No Write or Wrong Way

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I used to be an early to bed, early to rise kind of girl.  But my bedtime is pushing later and later…

 

Maggie says she’s cool with that.

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Stink eye.

 

When I was writing the first book, I could ONLY write in the morning.  I would set my alarm really early and be writing before the sun rose.  I called it quits around 2 or 3 PM and then would get other work done.

 

This time around (I’m writing the second Operation Beautiful book, which will be for tween girls), I can only write in the afternoon and evening!  Which means I’ve been staying up super late.  I only do activities in the AM that don’t require brain power, like paying the bills or booking keeping activities for the clinic.  It’s working so far!

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In fact, today the Husband actually beat me out of bed, which meant he was in charge of breakfast.

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He made eggs on lettuce (we have no bread), hash browns, and half an orange.  A delicious way to start another intense day of writing!

 

Do you like writing, too?  What kind of stuff do you write?  When do you write the best?  There’s no ‘write’ or wrong way to find your writing groove; I think different approaches work well for different pieces of work! I’ve always written non-fiction (I majored in Creative Non-Fiction), and I greatly admire people who can write fiction… I tried to start a young adult novel two months and it wasn’t so hot.  🙂

{ 125 comments }

 

  • briana January 25, 2011, 10:04 am

    i’m a history graduate student, so i write a lot! last spring i defended my thesis, and i’ll be starting my dissertation next year. i definitely write best in the morning, and my favorite thing to do is wake up early, put on coffee, and head straight to the computer. however, with papers due each week for each class, inevitably i end up writing late at night too!

  • Kristy @ Kristyruns.com January 25, 2011, 10:04 am

    I’m an afternoon coffee shop kind of writer. Silence is definitely not ny friend when it’s time to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). 🙂

  • Michele @ Healthy Cultivations January 25, 2011, 10:14 am

    I love to write. I write for work, I write for my blog, and I journal a lot too. I write pretty much all the time. For my personal writing, I do it mostly in the wee small hours of the morning. I often get up at 5:30am so I can write for a little while.

  • Holly @ couchpotatoathlete January 25, 2011, 10:14 am

    I do like to write — and my desire to do so comes and goes. Usually when I’m soaking in the tub or exercising — then I come up with great ideas 🙂 When I was in college I would get up at 5am and write papers — sometimes they were due the same day…but I seem to have the best creative thoughts in the morning — maybe because I’m half awake?

  • Ashley January 25, 2011, 10:15 am

    I usually put it off until the last possible minute, but I’ve always been a night owl, so maybe thats my groove.

  • jen @ taste life January 25, 2011, 10:17 am

    I definitely have my most creative juice in the mornings. The afternoons are the absolute worst for me. I do like to write – non fiction stuff. I have tried fiction and it’s usually awful 🙂 I like to write about food, travel, life lessons, spirituality, funny stuff. I used to have a blog where I made art out of office supplies! No one read it, but it amused me.

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 10:21 am

      Do you still have the office supply blog up?

  • Lana January 25, 2011, 10:19 am

    I’m definitely a morning person. I love the quietness of the mornings when there is no other hustle and bustle.
    btw, the husband-prepared-meal looks downright gorgeous! (and yummy)

  • Jess (Daly Authenticity) January 25, 2011, 10:20 am

    I am definitely more productive and creative in the morning. I think the fact that I get up at 5 am for the gym every day lends itself to making me do the most challenging things in the morning. I can stay up late if I need to, but I prefer to be an “old soul” and be in bed by 10 or 10:30 🙂 Also, as crazy as it is, I usually zone out at the gym and think about deep things, so naturally it is easier to write after I am done.

  • Liz @ Blog is the New Black January 25, 2011, 10:26 am

    I dig the idea of lettuce egg wraps!

  • Liz @ Blog is the New Black January 25, 2011, 10:26 am

    I love the idea of lettuce egg wraps!

  • Stacy @ Every Little Thing January 25, 2011, 10:28 am

    I most enjoy writing non-fiction, so my blog comes in handy for that! I have done some creative fiction writing before, but nothing major. I just kind of write when the mood strikes, though I’m best under a bit of pressure 🙂

  • bakingnbooks January 25, 2011, 10:28 am

    I forgot you majored in writing itself. Do you feel that makes a difference?

    I would love to write fiction I think! – but everywhere I turn, it seems all directions say to stay far away because you can spend loads of time on it for naught…but I don’t know, I guess that is true for most things.

