I love Project Write Now’s Morning Pages class. I love the accountability of showing up to create with other writers. I love knowing other people are writing at the same time as me, even though the cameras and microphones are off. Writing is a solitary endeavor, and I do not take PWN’s writing community for granted.

What I don’t love is waking up early.

When my schedule allows, I do join the morning writing accountability group. Starting my day with fellow writers is a joy. But I don’t often produce quality work during these sessions. My mind isn’t awake enough, and I haven’t had a day full of experiences to inspire me.

Instead, I do my best work when I write before bed, free from the looming daily grind because I have done everything I have needed to do. Around 9 or 10 p.m., after dinner has been cleared away and I’ve done the rounds of making sure the doors are locked and all the lights have been turned off, I settle down into my office. I can hear the quiet snoring of my husband and French Bulldog in the next room (damn the people who can fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow!). The world outside my window is dark. I turn on the soft yellow lamp, light a candle (my current favorite is The Historical Fiction candle from Indigo), and play a musical score from a movie. My Go To’s are The English Patient, Brideshead Revisited, and You’ve Got Mail. Musical scores play a part in conveying emotional resonance in films, and that’s a helpful tool to put your own mind in an emotional state.

I sit at my desk, open a notebook, take a deep breath, and write. I write about the conversations I had that day, inspiration that sparked from movies I watched or books I read, and the world around me. The anxieties of the day filter out, and all that’s left are the quiet hum of ideas that have been brewing during daylight, only now able to be written into existence. When I type away at night, I feel like a kid again, hiding under my blanket with a flashlight to sneak in extra reading time. I’m sure my parents knew what I was doing, just as my husband does now when I steal away to scribble late into the night. It’s a secret only I think I’m getting away with, but nonetheless it feels invigorating.

Next time you set aside time to write, consider an evening session. Romanticize your writing routine! In my adolescence, I was inspired by Jo March writing late into the night in her attic in Little Women wearing her “writing cap.” Perhaps you have your own cozy items to add to your writing routine, such as a fluffy blanket, a spritz of a perfume, or a cup of your preferred tea. Set the scene, immerse yourself, and invite the muses to have a seat at your table.

Here are a few prompts that have sparked great evening pages for me:

• What does your ideal artistic or creative process look like if there were no expectations, pressures, or external opinions involved?
• What feedback about your work has stayed with you the longest?
• What moments from today do I want to remember that I hope “future me” will reread and remember?

If you are new to a nightly writing routine or already accustomed to it, I invite you to join me and other night owls next month at Project Write Now’s Evening Pages. We will meet on Zoom from 9 to 10 p.m. ET / 6 to 7 p.m. PT, Monday through Friday, for two weeks, August 17 – 28. I hope to see you there!