WHEN do you write?

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WHEN do you write?

Do you write whenever you get 5 minutes to yourself?

Do you write at the same time everyday?

Can you just leave off and start again whenever you like, or do you have to get an idea down on paper and keep writing until you've caught it?

Do you write for a living?

I write usually between the hours of midnight and 2am - this is when my brain seems to be most 'imaginatively awake' - it is when I write my best work. I think this is because everyone else in the house is asleep at this hour, and I have complete silence and uninterupted time in which I can work.

So, when do you write?

Danielle
Anonymous's picture
I sometimes write in bed-I take a pad and a pen to bed with me. I carry pads around with me and when I get an idea I write it down in note and when I get, say, 5 mins, I write it up properly!
Clemmie
Anonymous's picture
I write in my head... it sounds strange but we all do it and then we put it on paper. Unless i'm doing a large piece then you start in your head and the thread continues...if you're lucky. I find simply daydreaming is enough to inspire me especially boring moments e.g on the tube and when you can't sleep. Try writing a short story in your head about the people you see on the bus, what you would do if you won the lottery etc etc etc....
juno
Anonymous's picture
Don't panic. I know exactly what you mean - I've had that. You spend ages, years, writing something that's big and is really writing itself and firstly it drains you of energy; (in a wonderful way, like sex does); secondly, you're starting another big project and that's daunting. I know it sounds corney but have a rest, a holiday, go travelling or just give yourself a break. That doesn't mean you have to stop writing. But start writing from inspiration again, little notes in a note-book, thoughts, moments, that sort of thing, while you're recharging your batteries after all that work. Imerse yourself in sketching out your new characters. Give yourself time to get to know and understand them. All that sort of thing. And don't give yourself a hard time - you've completed a novel - you know you can do it, so you've no need to panic. Take care
mayman
Anonymous's picture
I used to write only when 'the muse' struck. But I found that I wasn't writing anything for weeks or even months on end. Now I treat it like a job. Even when the head is empty I sit down and write anything. Often it is rubbish, but often it is good. (See Discussion - writers block.) Conversley, I've often found that the best ideas jump into my head when I'm doing some mundane job that doesn't require the brain being engaged. e.g. mowing the lawn. etc. Probably similar to Clemmies daydreaming. I reckon it's a yogic/karma thing.
Liana
Anonymous's picture
Eek!! Do hope duvet dancing doesn't come under the "mundane job" category...... (also see: Discussion writers block)
mayman
Anonymous's picture
Nope. Doesn't come under 'excercise' either. 27 seconds doesn't count !
Ronfire
Anonymous's picture
When do I write? I'm a VERY amateur writer so I write only when I can make time from a hectic job, which I love. I've never written according to a schedule but I find that I write mainly when I need to give my brain a rest or when I need to get away from everything else into that special secret world, where it's just me and the characters in my stories. I've even written during coffee breaks at work....but don't tell my boss that.... I write a story or piece over an extended period of time. I like to read and reread and chop and change. I find it amazing how time can give you a whole new perspective on what you write. I've written words and scripted themes that I thought brilliant and thne gone back a couple of weeks later - and realised how dumb they REALLy were! Each to his/her own, I guess! I guess that's why i like to work on more than one story at a time. It allows me to work on one while letting the others stew a bit in my head. No wonder my brain feels a bit mushy......
the_author
Anonymous's picture
I have a little note-book & pen IN my bed (I have a double it has a pillow!) I also have one in my bag & have little bits of scribbling all over my computer desk, these have quotes from friends, quotes from TV shows, Ideas that have spontaniusly entered into my head.etc. Then when I get time I look at these and look for insperation but eight times out of ten dismiss these ideas :+S. But I am aware that if I didnt do 'The note-book thing' then I wouldn't write!
funky_seagull
Anonymous's picture
I tend to get my best ideas when I'am sat in the woods with a notebook and pen. Walking seems to do it for me. If I go on a long walk and sit somewhere quiet, then I find the words jus flow. If its raining outside then the sound of rain on the window pane, relaxes me and puts me in the mood for typing and I can, fuelled by vast amounts of coffee or wine, type out something. oh and music if I have some good tunes rocking from my stereo I find I can write then, the music can fuel me with enrgy to write very fast or slow depending on the tempo of the music. Dictating images of ussually spontaneous nonsense. Ussually late at night about this time. If I have a bottle of red wine then between the hours of 11 am and 2 am I am in heaven. Happily punching away at this here keyboard.