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 10:32 am

      Not really… I liked my writing classes and learned some good things about the genre, but I think I got most of my experience with internships and jobs.

      • Baking 'n' Books January 25, 2011, 1:26 pm

        You know – I feel the same about my education – and I bet a lot of people do. I could have learned what I needed to in half the time – and saved half the money…hmmm, it’s one big “rip-off”..;) (or maybe I’m just jaded!).

    • vikki January 25, 2011, 8:16 pm

      Who cares if it is for naught! If you want to write fiction, write fiction. It is fun and hard and a great mental challenge. Write the book you want to read. I’m not published and I’ve written 4 novels at this point. Each one was fun and I learned more as I went along. I didn’t write them because I wanted to get published (though that would be nice). I wrote them because the story needed to get from my brain to the page. They suck and are still in first draft status. (Though I’m working on revising one and that is also a mental challenge). I work at a very dull day job. I like the exciting imaginary worlds that I put on paper. Mostly, writing keeps me from completely hating the day job.

      • Baking 'n' Books January 25, 2011, 8:58 pm

        Wow Vikki…thank you! You don’t even realize how important it is for me to hear that…especially after my last couple of posts…you are remarkable and I would LOVE to read your thoughts one day! 😉

        When do you write if you work full-time? That is difficult part for me. And I know, I know – write every single spare moment – but realistically, my job is mentally and physically taxing – it’s not easy, and I do some freelancing, and then trying to figure out my health problems, etc…it’s a struggle!

        • vikki January 25, 2011, 9:37 pm

          I set a word count goal every day that I’m writing new. (I’m doing page count for revisions.) I write at night. I cut off the TV, the internet, and anything that could distract me and I write until I hit that word count. If the flow is good, I might keep going. If I’m busy the word count might be lower. If I know I have more time, it will be higher. I suppose the average is about 1000 words a day which translates to 4 pages typed and double spaced. I don’t worry about the quality, I just get it on the page. Sometimes, I write notes to myself which are fun to find when you revise like “Wow, Mackenzie is behaving like an idiot. Fix this in revisions.” I even found one that said “This scene isn’t working. Figure out a new way to get this point across.” Then, I listed what I was trying to do. The point is to get what is up in your head onto the page. I have a friend that says you can’t edit a blank page and she’s right.

          Other ideas for when to write.

          I have a friend that wrote every day during her lunch hour. She knew that she would be too tired when she got home so she took her laptop to a dark corner of the office away from her actual desk and wrote. (She’s published by ROC. Her book is Grave Witch and is amazing so I can assure you this technique works and I wish I could steal it, but my job is a smidge demanding and won’t let me take lunches. I’m a business analyst at a software company. My boss likes to call and talk during the lunch hour about work. It is annoying)

          I have another friend who is incredibly productive and I wish I could be like her. She isn’t published yet, but it is only a matter of time. (I’ve read her stuff. It is amazing.) She writes rougher drafts than I do. Sometimes she dictates her really rough stuff into a voice recorder during her commute. I’ve read a first draft of hers and it is more like a long outline than a readable story, but she can translate that outline into amazing text. She also doesn’t need a lot of sleep and is up incredibly early writing.

          My point is to find what works for you. Play around with different times a day. Set a timer for a certain amount of time and verbally vomit onto the page. You’d be amazed at how much you can get done in 15 minutes if that is all you have. I’ve done this on particularly hectic days. The only thing stopping you from writing is you. 🙂 You can do this.

        • Baking 'n' Books January 25, 2011, 10:02 pm

          My God – you are an inspiration. I am taking this and saving it to re-read. Thank you so much….(and to Caitlin for letting us have this platform to communicate 🙂 ).

        • vikki January 25, 2011, 11:04 pm

          To be fair, I’m struggling with learning how to revise now, but I figure, I learned how to write a book, I can learn how to revise too. Hoping to have something that I would let other people read by June. We’ll see.

      • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:09 pm

        I want to read your writing, Vikki!

        • vikki January 26, 2011, 7:51 am

          One day maybe….I enjoyed this. I could totally talk about writing all day. 🙂

      • Shari January 26, 2011, 1:52 pm

        Just wanted to chime in and say that I could NOT agree more, Vikki. Being published must be one of the most amazing and fulfilling journeys for a writer, but when it comes down to it, we have to write because we want to … because there are stories we’re compelled to tell … because it’s who we are … because we can’t not write. We have to write because it sweeps us up, inspires us, and changes our lives for good. At the heart of it, that’s what counts.

