Writing, writing, writing...

Writing, writing, writing...
Rabid Ink:
It's difficult to name a blog. I arrived at the title "Rabid Ink" after carefully considering the influence that writing and the written word have in and on my life. I am a writer, reader, student, and teacher. I worked for several years as a freelance writer before returning to college and I am currently working toward earning my Ph.D. in English literature. Some dictionaries define the word 'rabid' as "extremely zealous or enthusiastic," or "unrestrained enthusiasm." A few describe 'rabidity' as "raging, uncontrollable, madness." Of course, rabidity is also associated with contagion and invasiveness.

My relationship with the written word might be characterized by any of these descriptions. My readings or writings can become all-consuming. They can devour my time, infect me with myriad emotions, and rage with what might seem to the uninitiated as an uncontrollable madness. This blog is inspired by the rabid essence of the text, of the ink on the page, of my experiences reading, writing, and pursuing scholarship.

In the "archive" column, I have included some material from a previous blog that delt primarily with writing. While these archived posts are older, I dusted off those I found most interesting or worth recalling and placed them here. If you read them, please forgive any redundancies or blemishes. My writing has evolved since the time of these musings, along with some of my interests.

Friday, April 8, 2005

Late Night Write

I love to write late at night. I don't know what it is exactly that I find so pleasing about it. Perhaps it is the quiet of the house, my kid is asleep, no neighbors are mowing their lawns next door, no doorbell rings, even my three dogs are settled and don't come up to nudge me for a treat or a pat on the head. Heck, they rarely even bark this late. So, maybe it is the peacefulness that causes late night writing to be so appealing to me. Maybe it's just that I am more creative at night. I always was a bit of a night owl. Even as a young child I could never fall asleep early. Could also have something to do with my current genre. I am working on two fantasy novel-length fiction manuscripts. Might be that I feel night time is more conducive to writing about my created world replete with non-human characters. Possible I suppose.

Honestly, I am not sure why it is that I seem to always do my best writing after midnight. Editing I do better in the daytime, but my creative writing is definitely a late night pursuit. I do notice that I fall asleep quicker after I have written. As if allowing the characters in my stories to spill onto the page somehow quiets them and allows me to sleep rather than lie awake thinking about what they are going to do next or how they are evolving.

Maybe it is just that I have trained myself that if I am gonna be up late - I may as well write. I know other writers train their creative focus to allow them to pursue writing morning pages. I keep telling myself that I am going to mix it up a little and start getting up early to write rather than stay up late, but there is something about getting up at 6am to write fiction that seems insanely barbaric to me.

For now, I will probably stick with the late night write that I have become so accustomed to. You know what they say; if it ain't broke...

I wonder though if fixing it would actually repair a weakness or cause it to break down all together

2 comments:

  1. hey,

    i was browsing through profiles and came across yours... read your latest post and could COMPLETELY relate.

    i STUDY better at night... i just finished doing physics notes right now and am taking half a hour on the comp before going to sleep. and then i come across your blog... i write and paint and draw and study and do everything better at night as well...

    ill read more posts later 'cause i'm gunna have to get up for school in like 3 hours... but i'm looking forward to them!

    check out my blog! please

    xx
    isa

    PS i love your blog title!

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  2. Miss... Shakespeare speaks of the night watchman. They are observers, and often write. Writing is a form of communication with ourselves(Meditation). Not sure if that makes sense. Writing when it is quiet and dark can mean you feel the smartest when you are on guard.

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