The Best and Worst of Writing

 

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Hi, all! Jennifer here.

You know...writing makes me feel bi-polar.  LOL!

There. I said it.

But it's true!

Being an author has to be on the top ten list of professions with many ups and downs. I feel as if I'm on rollercoaster all the time. But maybe it's the unpredictability and those highs that keep us writing.

I suppose I'm getting philosophical because I just wrote "THE END" on my sixth manuscript.

Can I tell you how GREAT it feels?! (One of the HIGHS I just mentioned)

I thought for fun I'd break down what I love most and what I hate most about writing, since it's on my mind now. And I know in the next few weeks, I'll be back down at a LOW again. LOL

(It's the nature of the beast of writing) But one I wouldn't trade for anything.

WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT WRITING

1-Plotting:  Yes! I love to plot. I think I love to plot more than actually write. LOL! Plotting is where everything about your story is new and shiny. Even your characters names! Putting down a bunch of ideas down on paper gets me excited to write about them.

2—The End: I know. Most authors are sad to let their characters go. Not me. I'm thrilled. It's like going to a wedding. I had a great time, but we can't do the chicken dance all night. The couple needs to start their life together. :)

3—Editing: Seriously. I could edit a book to DEATH. It's getting it all out on paper first that is the hard part for me.

WHAT I HATE MOST ABOUT WRITING

1- Beginning: I AGONIZE on where to start my stories and usually end up changing the first few pages a couple of times.

2—The Synopsis: I know I'm alone in this. But it is part of the submitting process I truly dread—until it's done.

3—Waiting: It takes so much time to write the book, then you have to WAIT to edit the book before you submit, then you submit the book and have to WAIT to hear from your agent or editor, then WAIT again for it to go through the process of preparing it to be published. UGH. Pure agony.

Do you feel dizzy from those highs and lows I mentioned?

What about you?

If you are a writer, what do you love most about writing? Hate most?

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About Jennifer Shirk

Jennifer Shirk is a sweet romance author for Samhain, Montlake Romance and Entangled Publishing who also happens to be a mom, pharmacist, Red Sox fan, P90x grad, and overall nice person. Check out her latest release: A LITTLE BIT CUPID at an e-tailer near your computer. :)

Writing on a Schedule, by Olivia Miles

In an ideal world, you pick up a pen when inspiration strikes and furiously scribble three pages of perfect prose and then sit back and sigh. You wake up in the dead of night with a brilliant idea and rush to your computer and let the words just flow from your fingertips. You wait for your muse to appear before starting your next book, however long it may take. While all of the above can happen, this approach is not exactly realistic when you are writing on a deadline or writing more than one book a year.

So what do you do instead? You schedule your writing. I know, I know, it doesn’t exactly sound romantic, but that doesn’t mean it has to be forced, either. (Well, sometimes it might feel that way, but that’s when I remember that writing is work!)

For the next 14 months, I have multiple books scheduled to write, and multiple books scheduled for release. I’ve played with my schedule, rearranged a few things, accounted for a few more, and settled on a monthly plan that allows me to meet my goal. I think the first step to take when scheduling your writing is knowing what you can accomplish in a given time frame. Several writers keep track of their daily word count, myself included, and while this is a great tool for motivation, it’s also essential in planning your projects. Knowing what you typically average per week allows you to more confidently suggest a delivery date to your editor. It also allows you to plan your career for as much as a year or even two years out. In an industry where books are written long before they hit the shelves, knowing what you can produce in a given 12-month time frame can help shape your long-term career goals. 

Of course there are other factors that need to be taken into consideration: revisions, line edits, even blog tours and promotion can eat up a lot of the day and cut into writing time. I'm a planner (in case you haven't noticed) and so I factor time into my schedule to outline - I usually spend a solid three days outlining a project before I start writing. On the weeks where my daughter has school vacations, I have to conservatively assume I will produce absolutely nothing, and on days where I am knee-deep in revisions, I know my word count is going to take a setback. 

Anticipated release dates are also something I take into consideration when scheduling my writing. When I’m writing a Christmas book, for example, I try and schedule as far out from the season as possible, if not the year before. Sometimes an editor will suggest a window for release, and once again, this would factor into the order of projects on the schedule. 