        I love your word count goal for each day. I generally approach mine in terms of chapters (either half a chapter or a full one per writing session, depending on how much time I have), but I’m going to give your idea a try, too, when I dive into writing my next book in a couple weeks.

        Best of luck with your editing!! 🙂

  • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 10:28 am

    My best writing times change, too. Most often, my best writing strikes long after midnight which leaves me up until 2 a.m. and back up at 7:30 because I just can’t get it out of my head! The best things I’ve written in my the non-deadline newspaper (aka blog) life strike me out of the blue and I find that writing about them is almost a subconscious thing – the words just flow right onto paper or computer. It’s funny that you wrote this today because that’s exactly what happened to me with today’s post last night!

    I say as long as I’m writing, it’s a good thing. There is no loathe like the one for writer’s block.

  • Lizz (leadingthegoodlife) January 25, 2011, 10:29 am

    I like to write a little, but I have no real “training” in it. It’s kind of like prose that just kind of finds its way out of me. 🙂

    I have a really hard time with editing, though. I get attached to what I’ve written and think, “but that’s how I was thinking at the time…I can’t change it or it won’t be real!” Weird, I know.

  • Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday January 25, 2011, 10:29 am

    I’m an afternoon worker. I can’t get anything done super early or super late. When all my friends would be up late studying in university I was sleeping!

  • Sarena (The Non Dairy Queen) January 25, 2011, 10:30 am

    I love writing and find that I am constantly changing when I feel the most inspired. I am in the boat now where I am doing a lot of free stuff, so my cookbook writing is going a little slower than I would like. Um, breakfast looks amazing! You should always let him get up before you if that is the kind of service you get!

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:07 pm

      Hahah I know, right? What a doll.

  • Kelly January 25, 2011, 10:30 am

    I love writing (journalism major) sometimes I wish I could find my old floppy disks from high school and my old short stories.

  • Tracey @ I'm Not Superhuman January 25, 2011, 10:33 am

    I’m a nighttime writer, too. But, really, there isn’t much I enjoy doing early in the morning.

    I write nonfiction for my job, but for pleasure I write fiction.

  • Elizabeth@The Sweet Life January 25, 2011, 10:33 am

    Looks like you got bkfst in bed-how sweet and cozy! Good luck today.

  • Amanda (Eating Up) January 25, 2011, 10:34 am

    I love writing. I normally write essay-type pieces, but I really want to try my hand at fiction. I used to write stories all the time growing up! My mom has a collection of all the ones I’ve written since I was 5 at her house.

  • Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg January 25, 2011, 10:35 am

    I write (and teach) poetry, and I am DEFINITELY a morning person. In grad school, I’d wake up around 6:30, write from about 7-10, and then move away from writing for the rest of the day. That schedule definitely worked for me, and I basically still do it, more or less.

  • K January 25, 2011, 10:36 am

    I NEVER considered myself a writer! My background is finance. However, when I quite my life and moved to Spain I found I have a lot to say 🙂 I have gotten some good feedback on my stories so my mind is opening to the world of writing possibilities.

    I write whenever I feel inspired. Sometimes I get sucked with the first sip of coffee… sometimes it’s the midnight hour. This makes for an interesting sleep schedule. 🙂

  • Natalie @ Will Jog For Food January 25, 2011, 10:40 am

    What a great looking breakfast! I wish I was a better writer 🙂

  • Kimberly @ Healthy Strides January 25, 2011, 10:41 am

    I’ve always thought of myself as a writer – poetry in middle school, an attempt at a novel in high school and news reporting in college/professionally. Now, most of my writing involves blogs – my personal one and one I contribute to at work. However, I am now working on a fiction project for work. It’s tough. I can’t focus at work, and I’m trying to figure out how to do it at home! So far, Sundays work best while the hubs is grading papers.

    Good luck with Operation Beautiful, the sequel!

