Morning Owls - Writing In The A.M.

Recently, I've had some trouble keeping up with my daily writing schedule. I usually leave my writing to the last minute, so that I'm trying to be creative and do something I enjoy when I'm exhausted and spent. It's like spending a day at the beach with a bad hangover.

In addition, I'm not a morning person, and the habit of staying up late trying to write just makes it worse. I'm lucky that my current job allows me to roll out of bed around 8:30 to make it to work by 9. However, I often find myself pushing the limits, trying to stay safely ensconced in my bed for just a few minutes longer. And it's not just me; many creative people I've met share this tendency towards loving the night.

Luckily, I just discovered a new goal that I hope will help alleviate both of these issues: write first thing in the morning! This might sound like crazy talk, given that I already push the limits of how long I can stay at home before leaving for work, but just bear with me for a moment. Before I started writing first thing in the morning, my train of thought upon waking would look something like this:

Ugh. Morning again. Stupid dog kept me up last night. So tired. What do I have to do today? Let's see, get up, shower, then go to work. I've got some people to email, then I have to call people and try and sell them a product they're not interested in. I wonder if the software manual needs updating? I wonder if this is really the kind of work I should be doing at this time in my life? Maybe I'll just stay in bed today.

After I started writing first thing in the morning, my thoughts changed to this:

Morning again. Stupid... Oh yeah, gotta turn on my laptop and write something. But what? Let's see, Elish just ran into Eydie the Unbearable, and she's trying to figure out if the girl is the Wise One she's looking for. Hey! Wouldn't it be interesting if I had those evil women find her at Eydie's house, and then there'd be a chase? That would definitely spice things up.

Writing excites to me. I love it; I enjoy it. It's so much nicer to wake up to something you enjoy than to something you dread. Until I can support myself as an author, I have to stick with my day job, and this helps me do that without going crazy.

Now the only hard part is putting away the laptop so I won't be (too) late for work...