she is at daycare and my wife is at work. I'm self-employed, so schedule permitting, I try to get in at least 3 hours or 1000 good words a day, whichever comes first. I also do okay om the occasional Saturday afternoon. One constant is that I write better when the house is empty-I feel guilty if I'm writing when I could be playing with my kid or doing the family thing. Be well, Jason!
ReplyDeleteAh, the guilt, Alex! I get it too. I have one "Write Night" per week where I can write uninterrupted and my wife will manage the kiddos. I invariably hear those little footsteps and eventually go off to discover what worlds THEY'VE invented rather than playing in my own.
DeleteThanks, Alex!
j. //
Jason, I wish I had your adaptability!
ReplyDeleteI am not, nor have I ever been, a morning person. My brain simply does not work creatively in the morning. Indeed, at times forming a basic sentence is struggle enough!
When my sons were young, I wrote late at night, as you initially did. Now that they're grown, I no longer have work to rush off to, and my house is basically quiet (aside from barking dogs and ringing phones) all day, I write in the afternoons. While this works best for me creatively, I run into the challenge of people not understanding that being home all day does not mean I'm not working. I do still write sometimes late at night, though not as often.
You touch on an important point here. I think many of us are more or less creative at particular times of the day or night. Ideally, we could all arrange our schedules to accomodate our needs. But, as you proved, even when the timing isn't a perfect fit, the need to create prevails.
Well, maybe my morning writing is no good either, Darcia! Maybe I need to edit later on so I can re-read what I wrote in the morning. And maybe I'll discover I was mushy-brained and none of it makes a lick of sense. If I'm simply re-reading it with a similar brain of mush the next morn, it probably reads just fine. Ha!
DeleteYes, I do believe we all have high and low tides and variations in between. The level goes up and down for mathematical, written, creative things, as well as for physical coordination and probably every other kind of skill or attribute. I'm much more charming in the early evening, for example. I joke, but I do notice that most of my entertaining tweets are around six or seven pm.
Wouldn't it be neat if there was a device that could measure our aptitudes throughout any given day and we could work on things when it would optimize our output? Writing from nine am to ten-forty-five, fix leaky washer from eleven to noon, give the baby tummy raspberries from twelve-fifteen to twelve-twenty. Perfect Day!
Thanks, Darcia!
j. //
I want one of those devices! I do believe the world should better accommodate our creative cycles. When I was a hairstylist, there was nothing worse than those 10 a.m. Saturday weddings. What were those brides thinking? That meant getting their hair done at 7 a.m.! I don't even want to speak that early, much less create an intricate updo!
DeleteWhen you're a super famous bestselling author, you can support research for that device and we'll live much more productive lives. :)
Ha! Yep. I'll throw all my extra dough at developing said device. I'll actually start now! Should be fully-funded and ready to go in about eight thousand years.
DeleteThanks, D.!
j. //
These days it's catch-as-catch-can. I'm still struggling to find time to write since I started a new job a couple of months ago. It's driving me crazy, too.
ReplyDeleteOh you're so right, D.D. When is there NOT something getting in the way of a good writing session?
DeleteThanks for hanging out and coming to visit!
j. //
Jason, it seems unnatural for an author to have all the time they want to create their pages, but, that was my experience through the first four novels. Life began to interfere in real-world ways only a year ago, right at the time I began a fifth work, and also at the time I began to read book submissions almost full-time for a publisher. A year ago, my free time dried up completely.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely a dark-owl now. Late late-night, or pre-dawn. I prefer those quiet times to read or write something of my own, while the house is asleep. I'm also, though hidden by brilliant photography on my part...a doddering old coot. I neither sleep well now, nor hear well now. At least, when the house is still, I'm not trying to figure out if I'm the one being spoken to, and whether I should look up from a book and nod to someone.
"At least, when the house is still, I'm not trying to figure out if I'm the one being spoken to, and whether I should look up from a book and nod to someone."
DeleteDoesn't sound like you're necessarily an oldie, Joel, just that you're most likely married. Har.
"It seems unnatural for an author to have all the time they want to create their pages..."
You know, I've often pondered this idea. If I didn't have the drive of a full-time job so as to pay the bills and ensure I could afford those washing machine parts, I don't imagine I'd even get out of bed. Maybe I'd just fritter life away. Would I write anything at all? Or do I need the added calamity of "all things at once" so as to treasure the moments when I can actually sit down and make clackity-clacking noises that eventually amount to pages and then eventually amount to stories and books.
I tell ya, Joel, I'd like to find out.
(But not if I wouldn't like the answer)
Thanks for your (as expected) awesome comment.
j. //
Early evening is my usual time, but sometimes I get the opportunity to write in the mornings. I enjoy both equally, I'd say, for varying reasons. There's definitely a freshness to the mind with morning writing sessions, yet I'm at my most alert and active when the sun goes down. As long as I have enough time to wrap myself into the story and write with freedom (I like a window of a couple hours at least) then the time of day doesn't really affect the quality of the writing.
ReplyDeleteI'm the same, Ryan. I really need to know I have a chunk of uninterrupted time or else I find it hard to get into it. I also like to re-read yesterday's work (and edit it) to help me get into the flow of today's writing session.
DeleteThanks, Ryan!
j. //
This is sort of like asking for the best time to do your workout at the gym ;)
ReplyDeletePersonally, I like to do my most intense work as soon as I get up. I'm fresh and usually have developments that hit me after a good night's sleep. Its also a time when my house (and the neighborhood) is quiet. This is the time I'm working on the initial draft of a manuscript. Evenings are great for revising work as I can hit it on a different level, in a different way than I do my first drafts.
No matter when I write, I must do it everyday. If I miss a day, I feel out of synch.
Yeah, James, it really IS like asking what's the best time to hit the gym. Writing is a workout too, imo. Every single thing we do has highs and lows throughout a day, week or even a year. I can't workout in the evenings because it affects my sleep patterns. When I write after I work out, I write way faster and my scenes have a staccato that can really enliven the reading experience. And, yeah, I agree. Writing in one part of the day and then revising in another part of the day can really affect the final work too.
DeleteAs always, thanks for your comment!
j. //