  • Angela @ Eat Spin Run Repeat January 25, 2011, 10:43 am

    The husband did a great job on breakfast!! I like writing now more than I ever did – probably because I didn’t care much about the stuff I had to write about in school. Now, since it’s all about food, fitness, and health, I enjoy it so much more. I’m not sure I have a ‘best time’ to write, but if anything I’d say it’s probably in the morning. I’m not very productive in the evenings, but that is when I like to do lots of blog reading. Have a great day Caitlin! 🙂

  • Hope January 25, 2011, 10:48 am

    What a beautiful breakfast! I would love to wake up to a breakfast like that. Those homefries look amazing! 🙂

  • Kate (What Kate is Cooking) January 25, 2011, 10:49 am

    I could get used to breakfast in bed! I like to write, but I’m a perfectionist. I could never write a book!

  • Camille January 25, 2011, 10:53 am

    My bedtime definitely changes based on what is currently going on in my life. I am always an early riser though, so early to bed means I get more sleep!

  • Allison @ Happy Tales January 25, 2011, 10:54 am

    When I had a 9-5 job like a normal person, I was a big morning person and got up and ran at 6am. Now that I don’t go into work until 2 (and work late) and am in an online graduate school program… I’ve found my bedtime getting way later and my runs starting NOT at 6am, ha! But i like it, and it seems to work really well for me.

  • Cortney January 25, 2011, 10:55 am

    Can I just make a totally random comment? It struck me as VERY weird and coincidental that my husband and I have the same silverware that you do! My husband contributed the set with the crossing silver lines on the bottom, and I brought to our marriage the swirly patterned set like the knife you have! What are the chances?? I have since retired his set and we upgraded our swirly pattern from service for 4 to 12. Random comment completed!

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:01 am

      Um that is really weird!!!! And freaky! We’re silverware twinnies.

  • Ali January 25, 2011, 10:55 am

    I want to write so badly (about my travels in college), but lately my daughter (14 months) get pissed when I get on the computer and ignore her for ohhh 5 minutes. LOL! Oh well 🙂 At least I can read blogs from time to time, and yours is ALWAYS on top of my list!!

  • Anne January 25, 2011, 10:58 am

    I am a night person through and through. I would stay up until 4am writing my Masters Thesis. Saturday I stayed up until 2:30 working on my wedding invitations.

  • Chrissy (The New Me) January 25, 2011, 10:58 am

    I’m another writer who likes to get up at 5:30 and start typing. Mostly because that’s when it’s quietest in my house. My boyfriend and my dogs are all late sleepers and I like the peace of a cup of coffee, an open word document, and an idea.

    I mostly write fiction – short stories – but I’m kicking around the idea for a novel. It’s hard to find the time to devote to one big thing, though, which is why shorter pieces are easier for me to start and finish. I would love to get an advance and live off that while writing a book. One day!

  • Erin (Travel, Eat, Repeat) January 25, 2011, 10:59 am

    My full-time job is as a writer and my coworkers think it’s hilarious that I come home after writing all day to write in my personal blog.

  • Stephanie January 25, 2011, 11:00 am

    Over Christmas Break my dad asked our whole family hypothetically what we would do if we could do *anything* without finances factoring in. I said WRITING. 🙂 I started writing my blog a few days later but I’m still left feeling like I want to/need to write yet don’t have the direction or focus (or time!!)

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:02 am

      Welcome to blog land! So glad you are here.

      • Stephanie January 25, 2011, 11:04 am

        Thank you!!

        • Jennifer (Mother of All Students) January 25, 2011, 12:19 pm

          I just started mine, too and am not sure what direction I should take it. About writing, I have to write papers for school and such, and don’t really enjoy it. But, If I am writing for myself, I very much enjoy! 🙂 …and I usually have the most creative writing mind in the afternoon.

  • Courtney @ The Granola Chronicles January 25, 2011, 11:01 am

    I love writing, especially in my journal! It’s just so nice to jot down personal thoughts and reflections on my day.

  • Julie (A Case of the Runs) January 25, 2011, 11:02 am

    I’m writing my dissertation. Gah! I can only write in the morning if it’s really early, really quiet, and I don’t feel rushed to do anything else (which is rare in the morning). I think I probably am most efficient before 12 PM, though sometimes I get a second wind after 6 PM.

  • Katy (The Singing Runner) January 25, 2011, 11:03 am

    Looks like a great breakfast! 😀

    I love love love writing. I re-found my passion for it when I started blogging again in October.I took a Newswriting class last semester just for fun and I’m applying for Media and Communications internships for the summer, which do not relate to my musical theatre degree at all! I actually wish I did a writing minor instead of a marketing minor now…but it’s a little late to change it now! 😉

  • Alex @ Healing Beauty January 25, 2011, 11:05 am

    I’m a philosophy major and I’m in the process of writing my Senior Thesis. I write the best at night as well, or right after lunch. In the morning I’m too distracted by all the other things I need to get done that day and I find it hard to concentrate. Once I put in my ear plugs and plop down in the library with some vitamin water zero and a luna protein bar, I’m generally good to go.

