Morning or Night?

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by gmw

I find that interesting. I agree that the two modes are distinct in practice (I am able to be much more methodical with my non-fiction writing so that my time tends to be more consistently productive), but my best hours (late at night) are the best for all my work: fiction, non-fiction, coding, whatever.

Here's a weird one--before I quit smoking, which is quite a long time ago, I was very creative and could produce a lot of content, at night. Me, my desk, my computer, and a pack of smokes. Once I quit smoking, it seems dramatically harder for me to sit down and create. Weird, eh?

Hitch

[gmw]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Here's a weird one--before I quit smoking, which is quite a long time ago, I was very creative and could produce a lot of content, at night. Me, my desk, my computer, and a pack of smokes. Once I quit smoking, it seems dramatically harder for me to sit down and create. Weird, eh?

Hitch

11 years ago I gave up smoking. My first published book was written as an ex-smoker - it was just me, my keyboard and a glass of whiskey (that's not U.S. spelling, I drink Irish whiskey). My good behaviour lasted just less than 5 years, which meant that the second book was written half-and-half, and the third book mostly as a smoker (or an ex-ex-smoker).

(I've only just made the connection that I started smoking again about the time that my first book was getting rejected by trad-pubs. ... So it's all their fault! )

Curiously enough, my smoking (or lack there of) did not seem to affect my writing all that much at that time. I find that surprising because I had noticed how easily my writing was distracted by other things (eg: minor injury or illness).

I am now attempting to be a non-smoker again (become an ex-ex-ex-smoker), and must admit that I have not managed to do any writing in the last few weeks ... but there have been other distractions, and giving up smoking is all about distraction.

Smoking, for many (most?) people, has an element of ritual, and so we come to associate certain actions with lighting a cigarette. (Pouring a drink, sitting down to write, whatever.) One of the hard parts with quitting is breaking those rituals (triggers/habits) - which is where distraction comes in (make yourself think of something else at those times).

And that is a long way of saying: If sitting down to write was one of your triggers for smoking, there seems little wonder that giving up caused problems. It might help if you could set up to write in some way that would not trigger those old associations (or maybe replace it with another ritual).

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by gmw

11 years ago I gave up smoking. My first published book was written as an ex-smoker - it was just me, my keyboard and a glass of whiskey (that's not U.S. spelling, I drink Irish whiskey). My good behaviour lasted just less than 5 years, which meant that the second book was written half-and-half, and the third book mostly as a smoker (or an ex-ex-smoker).

(I've only just made the connection that I started smoking again about the time that my first book was getting rejected by trad-pubs. ... So it's all their fault! )

Curiously enough, my smoking (or lack there of) did not seem to affect my writing all that much at that time. I find that surprising because I had noticed how easily my writing was distracted by other things (eg: minor injury or illness).

I am now attempting to be a non-smoker again (become an ex-ex-ex-smoker), and must admit that I have not managed to do any writing in the last few weeks ... but there have been other distractions, and giving up smoking is all about distraction.

Smoking, for many (most?) people, has an element of ritual, and so we come to associate certain actions with lighting a cigarette. (Pouring a drink, sitting down to write, whatever.) One of the hard parts with quitting is breaking those rituals (triggers/habits) - which is where distraction comes in (make yourself think of something else at those times).

And that is a long way of saying: If sitting down to write was one of your triggers for smoking, there seems little wonder that giving up caused problems. It might help if you could set up to write in some way that would not trigger those old associations (or maybe replace it with another ritual).

Give that monster a small piece of hard candy when he wants a cigarette.
11 years smoke free today.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Give that monster a small piece of hard candy when he wants a cigarette.
11 years smoke free today.

Good for you Cinisajoy.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by gmw

11 years ago I gave up smoking. My first published book was written as an ex-smoker - it was just me, my keyboard and a glass of whiskey (that's not U.S. spelling, I drink Irish whiskey). My good behaviour lasted just less than 5 years, which meant that the second book was written half-and-half, and the third book mostly as a smoker (or an ex-ex-smoker).

