Insomniac Writers

I was awake at five today. A good time to get up, though this does involve the cup of tea in bed and the reading of a good book first. I’ve just started Life of Pi and so far, I’m hooked. Writers must be readers.

I actually read yesterday an article by a writer who recommended getting up and starting to write even before you’re washed or dressed. In that half-awake state you tend to suppress the inner editor, who is perhaps your harshest critic.

I did get up early several times whilst I was on Tenerife I actually felt less sure of myself as I wrote then. I certainly wasn’t as awake and as raring to go as I am after breakfast and the extra strong coffee. But as usual, I actually write better when that inner critic is out of the way or performing badly.

There is something delightful, anyway, about the quiet of that early morning time. And getting up this early, I can have do half of my daily quota of writing by the time I finish getting up and getting dressed.

I am actually editing at the moment. This might be the time to find out whether my editing skills are actually more acute when I’m not properly awake. Watch this space!