Yes, it would be nice to only write when the mood strikes me, or to only work on the project I am most interested in at the moment, but I just don't think I would meet my goals that way. Maybe I take too much of a business approach to my creative side, maybe I've even taken some of the fun and spontaneity out of the process, but goal setting and project planning are what keep me focused. All in all, I try to be realistically ambitious with my writing schedule, and having a month by month calendar breaks it all down into an organized, achievable system. Without it...I'd be mess!

So how about you, are you juggling multiple books? How do you plan your writing schedule?

Adventures in Outlining, Part II, by Natalie Charles

Remember when I said I was a pantser who wanted to give outlining a shot? These days, I'm a pantser who must outline to maintain her sanity and keep her word count goals on track.

I was a victim of Second Book Syndrome, during which I was nearly paralyzed by self-doubt. For that book (The Burden of Desire), I pantsed the way I always do, but then when I got stuck, I found I couldn't get unstuck quickly. I never want to be in that position again, and so I'm working with an outline for book three.

I started off by writing a chapter-by-chapter synopsis of the book, which came out to about five single-spaced pages. It’s not a detailed outline by any means, but it loosely sets forth the story, character developments, and major plot points. I then began writing without referring much to this outline. When I get lost, my synopsis is there to remind me where I'm going. As a bonus, it was useful when creating a proposal to send to my editor.

Thing is, I'm still pantsing around. I can't help it. My characters will do or say something, and that action or statement will illuminate an entirely new path I hadn't anticipated. Those kinds of surprises excite me and keep me writing, so I embrace them. Also, these developments end up feeling organic to the plot in a way that some of my initial outlining plans don't. I inevitably learn about my characters as I write, and some of the outlining plans fail because I didn't know my characters well enough at the outset. It's fine with me when characters direct the plot. At least the plot is moving. 

This is the part where I look into the computer screen and say: Pantsers, it's okay to outline. Really. You're not going to lose that seat-of-your-pants thrill that you get from writing. What you're going to reduce is the wasted time that comes from having a great idea at the outset and then writing yourself into a corner. It's much easier to solve plot problems up-front than to face the excruciating prospect of chopping off a chapter or two. I treat my outline as a safety net. I know it's there when I need it, but otherwise it's really just an exercise to get my thoughts straight before I began to write. I don't adhere to it rigidly. In fact, some parts of my outline are still a little murky. Okay, okay…a lot murky.

But hey, I'm a pantser at heart. Murky is kind of my thing.

Overplotting~In Which A Pantser Tries To Change Her Stripes

by Ami Weaver

I am a pantser, all the way. I'll own it. It makes writing a little tricky, to say the least, but I know I'm not alone in this. I have tried, over the years, to make it a little easier on myself by doing some pre-plotting--kind of a *very* loose layout of scenes. I wouldn't even call it an outline, exactly. Just kind of a collection of signposts to make sure I'm on the right path. These are all subject to change in terms of order, though interestingly enough, the scenes I lay out and write ahead of time usually need virtually no editing down the line. I've learned to trust them when they come.

But.

There is a very fine line between a loose collection of scenes and an actual outline. And outlines are where I get into trouble.  I LOVE outlines. They are so pretty and neat and organized. Everything is right there, at your fingertips, all you have to do is flesh it out! (Can you see how much I don't use them? I don't think it's that easy, even for plotters.)


So, I tried, a few years back to plot out a book. No, I didn't try. I *did* plot it from beginning to end. It was fairly loose, but it was all there. All the turning points, the full character arcs, all of it, tied up in a neat little bow at the end.

I was SO EXCITED thinking I'd finally put my pantser days behind me and could be a real plotter. So I opened up a new document and checked my outline, typed CHAPTER ONE--

And stopped.

For days.

I could not for the life of me figure out where I'd gone wrong. I had the whole book, right there, in my outline! Beginning to end (okay, mostly--the middle was a little sketchy but still), the whole shebang. I did manage to cough up a Chapter One, eventually. But it was lackluster and flat and I was no longer in love with the book.

I finally figured out what had happened. For all intents and purposes, I'd written the whole book--in the outline. I knew what was going to happen and I'd taken the magic out of it. So as far as my brain was concerned, we were done with this one. Next.

As it turns out, I need the mists. I need to only have a vague idea of where I'm going, bracketed by those few scenes I mentioned above. I need to trust that I'll figure out where I'm going, that if I keep those scenes in the back of my mind, I'll get there eventually. I *need* that strange alchemy of chaos and magic to make my process work.

