I used to wonder why I couldn’t write fiction in the evenings.  I had free time, the house was peaceful, the kids were in bed.  For years I berated myself: I call myself a writer and yet I’m not using the evening to write.  Why not?

It took me years to realize that I was tired in the evenings.  My brain had simply run out of oomph.  Morning has always been my best time, so instead of staying up just for the sake of it, I started going to bed an hour earlier.  That simple act eliminated dead time and magically offered me an extra hour of highly productive time early in the day.  Setting my alarm for “early” worked!

Some people are weekend novelists.  Some write books during lunch hours.  Others are night owls or squeeze in productive writing time while children nap.  The most important thing is to claim your time, and shift around until it works.

What’s your best time for staking out time for writing?  Weekend novelist?  Nap writer?  Lunch hour writer?  Night owl or early bird?  Or are you still searching for your time?