charlotte cartwright
Anonymous's picture
well, to be honest i havent written anything for a while now. i started writing (mainly poetry) when i became deppressed and it seemed the only way to express myself. i couldnt sleep most nights so i would lie awake in bed and something would come to me. i would write a poem within a couple of minutes and write maybe 4 or 5 a month
spag man
Anonymous's picture
Great topic, Jennifer. On a side note Jake Kane is originally from Norwich. Now for me I get ideas and write them in my head. As soon as I get free time I write them. I have no set plan or anything. I am a typical spur-of-the-moment person. I find I can never just leave something and then go back to it. I have to write it all down at once. Though, my ( heaven forbid) first novel is looking good. So maybe I can.
Wolfgirl
Anonymous's picture
I am not wholly convinced by set writing times, although many people swear that it's the only way to ensure prolific productivity. Personally, my time is governed by my child. That has disciplined me quite effectively. I started writing seriously when she took naps as a baby, simply because I didn't have the responsibility of normal work to consider. Then I found I could actually get paid for it. One of my sidelines in writing letters, which can be surpisingly profitable. This can be done in short bursts. Sometimes the actual writing for that takes minutes. The thoughts are accumulated in the bath, always (I'm very clean...lazy as hell...house like a Beirut slum but very, very clean). I do have dedicated writing days when I can when child and man politely go away...usually on a Sunday. I can be interrupted but grrrrrr....I bite.
lisa_gibson
Anonymous's picture
I agree with all of you. I write spur of the moment, but do find that I am more creative in the wee hours. I need to get to that novel, so I really should have a set time, but do not (that's why the novel is going so slow). I do have a four year old that dictates a lot of what I do with my time now. One time I was lying in bed at the end of the day and it was very late. I was getting some great ideas. Instead of turning on the light and writing them down, I called and left a voice mail for myself with them on there. I just couldn't make myself get up. That's the long and short of my answer. Mostly long, I know. ;o)
Andrea
Anonymous's picture
The majority of my 'inspirations' tend, unfortunately, to materialise at the ungodly hour of 3am. This can be somewhat annoying, as I have a pre-pubescent male that I have to kick out of bed at 7 (in order to attend that most dreadful of all institutions, school). There's no way, however, that I can ignore these 'cries', and I have to leap (in most ungainly fashion) out of bed (often several times per night) to light a fag and scribble furiously in me notepad. This, needless to say, makes for many unpleasant altercations at the brekkie table. Like Spag, though, I have to get it down (in any form) straight away - editing etc can come later, and usually does. As in the following 2 weeks. No wonder I look permanently wrecked...
florel
Anonymous's picture
As for so many others, when the pubescent and the infant deign to go to bed. I like the voice mail idea - by the time I've found the lamp switch, found my glasses, found my pen and found the bloody notebook, inspiration has retreated in disgust. I've always got a notebook with me - unfortunately it isn't the same one because I always used to forget it, so I've got one at home, one at work, one in my bag...which could explain why my writing is disjointed.
stevo
Anonymous's picture
I write late at night, between 9 and 1 on and off. Obviously, If I get taken bad with a poem I write immediately but I have found that I am 10 times more creative on a WP than pencil and paper which just comes out as sherbert everytime.
Fecky
Anonymous's picture
What was that, Stevo; more creative on a WC???... I'll go along with that.
sarahv
Anonymous's picture
Why do I always get the best ideas for my writing when I am not able to write? Why do really clever descriptions pop into my head at the most inconvenient of times? And why do I always forget them by the time that I am able to get out a piece of paper and scribble them down? And why is my teacher ALWAYS standing right behind me, looking over my shoulder when I do start to scribble my latest work?!
liana
Anonymous's picture
make sure you always have a pen and a notebook close by..by your bed, for middle of the night ideas, in your bag for walking down the street (my only problem here is that it takes me half an hour of rummaging around piles of receipts, etc to find my notebook(
ollygupter
Anonymous's picture
Well, I can't write @!#$ at the moment, just finished one novel and started another but havnt a clue on how to get motovated again........... help... I used to write every evening for at least an hour.
Too Much Coffee
Anonymous's picture
I write when the voices tell me too...
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