I'll never be a plotter. I take great care not to overplot.  I do still write those anchor scenes as they come to me. But otherwise I just ask myself "What comes next?" and hang on for the ride.

How about you? Are you a plotter, a pantser, or somewhere in-between?

Five Reasons Why Moms Make the Best Heroines

Hi, all, Jennifer here!

Hope all you mothers out there had a fantastic Mother's Day!

As I was going through my bookcase, I realized something. Most of the romance books I've read involved heroines who were (or expecting to be) MOTHERS.

So I put my author's hat on and got to thinking.

Mothers really do make the best heroines and here's why:

1) they're self-sacrificing—most of the "mom" heroines in romances have given up their dreams, sometimes their families, and even their schooling to have a baby out of wedlock to raise on their own.

2) they're sympathetic—every reader can relate to what the "mom" heroine is going through because even if you're not a mother...you have or have had one.

3) they're loving—the "mom" heroine shows that she's capable of giving a lot of love to her future hero through the way she interacts with her child/children. Instant likeability.

4) they're savvy and hardworking—somehow with all the sacrifices this "mom" heroine has made to be a single mother, her children are not starving nor are they collecting food stamps. Obviously, this heroine knows how to balance a checkbook and make a dollar stretch.

5) they're independent—they all can cook and take care of themselves. Maybe the "mom" heroine is not the best cook in the world (although sometimes she is), but this character knows more than how to boil water. And her children—and future hero--appreciate whatever she puts on the table as well as the fact that she does not need to rely on anyone.

Now what hero wouldn't want to be with a woman like that?

See? They're ideal heroines.

Funny, but I've personally only written one heroine who was already a mother before she met my hero. It was my first book published: The Role of a Lifetime. But every other book I've written involved heroines who became mothers or hinted to the fact that they would make great future mothers. And isn't that the ultimate happily ever after in so many romance novels?

Some of my personal favorite romances involving a heroine who is a mother are:

Nobody's Baby but Mine—Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Expecting Royal Twins! by Melissa McClone

Crazy Little Thing by Tracy Brogan

Three River Ranch by Roxanne Snopek

Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins

Maid for Love by Marie Force

Big thanks to my own mom on this post-Mother's Day day. She is a woman who encompasses all those traits I mentioned and more and has inspired a lot of my best heroines. :)

It's obviously very romantic to be a mother! :)

 

Do you think mothers make great heroines too? Do you have a favorite book that involves a mom as the heroine?

About Jennifer Shirk

Jennifer Shirk is a sweet romance author for Samhain, Montlake and Entangled Publishing who also happens to be a mom, pharmacist, Red Sox fan, P90x grad, and overall nice person. Check out her latest release: A LITTLE BIT CUPID at an e-tailer near your computer. :)

Dirty or Clean...Draft?

by Jennifer Faye

When starting a new book, I’ve learned from experience that I need an outline to follow. Not an outline like you learned to do in school with the roman numerals and letters. No, what I’m talking about is more like a long synopsis. But sometimes I’ll included chunks of scenes. If they come to me in that moment, I’m not going to pass up a chance to record it. The only thing that my outline must have is chronological order. Anything about and beyond that is fine by me. It’s there to keep the juices flowing and remind me of where the story is headed. NOTE: my stories/characters don’t always play along with the outline. Detours are not uncommon, but they don’t detour too far from the program and eventually they meander back to the outline.

Next comes the first draft. I must confess that I thought I wrote messy, dirty drafts, but I’m coming to learn that they aren’t so messy after all. My scenes, for the most part, are in the right order. Once in a while, I jump the gun and have something happen too soon. That’s when my wonderful editor taps me on the shoulder and suggests I move such and such later in the story. And generally she’s right and it strengthens the story.

BUT, and yes, that’s a big but, the first draft of my first chapters is usually very messy. I don’t know how else to dive into the middle of characters’ lives without just throwing down words and seeing what happens. In the opening chapter, I move scenes around. I move dialogue around. I change settings, weather, days of the week, POV’s. You name it, I probably change it. By chapter two, I’m usually cooking with gas and know where I’m going. Things are really picking up by now. ;-)

As such, I am in awe of those writers who can sit down and write clean first drafts the whole way through. Now, I’m not referring to those people who write a page or two and then tinker with it until it shines before moving on, but rather I’m referring to the people who sit down and write really clean drafts from the get-go. Those are the writers who only need to do light editing before submitting. I actually know some of those people and they amaze me.

