Do you do your best writing in the morning? Or at night?

This is one of those topics that can raise strong opinions.

People who write in the morning say that their brain is fresher, more creative. Their energy level is high, and they can crank out their best work before they’ve had their morning coffee. Or, at least, before lunch.

People who write at night say that their best work comes when their brain is tired after a full day, too tired to snipe and criticize at every sentence. They can focus on their writing with the satisfying knowledge that everything else they needed to do that day is done, and they can get words down on the page while the overly critical portion of their brain naps, dreaming about lists of tasks to do tomorrow.

Personally, I have trouble writing first thing in the morning. I like my sleep too much, and have difficulty enough dragging my eyelids open to get to my day job. The idea of waking up an hour earlier and pulling open the laptop and writing before I’m even out of bed (as I hear some writers do) seems almost obscene, and way too energetic for that hour of the day.

Could I go to bed earlier so I could wake up earlier without grumbling? Maybe, but then I’d lose the time I get some of my best work done. I find when I write later in the day, my inner critic is too busy napping to interfere with my getting words on the page. I like her awake and alert when I’m editing things, but dragging the words for a first draft out to my keyboard? She just gets in the way, trying to be too helpful. “Shouldn’t you have a comma there?” “Is that really the best word to use?” “You forgot to mention the strongest selling point.” It’s like trying to cook a Thanksgiving dinner with a toddler underfoot. She means well, but really isn’t helping a bit.

But, if I wait until she gets tired and nods off? I find I get so much more done, and then I welcome her help with the actual editing process. “You’re right, that spot really does need a comma.”

How about you? Morning? Or Evening?

Of course, maybe you split the difference and write in the afternoons…