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At the desk by 7:17 this morning. Why so early?
We have allergy shots, and we’ve missed the last two weeks. One because we were out of town, and the second because I was trying to make pages. So, in the interest of health, I got up way early and dragged my butt to the desk.
I’ve got my pages for the day. It’s my minimum, but it’s still pages, and progress. So, there you go. I’ll finish this up and we’ll be off for shots. Though, there does seem something vaguely wrong with working so hard to go do something so unfun. But though I hate the shots, I love the results.
But getting to the desk when it was still mostly dark has inspired me to find you guys some quotes from other writers who think early to the desk is a good idea.
“It is by sitting down to write every morning that one becomes a writer. Those who do not do this remain amateurs.”
Gerald Brenan
“Get up early and get going at once, in fact, work first and wash afterwards.”
W. H. Auden
“The best regimen is to get up early, insult yourself a bit in the shaving mirror, and then pretend you’re cutting wood.”
Lawrence Durrell
Do bear in mind that every writer is different. Some do honestly work better at night. I worked at night when Trinity was a baby, because the whole household was finally asleep. As she grew older, and I changed households (okay, changed husbands, so the routine changed), I began to work to suit school hours, so I’d be done when she got home from school. Which means you work like a son of a bitch when the kids are in school, because once they hit the door you are cooked. Unless you stay up late, after the tykes are in bed. Sleep deprivation is a real constant for most writers with kids. Okay, most women writers. There are more and more men that take over the child care, but it’s still mainly a woman’s role. Where is that equality when we need it? My morning session was only made possible by the fact that Jon made sure Trinity got breakfast, and all that ready for school stuff. If I hadn’t had help, then I’d have got to the desk at least an hour later.
When I was working full time in corporate America, I rose at 5 A. M., wrote for an hour, then got ready for work. I am not a morning person, but it was the only time I would do it reliably. After eight hours, or more, at the desk job, I was too fried to write in the evening. Find what works for you.