When to write

Stuart McLean says that if you think all the effort that goes into writing is a waste of time, you're probably right. But if you think it might be fun, what you should do is accept a writing assignment with a deadline. Otherwise, you'll just put it off forever. Robertson Davies thought that writers should have jobs. I imagine he thought this because your workplace can provide stories, but also because if you want something done, you should give it to a busy person. I find that I can write more stories when I have an occupation. I take the subway to work and that's my time to read. If I'm up early enough, I can write longhand in the morning. W.P. Kinsella got up early in the morning before he went to work to write. He says that what you need to become a successful writer is luck. There are more writers (or more would-be writers) than there are readers. Dostoyevsky wrote in the middle of the night, drinking tea. Proust wrote in bed and so did Truman Capote. Some writers spend eight hours a day at it. Which I can't imagine because if the characters don't come, you're alone with the box scores as one author claimed to be.