How about you? Are you a messy writer? Or a clean one?

Jennifer Faye is hard at work on book #3. Her debut, RANCHER TO THE RESCUE, is available for Pre-order now. She’d love to hear from you via Twitter, her website, or Facebook.

Perseverance!

I mentioned on my home blog today that I decided to stop working on my WIP. (Long story. You can read more here)

It was a hard decision to make and one I discussed in length with my critique partners. But I finally decided it was the best thing I could do for my writing, and I feel as if a weight has been lifted.

Nonetheless, it still makes me feel like I failed.

Have you ever felt like a failure?

If you have, you're definitely not alone.

I read in a devotion a few months ago about Abraham Lincoln and a little bit about what he went through in his lifetime. I decided to pull it out again and read it because I found it every encouraging. Maybe you will too!

According to Jim Burns, our 16th President had more failures than victories, yet many count him among the greatest presidents the United States has ever had. But I'm sure at one time Lincoln probably felt he was spinning his wheels too.

Take a look at his life:

1. "He grew up on an isolated farm with only one year of formal education. In his early years he was exposed to barely half-a-dozen books.
   
2. In 1832 he lost his job and was defeated in the race for the Illinois legislature.
   
3.  In 1833 he failed in business.
   
4. In 1834 he was elected to the state legislature, but in 1835 his sweetheart died, and in 1836 he had a nervous breakdown.
   
5. In 1838 he was defeated for Speaker of the House, and in 1843 he was defeated for nomination for Congress. In 1846 he was elected to Congress but in 1848 lost the re-nomination.
   
6. In 1849 he was rejected for a federal land officer appointment, and in 1854 he was defeated for the Senate. In 1856 he was defeated for the nomination of Vice President, and in 1858 was again defeated for the Senate.^"

Now, was Lincoln a failure? No. In fact, Stephen Spielberg, the director and producer of the movie, Lincoln, even said that Lincoln was, “arguably the greatest working president in American history doing some of the greatest work for the world.”

What does all this mean?

It means I want to see the movie Lincoln. LOL!
But also, Burns goes on to say all this means this: "There is one word that comes to mind when I think of failure: perseverance. To persevere means to hang on, to stick with it, to press forward! "

I really liked that. I think we can apply this lesson to writing as well.
Sometimes we'll be able to begin writing a story and finish it, sometimes we'll be able to sell that story, sometimes we'll get great reviews, sometimes the book will be a bestseller and sometimes...

none of that will happen.

But it's okay. The point is we press forward, we stick with it, and have perseverance.

I'm starting from scratch and trying out a new plot today. I'm pressing forward.

How about you?

 

Real Life vs. Romancelandia: Why We Read/Write Romance by Olivia Miles

I recently stumbled across an interesting article that linked reading romance novels with the breakdown of marriages, claiming that the romantic fantasy these books provide can prompt feelings of dissatisfaction within our real lives and relationships. I would respectfully disagree with this argument, but it led me to wonder just why we read (or write) romance. Do we read it for escape? Entertainment? Emotional satisfaction? Or all three?

Personally, I read and write romance for the combination of escapism, entertainment, and emotional fulfillment. Let’s face it, as a married woman with a small child, two dogs, and the recent experience of a weekend getaway that ended with my husband and I passed out on top of the bed in a well-lit room, fully clothed, while a marathon of Roseanne blared until six the next morning when we were programmed to wake, the courtship phase of my life is behind me and responsibilities abound. It’s fun to read about lavish yachts and faraway palaces and to imagine a life far more grand than my own. In my regular life, there are no exotic vacations or parties or sprawling cliff side mansions, no millionaires sweeping into town to whisk me off my feet. Even in small-town romances, which might lack some of the glitz and dazzle, there is a certain level of fantasy and charm that isn’t always present in our ordinary lives. The dates are more creative, the food more delicious, the people more attractive, the backdrop prettier; in a nutshell, life is somewhat idealized in Romancelandia. And why shouldn’t it be? It’s exciting to read about glamorous lifestyles and settings, and it’s enjoyable to watch two people fall in love, despite the hurdles thrown at them along the way. 