  • Allison January 25, 2011, 11:11 am

    Love your blog. And writing at any time of day is great! I keep two different blogs, one for creative fiction writing and the other for health/veganism. I write whenever I’m able to, both time-wise and intuitively.

    If you’re interested, look here: http://world-elephant.tumblr.com/ and http://philosovegan.tumblr.com/

    Peace!

  • Ash January 25, 2011, 11:13 am

    So jealous! I wish my hunny would make me breakfast in bed! I do love writing…it’s just finding the time to do so….which doesn’t happen often.

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:06 pm

      Tell him to 😉

  • Jess@atasteofconfidence January 25, 2011, 11:14 am

    I love writing! But I am definitely a nonfiction kind of writer- journalism especially:)

  • Kara January 25, 2011, 11:15 am

    I’m a morning writer for sure. I wrote my graduate thesis early in the mornings and now I write blog posts in the morning too 🙂

  • Lauren January 25, 2011, 11:17 am

    I love to write when I have choices or can put my own spin on a topic in a research paper. I get frustrated when I have a very specific topic and a bunch of rules to follow in it. I just like to be creative in my writing, which is why I like blogging a lot.

  • Alexia @ Dimple Snatcher January 25, 2011, 11:26 am

    Fiction. Mmmm. I wrote a novella last year.

  • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:28 am

    If I didn’t love writing so much, I definitely would have majored in something more practical, like, oh, I don’t know…business. Or basket weaving. 😉

    I think it’s so funny that you did a complete 180 on your most productive writing times for this book! I still don’t think I have a “best” time of day, per se, but I do most of my best writing on a tight deadline. I was always that jackass sitting in the common room at 3am, having just scrapped a 12-page paper because I decided I wanted to go in a different direction — for an 8am class. One of my 2011 goals is to carve out more time for “fun” writing, as opposed to “work” writing… so that one day, the two can merge a bit more 🙂

  • Nicole (I have trouble with forward motion) January 25, 2011, 11:30 am

    I used to write a TON of young adult type fiction back in high school/early college. I loved creative writing, but over the years I’ve gotten away from it. The closest I ever got to something being published was a poem (submitted by my teacher!) that was printed in the newspaper…with two typos that kinda screwed it up, LOL.

  • Amy January 25, 2011, 11:32 am

    I love, love writing. Without exaggerating, it’s my absolute favorite thing to do in the world. I don’t do it as often as I used to (when I was in middle and high school, I ignored my homework and instead wrote 8 “novels” – it’s a wonder I got into college), but when I do, entire afternoons can fall away in what feels like minutes. I enjoy any kind of writing, but my real love is fiction. I’ve been trying to develop ideas for a novel for a while now, but I keep getting stuck! One goal for this year is to figure out where I want to go with it.

  • Bronwyn Coyne January 25, 2011, 11:32 am

    I started University in creative writing. But have since switched into sciences. I actually enjoy any kind of writing. I like making it personal tough, so maybe I wouldn’t be a very good journalist… But I’d love to write both a fiction book and a cookbook one day.

  • Ali @ Food, Fitness, Fashion January 25, 2011, 11:44 am

    I do like to write. I write my blog and do a little freelance writing. I prefer to write in the late morning- early afternoon, which makes it difficult since I work full-time 9-5. I need to get out of this 9-5 job and focus on my writing. You hear that Universe?

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:05 pm

      **good vibes**

  • Katie @ peacebeme January 25, 2011, 11:52 am

    I think its really important to find the time when you brain can naturally concentrate on it the best. When I was in college, I could only study in the mornings when my brain was fresh. I knew I could NEVER pull all-nighters so I never procrastinated.

    I like to write. I am working on some historical fiction short stories and strangely I write best with that in the afternoon like 2-5pm.

  • Marie-JourneytoBodyZen January 25, 2011, 12:05 pm

    I’m really weird and do my best writing at the last minute. I’ve always been that way whether it be my blog or a research paper. It works for me! 🙂

  • Nicole January 25, 2011, 12:14 pm

    He made such a pretty breakfast. Good man!

