It is eleven o'clock on a spring evening in the warmer Limpopo province of South Africa. I've had a day that has had big downs, but mostly an exciting and exhilarating up. The platform on which you are most likely reading this article, Readers' Favorite, published two of my articles today, and yes, some revenue followed as well. The downside of it is that I spent last night burning the midnight oil writing them, and had only an hour's sleep early this morning, followed by a day of rollercoasting emotions and physical feelings of sensuality on the one hand, but mostly a type of out-of-body numbing fatigue or lethargy. Yet, here I am in front of my computer again, strong caffeine brew to the left of it and an ashtray that is in desperate need of emptying. The question comes to mind: Is writing at strange hours madness, discipline, or simply part of a writer’s rhythm?

Do the pros of writing in the dead of night, so to speak, outweigh the cons? I find that in the still of late night, my mind enters a seemingly dreamlike state, and it is just the computer and me, with so few distractions, it, at times, feels almost like eternal bliss. To date, my pieces that were written late at night outperform and outshine the plainer sort of writings written at regular hours. I wonder how yours compare, if you were to observe them in this fashion. At the same time, I have to acknowledge the major downside: the numb-like lethargy, how my next day feels so “off” after an all-night writing session, and how, for a period of time, I am totally out of sync with the rest of society. The question arises: is it worth it, or should writers stick to routine, discipline, and structure?

Writers, unfortunately, can't decide when a magical idea will spark. It can happen at any given hour, and many feel the need to start writing as soon as that happens. It could be at the breakfast table, at their kid's school play, or in the dead of night when the rest of society is in dreamland. Again, the coin has two sides; routine brings consistency, but spontaneity sparks magic. I would say that writers need both. Balance. Do you, as a writer, lock yourself into set and consistent hours, or do you let writing flow freely? We have different biological clocks: night owls, early birds, or mid-day creators. I am currently on the night shift, and need to heed my own advice of balancing spontaneity with routine and structure. I think that all writers should experiment with their unique rhythm and find out what, where, and when works best for them.

In closing, as I'm sitting here having written something that I hope is easily digestible, I am feeling on the up again. Tired, but refreshed. I almost feel that my brain was one step ahead of me, and knew that practising my craft was what was most needed or wanted. Whether you burn the midnight oil or follow the sun, the point is: write. The right time to write is whenever words demand to be written.