Seasonal Writing

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It’s no use fighting it. I’m a winter writer.

I actually never thought about it until the Selkie looked at me over dinner one evening and said, “You didn’t know that? You get all your work done in the winter. It’s like you’re powered by rain.” (Or something to that effect.)

I’m not sure whether it is the rain and the fact that there’s nothing to do outside (except drown, of course, this being the Pacific Northwest and all) or whether it’s just that I’m physically so uncomfortable in the summer. I hate the heat, I dislike sweating, sunshine makes me feel odd. Plus there’s all that activity outside during the summer–the kids like playing, and I like being with them. It seems too busy to settle down.

In winter, however, I turn inward. Seeing the stories inside my head gets easier. The sound of rain on the roof makes me happy, and the chill outside makes me the perfect temperature inside. Plus, there’s the longer nights, and night-time is when the static of so many people doing their daytime thinking goes down. I have always functioned better at night. (Which makes the fact that at least one of my children is a morning person verreh ironic.) Of course I cram in the work whenever I can, it being the way I feed myself and the little darlings, but I’d be a fool if I didn’t notice what times were easiest for me. I try to arrange my life so I have the prime writing time open.

Which brings me to my point. My dear fellow writers, are you a winter or summer writer? Morning or night? Does temperature or weather matter to you? How do you arrange your writing schedule to take advantage of that, or do you?

I’m curious, you see. My besetting sin.

And now, it’s raining pretty heavily. Which means it’s primetime for me. Off I go to write…

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