  • Mabelle @ Dance, Love, Dine January 25, 2011, 12:22 pm

    I LOVE to write!!! I used to write fictional books when I was a teenager but never really showed anyone my work (I used to be one of those shy kids). But now Ive found the wonderful world of blogging and Ive fallen back in love with writing all over again. I think morning time is best for creative flow, at least for me.

  • Natalia - a side of simple January 25, 2011, 12:24 pm

    Writing is one of those activities that makes me feel so much in my element. It’s like whenever I’m truly “writing” everything falls into place. Whether or not the product is good or not is a different story, but the feeling I get when writing far overweighs any writing failures.

    • Amy January 25, 2011, 12:54 pm

      Totally true!

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:05 pm

      <3 love this comment

  • Sarah (Sarah Learns) January 25, 2011, 12:27 pm

    dang, your husband sure knows how to make a beautiful breakfast! 🙂

    i’ve been writing more lately (on my blog and in a journal). it’s definitely something i do for “me time” and i love it. it doesn’t matter to me that it’s not really impressive writing – simply putting my ideas into words is a really therapeutic process for me! i like writing whenever the mood strikes me!

  • Lesley January 25, 2011, 12:41 pm

    I must say, that is the cutest stink eye I’ve ever seen. 🙂

    I used to write short stories when I was younger, and semi-emo poetry while I was in high school. Ever read a poem you wrote in high school 10-15 years later? It’s a good laugh, for sure. I wish I wrote more now, fiction and non-fiction. I really enjoy writing, and I sadly, just don’t do it. When I do, I’m a night writer. (Okay, that sounded too much like night rider, and now that theme song is in my head…)

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:04 pm

      I was so emo in my middle school poems.

  • chelsey @ clean eating chelsey January 25, 2011, 12:43 pm

    One thing on my bucket list is to get published someday. When I was younger I used to write short fictions stories. I loved it!

    I say as long as you’re getting the work done, that’s all that matters!

  • Alison @ Around the VeggieTable January 25, 2011, 12:44 pm

    I write a lot between my blog and my job, and I have yet to find the magical formula of what works for me in terms of time of day, etc. All I know is when I get on a roll, I cannot be interrupted! Someone told me yesterday that, “as lawyers, we are keepers of the English language.” Blech.

  • Shari January 25, 2011, 12:45 pm

    Writing is my passion and my inspiration. It honestly brings me a joy like I can’t even begin to describe. I majored in Print & Video Communications in college, interned and worked at our ABC affiliate, and do freelance work now. At the heart of it, though, fiction writing is my love. I sort of fell back into it a few years ago, and it’s changed my life in ways I never could have imagined. Two novels and a series later, I honestly think I’m more in love with it than ever. I know with certainty that this is who I’m meant to be and this is the journey I’ve always been meant to have 🙂

    I’m an early morning writer for sure. There’s something about being alone with the quiet and my thoughts that just motivates me to write, write, write like there’s no tomorrow. It’s easily my favorite part of the day.

    And talk about journeys! Yours has been positively inspiring. Thank you for reminding us all that dreams really can happen, if you’re only willing to work at them enough. So excited for all you’re going to continue to accomplish!

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:04 pm

      Thank you so much Shari 🙂

  • Marci January 25, 2011, 1:04 pm

    I love to write. Because of blogging, I have picked up various freelance/part time projects. It might not pay much, but I’m happier than I used to be at a desk job! And I have an unpublished chick lit manuscript.

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:02 pm

      Yay, blogging!

  • Sarah January 25, 2011, 1:05 pm

    I work best when the rest of the world is sleeping! Although I’ve found that when I’m working on a sermon on a Saturday night (when staying up super late isn’t a good move for Sunday morning) I work best when I have the ability to move around and read out loud what I’ve written. So that kind of eliminates coffee shops (or public places in general)! 🙂

  • Clare @ Fitting It All In January 25, 2011, 1:09 pm

    I have never been a big writer, but find that I LOVE writing on my blog! It’s nice to bring back that aspect of my life that I no longer get without school papers.

  • Lu January 25, 2011, 1:12 pm

    Eggs on lettuce is a fabulous idea. I wish I would have thought of it myself. I’m a night writer. I haven’t ever been a morning person.

  • Brie @ Brie Fit January 25, 2011, 1:14 pm

    I love doing research. I edited a law journal for awhile, and have actually published an academic paper on polygamy. It’s been cited quite a bit, which is really exciting!

