Is there a good time to write a book?

It’s something I think many of us search (or at least wish) for as writers – that perfect, elusive time to write a book.

I’m sure we all know that, deep down, there is not really any such thing as the perfect time to write a book, but it’s a myth that sticks around. However, waiting for the ‘perfect’ time to start often means not starting at all. If every single writer waited for optimum conditions before putting pen to paper, nothing would get written at all.

In reality, we just have to write when we can, as often as we can. This often means writing at mad times of the day or night, scribbling a few lines in between work and dinner, going out and going to bed. It means writing while the kids are having an argument downstairs and desperately trying to cram a few hundred words in around that massive work deadline.

This can make the reality of writing seem something of a chore – something that’s difficult. I think there is, however, a better, nicer way of looking at it. And that is: the best time to write a book is when you want to write a book.

After all, if you didn’t want to write a book, would you really bother getting up at half five in the morning to fit in a few paragraphs before work? If you didn’t want to write a book, would you really make the effort to write when you’ve got so much going on in your life and so many deadlines to meet on a weekly basis?

We write because we want to. It might not be perfect and it could often definitely be easier, but it’s still something we do because we want to. And really, what time to write a book could be better than that?