But does this finely tuned fantasy leave you feeling that your own life is blah in comparison? Romance, in general, is uplifting; by definition, these books guarantee a happy ending. I don’t turn from the computer or book in my lap, look around at my own life and sigh, thinking of how different it could all be, feeling bitter and angry that I didn’t end up with a billionaire husband and a multi-million-dollar penthouse. Rather, I close the book with a smile and go about my day feeling a little lighter. I suppose I could read a deeply depressing book instead, and think of how wonderful my life is in comparison, but again, I don’t gauge my own fulfillment with the lives of characters in books--regardless of the book in hand, I take the experience as something separate from my own.  I’m sure the characters in these books have piles of laundry and trips to the store, and endless other “real life” responsibilities, but I really don’t need or want to be bogged down with these details. There’s a division of fact and fiction, and I appreciate the opportunity to escape for a few hours each day.

This is not to say, however, that I only enjoy reading and writing about the wonderful things that happen to characters. Quite the opposite, in fact. As a reader, I love connecting with characters on a deeper level, witnessing their struggles, and watching them overcome their obstacles. As a writer, I recently finished a WIP which included a character going through a very difficult and sad experience. It was raw, it was painful, but it was ultimately resolved. I received mixed feedback from beta readers--some thought it was too much, others thought it fit perfectly. For me, I felt strongly about including this storyline for the emotional connection to the characters, though it might have veered too close to real life problems and too far from the fantasy of romance. I’m still thinking about that one, but it all makes me wonder just why we read romance. When we pick up a book, what experience are we looking for?  

So tell me, why do YOU read (or write) romance?

Mechanics on Monday: And they (probably) lived happily ever after, by Tina Vaughn

My job as a writer is to fulfill readers' expectations. In romance, this means at the end of the day–or in this case, the end of the book–I must provide an emotionally-satisfying and believable happy ending. Sounds simple, right?

Um. Not so much. For me, the ending is one of the hardest scenes to write. And if you're searching for advice on how to write the perfect ending, well…good luck. While there are tons of articles and books offering tips and step-by-step guidelines for the perfect opening, advice for endings is obscure. Why? Is it because we already know how a romance is going to end? Is it because endings are so subjective, depending entirely on our characters' and stories' unique conflicts and resolutions? Is it because the ending is easy to write, and I'm one of the few poor souls who just doesn't get it?

In preparation for this post, I re-read romances that feature some of my favorite endings. I also re-read a few that, in all honesty, just didn't work for me. I also read the endings to my own novels. As a reader and writer, what do I want, expect and need in an ending for me to consider it emotionally satisfying? Reading endings with a critical eye allowed me to come up with a simple five-element list for crafting fabulous and believable endings.

Dialogue

I like my endings dialogue-heavy. No summaries. No sweeping expositions. No long internal monologues featuring self-analysis, please. This is my last chance to “hear” these characters' voices. While saying I love you is key, it's not the only thing that needs to be said.

Setting

Setting showcases your characters' strengths and weaknesses. And just because we've reached the ending of a novel doesn't mean we can ignore it. In all likelihood, the setting has added depth and dimension to your characters throughout the novel. Why stop now?

Characterization

Loves makes people do strange and crazy things, I know. But in novels, stranger and crazier isn't always better. Be sure that any romantic gestures are in keeping with the characters' personalities, otherwise the ending becomes overly-dramatic, unbelievable and might induce an eye-roll.

Pacing

Since we're wrapping up the book, the ending should wind us down, not wind us up. Didn't we get all excited during the climax? Now's the time to slow things down a little. Use sentence structure, punctuation, word choices, etc., that slow your pacing and prepare the reader for The End.

Physical intimacy

For me, a convincing happy ending must include a nod to both emotional and physical intimacy. I need to know that the characters are connected on both levels. Our characters confessed their love. Awww. Will they seal it with a kiss…or something more? While physical intimacy doesn't have to be explicit, I think it should be implied, and absolutely should be appropriate to the heat level of your book.

You've just written–or read–a unique and beautiful story, doesn't it deserve an equally original ending?

As a reader, what do you look for in a happy ending?

As a writer, what are your tricks for crafting a perfect ending for your characters?

Small Towns, Big Stories by Tina Vaughn

Setting is so important. The perfect setting can frame and showcase your characters' strengths and weaknesses. Your setting can add deep layers and meaning to the developing romance, heighten the sense of mystery and danger or accentuate heartwarming and heart-wrenching family dynamics. For me, nothing helps me achieve my writing goals like a small-town setting.