  • Ellie@fitforthesoul January 25, 2011, 1:16 pm

    Interesting Q~Honestly speaking, I’ve always thought that I abhorred writing! (I guess I still don’t like it when it comes to school papers) But actually, I’ve found that I like to write more each day when I can inspire people. Whether it be thought provoking, spiritual health, etc., then I get rather inspired I guess. I discovered this new pleasure through my just starting the blog! Who knew…

  • Michelle January 25, 2011, 1:27 pm

    I miss writing so much! My whole life I filled notebooks and notebooks with fiction and then I graduated college and got a job and it fell to the wayside. 🙁

    Also, sometimes when you post maggie and james pictures I squeal out loud. It’s absurd how cute they are.

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:02 pm

      Maggie and James say thank you!

  • Paige (Running Around Normal) January 25, 2011, 1:44 pm

    I like to do more physical activities in the early morning and then more creative activities in the mid morning and early afternoon. I hit a slump for pretty much every activity in the late afternoon 🙂 I prefer reading then 😉

  • Maryea {Happy Healthy Mama} January 25, 2011, 1:51 pm

    I love writing. Fiction is my favorite. I’ve actually written a novel, but like all many first novels it’s terrible. I am usually a first thing in the morning kind of writer.

  • Heather January 25, 2011, 2:11 pm

    I love to write, fiction based loosely on reality being my favorite. 🙂

    I’m a night owl in all aspects of life, so I am most creative at that time.

  • Haley January 25, 2011, 2:22 pm

    I love writing! I’m still trying to find a way to receive compensation for my inherent passion, though.

    With such a busy schedule [full-time work, full-time grad school, teaching fitness classes, etc.], I try to find WHATEVER time I can to write. I find myself writing blog posts while on my lunch break or in class [I do not recommend this], and if I don’t write in my journal every morning I get antsy.

  • Vanessa January 25, 2011, 2:22 pm

    I LOVE to write, but I’m constantly struggling with WHAT to write. The skill set is there (or so people have told me), but I’m forever figuring out how to “make it work.” Do I blog, attempt a book (seems like a pipe dream), write short stories for myself…?

    Anyway, thanks for getting my wheels spinning about writing, Caitlin. Maybe I’ll blog tonight — it’s been a while! =)

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:01 pm

      I think that’s why blogging is helpful in you finding a voice… You can just babble abouts lots of things!!

  • LIz January 25, 2011, 2:22 pm

    I started a blog to get more into the writing groove. I tend to be a morning person, like 5 am early, but I tend to not get into a writing mode until later, maybe around 9. I used to write ton of poetry when I was younger and more angsty, but I find it harder now that I’m more content! No wonder so many poets are tortured. 😉

  • Amber K January 25, 2011, 3:05 pm

    I love to write fiction for fun, although I don’t think it’s actually good. But that’s why I just write for me! Inspiration hits at random, usually in the afternoon when my brain is resting.

  • Angela (Oh She Glows) January 25, 2011, 3:18 pm

    I write best between 9-noon and then I fizzle out as the day progresses. Brain function is supposed to peak mid-morning and that is certainly true for me. Come 3pm I feel like a log and cannot function, especially during the winter! I also have another bout of productivity writing wise later in the evening between 10-midnight. I have organized my day so that in the morning I am doing desk work + writing and in the afternoon, I am baking for the blog or bakery (which doesnt require the same mental skills).

  • Colleen @ The Lunchbox Diaries January 25, 2011, 3:32 pm

    Writing is so fun for me. I’ve never been good at sports or a straight A student, but writing has always come naturally. I’ve written in journals for as long as I can remember – and I’ve kept all of them! It’s so neat to sit down and read what I was thinking and feeling as a fourth grader (I’m 23!).

  • Jennifer (keepitsimplefoods) January 25, 2011, 3:33 pm

    I’m a lawyer, so all day long I write legal briefs. When I get home at night, I write fiction short stories for women and girls. I’m currently working on a fantasy novel for children.

    Oh yeah, and I also blog!

  • Marissa C January 25, 2011, 3:45 pm

    Hmm…what is late to you?

    I didn’t fall asleep until 1 am last night and then wondered why I slept through my THREE 4:45am alarms. (5:15 am running class). Duh.

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 11:00 pm

      like 12 or 1…. I would never get up at 4:45!

