I don’t believe in writing at night. Doesn’t work for me and even though a lot of people pretend it works for them, I suspect they are fooling themselves. Which is why I was happy to find this post on Dead Things on Sticks (Denis is a screenwriter based in Toronto):
« Writing at night is bullshit.
[…]
We live in difficult times. People seem to have trouble telling the truth — they even seem to have trouble recognizing the truth, it seems. The night, for me, has never been about truth. The night is about regret and secrecy and passion, and longing and recrimination and rumination. But not truth. Truth is best observed and channeled in the morning’s light. And truth is essential to what we do.
[…]
What I think about at night, what I don’t think about at night, what I don’t realize I’m thinking about until it works its way into my dreams, that’s filling the tank. Night is for maintenance and detailing. And mornings are for writing. »
Actually, in my case it’s more like « afternoons (1 to 7pm) are for writing ». Mornings tend to be about returning phone calls, correspondance, financial matters, filling, etc. I’ll work through the night if I have to but I know it’s not when my writing is at its best.