On Waking and Writing

September 14, 2009

When I first moved into my current apartment several months ago, I had a hard time sleeping. I would wake up in the middle of the night, and fight my way back to sleep.

This lasted about a week, until one night I actually got up, and went to the bathroom. There I made an unexpected discovery: it wasn’t the middle of the night; it was 5:00 AM. The sun wasn’t up yet, but it was morning. This new environment had magically transformed me into a morning person. So I accepted it, and to this day, I naturally wake up every morning between 5 and 7 AM.

Recently, another transformation has taken place: I’m starting to enjoy writing.

I used to enjoy creative writing in school, but being that I dropped out of college early on to pursue my career as a web developer, that part of my brain has been boarded-up and forgotten.

But those boards have been slowly pried off over the last year, through my daily use of Twitter. Each time I compose a tweet, I try to put a little thought into how it’s worded, and I think that’s had some sort of positive effect on the Writing Department in my brain.

The first time I noticed the change was when I wrote “The Perfect Support Request”. It was a subject that I’m passionate about, so it was no surprise that the words came easy, but I didn’t expect to enjoy writing it.

When crafting Playa and Wygwam’s overview pages, I put more effort into writing the copy than I have in the past, and found those to be fun as well.

So I decided to spur some new life into my blog. I’ve given it a new design (with comments!), and a new URL. I plan to start writing here on a more regular basis.

I’m kicking things off with an article about marketing, a subject I’m just beginning to develop an interest in.

Four Comments

Jeff Claeson

Jeff Claeson

September 14, 2009 at 12:11 pm

I’ve never been a writer but with my new site launch (any day now, I swear) I plan on jumping into writing so it’s good to see you making the plunge and enjoying it.

Brandon Kelly

Brandon Kelly

September 14, 2009 at 12:26 pm

I’ve tried to force myself in the past, but just couldn’t make a habit of it. That’s why I was surprised to find that I’m beginning to enjoy it. Best of luck, though!

Jim

Jim

September 16, 2009 at 12:31 pm

I’ve been writing first thing in the morning for years.  It’s the BEST time to get the most work done (especially if you have kids) and the bonus is that you get to go through the rest of your day feeling great that you’ve already written something (instead of stressing out about finding the time to do it).

Love the minimalistic design to your blog as well.

Brandon Kelly

Brandon Kelly

September 16, 2009 at 2:31 pm

Yeah, the early morning is by far my most productive time as well. But I tend to spend it catching up on email and working on my add-ons. I don’t get into the writing zone until late at night for some reason.

Thanks for reading!  Anything you’d like to add?