This Is The Best Time To Write (According To Bestselling Authors)
When is the best time to write?
To all writers or authors who are struggling with this question, here’s my two-cent opinion as a fellow author trying to create a catalog of books and essays.
The best time to write is whenever you feel creative and can spare at least 18 minutes to focus without distraction.
The reason why I focus on 18 minutes of writing per day is because I watched a video about how you can become better than 95% of people in the world at a skill if you just dedicate 18 minutes to it for a year.
Are you kidding me?
18 minutes per day is a piece of cake!
Some mornings, I get up, roll off my bed, wash my face, fire up my computer, and start writing. I’ll crank out 600 to 1200 words before I start my day.
This has been my exact routine for the last month, and it works.
I’ve made more progress on my novel with this approach than I have ever before.
No longer am I trying to be someone I’m not, so I’ve abandoned the idea of writing at 4 a.m. or 11 p.m. for hours on end.
My brain absolutely hates to sit at a specific time to write for many hours. Sporadic bursts of focus and creativity are all that I have in me.
Don’t get me wrong; if I chose to, I could sit my bottom on the office chair and grind away at the keyboard until I burned a hole through it.
But I’ll lose all enthusiasm or passion to write. Once that happens, I’ll lose all momentum in writing my novel, and it will sit untouched for weeks on end.
Restarting is like climbing a mountain with a sprained arm. It feels like a nightmare, and the resistance to begin wrestles with me until I give up.
Nowadays, I’ve opted to take the path of least resistance, and it works!
I write whenever I want to, as long as I do something every single day.
Sometimes, I write at night while I’m laying in bed, and other times, I write when I’m commuting to places and have nothing else to do.
With this approach, I’ve avoided all forms of writer’s block, and my creative juices flow like a river, taking me downstream without any struggle.
When Do Bestselling Authors Write?
Jerry Jenkins gets up at 5:30 a.m., does whatever he wants to do in the morning, and then heads to his den to edit before he writes. At about 12:30 p.m., he concludes his work for the day, which usually amounts to about 2500 words.
Stephen King used to spend about 4 hours per day writing but has now streamlined that down to 2 hours and approximately 1000 words. Much like Jerry Jenkins, he completes his morning routine before attempting to write.
Haruki Murakami gets up at 4 a.m. and begins to write. He spends approximately five to six hours writing before he resumes his daily routine. Rarely does he ever write in the evenings or at night. You can read the full interview by clicking here; it’s quite enjoyable.
Maya Angelou shared her daily routine in the 90’s by proclaiming to start writing from 6:30 a.m. to about 1:30 p.m., with a break at 11 a.m.
I’m sure there are some examples of authors who prefer to write at night, but one thing that stands out to me is that all these bestselling authors dedicate time every single day to their craft.
Rarely is it ever about a word count as much as it is about creating the best piece of art that they are capable of producing every single day.
Build Momentum
The path of least resistance dictates going with the flow. The problem is that comfort may direct us towards complacency.
To avoid this pitfall, I find it helpful to focus on building momentum to develop a routine.
As I gain more repetitions, my mind and body get accustomed to writing at particular times and intervals.
So, when do you think you can write today?
Make a note of when you’re able to write.
Once you do it, can you attempt to build a streak over the course of seven days?
If you can, I’m pretty certain that you’ll find the best time to write.
Before you leave, I recommend reading this article I wrote on the best self development books on the market. In it, I discuss what I’ve learned from atomic habits, which I believe to be the best approach to building a new habit.