  • G January 25, 2011, 3:48 pm

    Aw he brought you breakfast in bed!? That’s adorable!! 🙂

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 10:59 pm

      He’s a good hubbers.

  • Erin @ The Grass Skirt January 25, 2011, 3:57 pm

    I looooove to write! I was an English major in college and wrote a few poems and short stories during that time which were published. I have been working on a book for 4 years that is loosely based on my life. My step daughter loves to write, and she is 7. I swear that her stories are my favorites!

  • Ellen@FirednFabulous January 25, 2011, 4:03 pm

    I do my best writing in the morning, at Starbucks, with earphones in. I’m trying to write right now and whoa, I’m strugglin’!

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 10:56 pm

      I hope you broke through your writer’s block!

  • Angie January 25, 2011, 4:31 pm

    I write the best when It’s something I’m truly passionate about i love to write in my journal when something is bugging me it is such a stress release!

  • mary (what's cookin' with mary) January 25, 2011, 5:14 pm

    What a great job plating that breakfast ?! Looks so yummy.

  • Chelsea @ One Healthy Munchkin January 25, 2011, 5:32 pm

    Aw what a sweet breakfast in bed! It looks like the hubby has picked up on some food plating skills from you. 😉

  • Ashley @ Thefitacademic January 25, 2011, 5:46 pm

    I write for my job all.the.time! I’m an academic, so publishing is par for the course (or else I’m out of a job!) I usually work best in morning. By afternoon I’m brain-dead!

  • maria @ Chasing the Now January 25, 2011, 5:55 pm

    I used to love writing growing up (why I majored in journalism). These days I only blog, but I would consider writing for a fitness publication once I become a certified trainer, perhaps.

  • Mary @ Bites and Bliss January 25, 2011, 6:09 pm

    It was sweet of him to give you breakfast in bed! 😀 Looks great, too.

    I love to write but right now, the blog’s the only thing I do actually spend time writing. I hope to write a book someday- no, I KNOW I will! 🙂

  • twiseman January 25, 2011, 8:01 pm

    i write when im alone and relaxing, but for the most time i draw, i doodle, draw, paint photography and so on.

  • vikki January 25, 2011, 8:40 pm

    I am a night writer because I am a morning exerciser. I like to write when the house is quiet and when there is no one to disturb me. I write bad romance, but I love doing it and I’m trying to improve. Right now, I’m working on revising my paranormal romance novel and if I can finish it, I plan to send it out into the world to be rejected by agents. But then, I don’t write because I want to be published. I write because I want to tell a story.

    The one thing that helped me is NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). When I did it for the first time in November of 2007, I had a graveyard of novel starts and desk full of short stories (bad ones). The first event I went to in Columbia was the plotting bash and I learned that my biggest problem was that I hadn’t planned what was going to happen in my book. Once I did that, it was easy. In 2008, I became the municipal liaison for the Columbia, SC. The website is nanowrimo.org. They also do a screenplay writing event in April. For most municipalities, there is a local group and events start in October. I recommend going to the local events. In Columbia, we start hosting events in October. This past year we did Noveling 101, two plotting bashes and a creativity kicker in October. In November, we hosted write-ins five times a week and we had a ton of finishers this year. If you attend at least a few of the local events, you are more likely to finish than if you try to do it on your own. If you want to write a novel (and it will be a bad novel, but who cares), this is a great place to start. The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. I usually write 70K to 80K and extend it into early January, but I always get the first 50K done during the month of November.

    Anyway, I’ve ranted on for a while now. Nanowrimo is kind of my marathon or half marathon.

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 10:55 pm

      I need a plotting bash!!!!! How can I do this?

  • Faith @ lovelyascharged January 25, 2011, 10:32 pm

    I absolutely love writing! In fact, that’s finally my career! The topics we cover at work may not be the most groundbreaking, but I sure do love it regardless! The whole creating thing is so much fun, and I really do believe in the power of words!

    • Caitlin January 25, 2011, 10:54 pm

      I’m so glad you like your job!

  • Leila @ Spinach and Skittles January 25, 2011, 10:43 pm

    I’ve totally used the start chart for my goals before. I color it with fun sharpies and buy cute stickers to add each day. A fun and bright visual reminder of my accomplishments 😉

  • Sara @ OurDogBuffy January 27, 2011, 10:46 pm

    I write for a living in a company’s PR dept. I find I write better the closer the deadline 🙂

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