I'm fascinated by small-town dynamics…probably because I spent more than fifteen years as a community newspaper reporter and editor.

I love the dichotomy of citizens' public and private personas and how those differences fuel the gossip and "scandal" in communities, influence both personal and public decisions and, most important, impact personal relationships. These conflicts make for great tension in your writing, especially when they involve a hot hero and strong, sassy heroine.

There are three main reasons I enjoy writing, and reading, romances with small-town settings.

• The small-town setting lends itself to certain tropes and themes I enjoy. Forced proximity, conflict of interest, leaving home, returning home, reunion romances, bad boy/good girl, etc. The list is endless.
• The sense of community. Friends, family, personal history, gossip…I love all the characteristics (good and bad) of small towns and communities.
• Creative freedom. I create fictional towns, which means I'm not bogged down with a lot of research. I have complete control over my own little corner of the world. (The control freak in me loves this.)
  

Do you live in a small town?

Enjoy reading or writing romances with small-town settings? Why?

 

And, since this is my first post of the year, I'll take the opportunity to wish you all a fabulous 2013.

Here's to a successful year!

50,000 Words or Bust by Tina Vaughn

For the first time in my life, I'm participating in a special event for November's National Novel Writing Month. The goal: write 50,000 words in thirty days.

For a plotter/pantser like me whose internal editor is like an uncontrollable beast, this project seemed, not just a daunting task, but an impossible one. How could I do this? I'm the writer who's lucky to manage a consistent five hundred words daily, who edits a chapter before I can move on to the next, whose writing comes in fits and bursts and whose plotting consists of a coarse outline on the back of an old page of my desk calendar.

I'm also the writer who's always up for a challenge. So, I overcame those doubts and insecurities to register for a special event at Savvy Authors. That, my dear friends, was the easy part. Immediately after registering, the doubts and, dare I admit it, the panic set in. What if I couldn't do this? What if I failed? However, a stronger and more hopeful part of myself said quite firmly: What if you can?

I spent the better part of October plotting and planning and making preparations, which included writing a blurb, synopsis and detailed outline. Details, people. I mean as much information as I could include. Nothing was too small.

I developed a desktop filing system where any ideas, bits of dialogue or scene ideas were kept in one spot and waiting for me when I was ready to write them.

I've learned to write at least twice a day, early mornings and late nights, in order to make sure I meet my daily writing goals.

My organizational skills have improved, even on the home-front, as I keep up with any and all outside commitments (my daughter's ballet classes, PTO meetings, outings, fundraisers, etc.) and adjust my schedule to accommodate writing time so that I can meet daily word or page count goals.

Since November 1, All I've done is write. No editing. No re-reading. Only writing. And I'm proud to say I've written around 27,000 words.

So far, my experience has been a positive one. I went from panic to excitement in just a few weeks. Paradoxically, I've found a writing structure and freedom in this challenge – and, for that, I am truly thankful.

Have you ever pushed yourself to move outside your comfort zone?

What did you learn?

How Do You Write Best? by Olivia Miles

I am always curious to hear about other writers’ habits and routines - in other words, how they write best. Some plot, some don’t. Some write from start to finish, others scene by scene. Whatever the approach, it works for them, but how exactly do you find the process that works best for you?

When I first started writing, I wrote when I felt compelled or inspired, and I let my ideas flow and be my guide. Somewhere along the line, I started to plot and outline, and then I learned I wrote better if I plotted, so from then on I did just that. Another experience forced me to write a lot of words in a short time period, and I then learned that if I started writing by a schedule, I worked more efficiently. I also learned that I could achieve X number of words per day if I set my mind to it, and I set that as my reasonable-yet-challenging daily goal. 

Some of my process has remained unchanged. I always write from beginning to end -  I have tried writing scenes out of order and that doesn’t work for me, so my first instinct was right there. I also don’t write well at night. I have tried, believe me, I have tried. It just isn’t for me. I would rather get up early than stay up late. I also don't write well with music playing in the background - too distracting!

I think when it comes to any job or responsibility, there is an element of trial and error, a learning curve where you work out the kinks and figure out how you work best. Usually once everything starts to click, other good things follow, and at the very least, the process feels more manageable.

So how about you? How do you write best?