What's Your Best Time to Write?

There are two things I need to write well on a daily basis: time to write, and the right time. Rarely do these two things overlap. Through lots and lots of trial and error, I've discovered that I write best somewhere between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. That's when the creative juices are flowing and I'm at my most alert and focused.

But that's the right time. My actual time to write usually falls after 8 p.m. That's when both kids are in bed and I have the computer to myself without any distractions. Except that my husband walks in and out of the room about twenty times. And the after dinner munchies start kicking in. And it takes me a full hour to decompress after the day before I can put myself "in the zone." And my head starts to become fuzzy the closer and closer I get to 10 p.m.

So what's a girl to do? Both of my children have an almost unearthly ability to always be awake when the other is asleep, so two kids napping at once during the day is but a far off dream. And I considered going to bed early and getting up early for a few weeks to write at 6 a.m., but I'm pretty sure I'm even less of a morning person. For now I have no answer. I tap out edits in the evening and then in the light of day I cringe over everything I wrote the night before. Sometimes each sentence feels like a dream where you know what you want to say but when you open your mouth no words come out. Most of these blog posts have been written during this horrendous hour, which may explain some things.

So how is it for you? Can you write at any time of day or do you have a "magic hour?"