Right Time to Write

Reading or writing every day can be really difficult if we haven't made these habits a priority in our lives. And even if we love to write, we may not always want to pick up a pen. This is natural. But what if we imagine the opposite? Imagine that you wanted to write every day. What do you think would be the ideal time? Would you be more drawn to the freshness of the morning, the chaos of the day or the silence of the night?

Everyone has some constants in their daily routine. People who say 'I can't start the day without coffee' or 'I can't concentrate when I'm hungry' are giving away little clues about themselves. Even if these statements are exaggerated, they instinctively reflect a truth. I am sure that writing habits contain personal clues in a similar way.

Although I've written a lot about writing and touched on its various aspects, I didn't want to go into its connection with time. But when I couldn't find a topic for my weekly articles, I realised something. Firstly, I was doing what I needed to do during the day and leaving the act of writing (almost every week) for the evening hours. I'm not sure if it's laziness or if I feel more focused at that time. But I suppose there could be a psychological connection. And yes, I can say that I can't write without coffee.

This is, of course, a subject that provides material for personal differences and habits. If the act of writing is not at a fixed point in the flow of our lives, we try to nail it down to the most convenient point in the flow. This leads to uncertainty. At best, we involuntarily habitualise the situation. Just as I have become accustomed to leaving the writing of my weekly articles for the evening hours.

Photo by Bogdan Yukhymchuk on Unsplash

Although I know that you are reading this knowing that there is no definite answer to such a question, I also know that you are curious. Because so am I. Sometimes we ask questions on purpose and actually find interesting aspects of life. I believe that some details and unexpected phrases make life more beautiful.

The best way to find the answer to this question is probably to look at what your favourite authors have to say. I personally did that, and even before that I thought about whether we had asked this question to the author we had recently interviewed. I remembered from my notes that she didn't necessarily take the time to read and write every day. Sometimes it's a relief when you're not doing what you 'should' be doing and you see that others who 'should' be doing it are doing the same.

I don't intend to go into depth on the subject of writing, and I'm not in a position to give definitive answers on the subject. However, knowing that every reader and writer has their own preferences and habits, I set out to research this article.

Photo by Yogendra Singh on Unsplash

It is important to remember that there may be many reasons why we choose to write at certain times. Job mobility, interaction with family, other daily activities, other obligations, the existence of other routines, etc. all contribute, as do the details that come to mind at first glance and that most of us would probably never have guessed. Therefore, I think that only those who do not mind devoting themselves to it full time, i.e. being a professional writer, will make the extra effort to try. As I said, writing will not be part of their life course; they will live a life based on writing. It is an incredibly difficult decision and process. I'm not sure if there's a guarantee that everyone who can do it will definitely succeed, or if it's a complete loss. It's up to you to comment.

If we analyse some of the authors whose works we have read, we can more or less get an idea. First of all, I would like to say that I will base my analysis on the article and information chart on this website.

The chart, which analyses almost forty authors, is sorted by waking hours. It is possible to see that the successful authors analysed woke up and wrote between 4 am and 12 noon. I think that most of them (taking into account other detailed readings I have done on some of the authors) prefer to get to their typewriters or desks as soon as they wake up or immediately after breakfast. They probably took advantage of either the quiet hours of the day or their still empty minds to get started. Come to think of it, the earliest I ever wrote was at 8 a.m. It was really effective, but I cannot say the same about the continuity of execution.

Another interesting factor influencing the process is the length of the writing. Did they know what they were going to write? Did they have it in mind before you went to bed last night? Did they prefer to go through the previous chapter each morning? How much time did they allow themselves to think before writing? Many of these questions are detailed and probably unanswerable (unless there is a serious interview). But you can't help thinking and wanting to get the most efficient result.

However, we know that there is no exact formula for our efforts, whatever they may be. Each is shaped by our characteristics, the course of our lives and the meaning we attach to the process. So is the 'right' time to write. When we can concentrate on writing, when we feel good, when we can't get away, those are the best times for us. The best thing is to actually do the deed; to do it without worrying and feeling happy. I wish you happy reading and writing.