(I've only just made the connection that I started smoking again about the time that my first book was getting rejected by trad-pubs. ... So it's all their fault! )

Curiously enough, my smoking (or lack there of) did not seem to affect my writing all that much at that time. I find that surprising because I had noticed how easily my writing was distracted by other things (eg: minor injury or illness).

I am now attempting to be a non-smoker again (become an ex-ex-ex-smoker), and must admit that I have not managed to do any writing in the last few weeks ... but there have been other distractions, and giving up smoking is all about distraction.

Smoking, for many (most?) people, has an element of ritual, and so we come to associate certain actions with lighting a cigarette. (Pouring a drink, sitting down to write, whatever.) One of the hard parts with quitting is breaking those rituals (triggers/habits) - which is where distraction comes in (make yourself think of something else at those times).

And that is a long way of saying: If sitting down to write was one of your triggers for smoking, there seems little wonder that giving up caused problems. It might help if you could set up to write in some way that would not trigger those old associations (or maybe replace it with another ritual).

Yeah, it's been...lemme think...16 years? Yes, about that.

I know that it's ritual and habit. It just strikes me as odd that that--creative writing, as opposed to business writing--was so heavily afflicted.

Oh, well. BTW: when I quit, the last time, (LOL), I wore the stepdown-type patch. What most folks don't do, though, is what I did--I wore that last, lowest-dose Nicotine patch for a year. That's what it took, for me to make the transition, as I'd smoked a lot. I don't know if that will help, but it did work for me.

Hitch

[gmw]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Give that monster a small piece of hard candy when he wants a cigarette.
11 years smoke free today.

Peppermints at the moment, along with odd jobs (spring cleaning even though it's midsummer), lots of reading, and rather less computer work than usual because that hits so many of my triggers.

Originally Posted by Hitch

Yeah, it's been...lemme think...16 years? Yes, about that.

I know that it's ritual and habit. It just strikes me as odd that that--creative writing, as opposed to business writing--was so heavily afflicted.

Oh, well. BTW: when I quit, the last time, (LOL), I wore the stepdown-type patch. What most folks don't do, though, is what I did--I wore that last, lowest-dose Nicotine patch for a year. That's what it took, for me to make the transition, as I'd smoked a lot. I don't know if that will help, but it did work for me.

Hitch

If it were me then I'd explain the hit against creative writing being a result of the creative writing process also being part ritual. Combine the two and you have some powerful juju. I was lucky enough to establish my (current) writing rituals in the brief period that I wasn't smoking.

The first time I gave up I managed cold-turkey, so I'm trying that this time too. It's been an interesting (as in the may-you-live-in-interesting-times curse) few weeks so far. (It is amazing the stupid tricks your mind can play on you, the stupid bargains that keep popping into your head "if I do this then ...". Hey! I'm not stupid, so why am I acting like I am?) If my attempt looks like failing then I will definitely be looking for some chemical assistance.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by BookCat

[...] I still haven't decided which is best for myself, and think it may depend upon the time of year. I have far more energy in the summer when I tend to channel my creativity into art rather than literature. [...]

I have been thinking about the season part of your question. I don't track my word counts so I can't give real evidence, but at a guess I'd say I write better in winter: longer nights; less bugs crawling on the screen; and I function better when it's cold* even if it means putting on extra layers of clothes - I have fingerless gloves especially to let me keep typing even when the room is cold enough for my breath to raise a fog.

* Bear in mind that when I say "cold", I'm in an area of Australia that rarely has snow stick to the ground.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by gmw

I have been thinking about the season part of your question. I don't track my word counts so I can't give real evidence, but at a guess I'd say I write better in winter: longer nights; less bugs crawling on the screen; and I function better when it's cold* even if it means putting on extra layers of clothes - I have fingerless gloves especially to let me keep typing even when the room is cold enough for my breath to raise a fog.

* Bear in mind that when I say "cold", I'm in an area of Australia that rarely has snow stick to the ground.

Just because you don't get sticky snow doesn't mean you don't get the biting cold. We rarely get snow here but we get the wind and the cold.
According to the electric company, this cold snap may put a strain on the power grid because it got to below freezing in the southern part of the state that rarely gets below 10C or 50F at night. Those people are cold.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Just because you don't get sticky snow doesn't mean you don't get the biting cold. We rarely get snow here but we get the wind and the cold.
According to the electric company, this cold snap may put a strain on the power grid because it got to below freezing in the southern part of the state that rarely gets below 10C or 50F at night. Those people are cold.

My mother inlaw is seeing temps BELOW FREEZING in Quitman. IIRC she only has a Heat pump. No furnace. I remember roasting when visiting a few years back.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by theducks

My mother inlaw is seeing temps BELOW FREEZING in Quitman. IIRC she only has a Heat pump. No furnace. I remember roasting when visiting a few years back.

My great aunt Grace lived in Quitman.
I think she had a gas heater. No central heat. Oh and yes to the roasting in the summer.

[gmw]

The reason for my footnote is that these things are relative. Yes we get cold here, but there are many places that get much colder. We also get very hot here ... at a guess, there are less places that get hotter, despite the fact that where I live we don't see the same extremes as elsewhere in Australia. (Where I grew up further inland, we had similar heat but over longer stretches without relief.) What really gets to you is when it reaches over 40C during the day and gets down into single digits overnight.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by gmw

The reason for my footnote is that these things are relative. Yes we get cold here, but there are many places that get much colder. We also get very hot here ... at a guess, there are less places that get hotter, despite the fact that where I live we don't see the same extremes as elsewhere in Australia. (Where I grew up further inland, we had similar heat but over longer stretches without relief.) What really gets to you is when it reaches over 40C during the day and gets down into single digits overnight.

The geography has something to do with it too I would guess. I mean here in the upper midwest we have the great lakes and we have Canada to the north. Maine has the atlantic ocean. My mom knew a lady who was from Alaska and she ended up going back because it was too cold here for her. Likewise back in the 1980's two of my mom's brothers were out in Arizona and sent my grandma a picture of them on Christmas Day. They were sitting out by a pool in swim trunks while back in Illinois we were trying to keep warm.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by gmw

The reason for my footnote is that these things are relative. Yes we get cold here, but there are many places that get much colder. We also get very hot here ... at a guess, there are less places that get hotter, despite the fact that where I live we don't see the same extremes as elsewhere in Australia. (Where I grew up further inland, we had similar heat but over longer stretches without relief.) What really gets to you is when it reaches over 40C during the day and gets down into single digits overnight.

You just described my area in the summer. We are now back to warmer day temperatures. For at least a week.

[GeoffR]

Wrong thread, sorry.

[BookCat]

England right now is dull during the day and hovering round zero; but what gives me more energy in summer is the bright sunshine, people (and my cats) being outdoors and a general buzz of energy in nature.

I have an odd sleeping pattern. Sometimes I go to bed early and wake early, so write in the morning. Because it's been drilled into me that early nights and mornings "makes Jack healthy, wealthy and wise" this makes me feel as though I've achieved something.

But my more usual pattern is to be up late and sleep late and write late at night. I feel a guilty pleasure from this, especially as my mother, even when I no longer lived with her, would nag me about this. Men still do. I think it's one reason I've never married: boyfriends found my late nights difficult to deal with. This added to the rebellious element.

Speaking of smoking: I gave up smoking when I was 16. Edward Heath put packets of cigarettes up to 50p a packet! It was no longer a rebellious thing to do, so became boring and expensive. I didn't have a substitute. My father gave up when he went to hospital for an ulcer operation (I was around 10), after which he always had mint humbugs in his pocket - he became very popular with myself and my friends!

My set rewards for writing: mugs of hot chocolate!!

Please tell me more about your best writing times. Thanks.