Tempted by the dark

It’s a cold night at the end of January, and there’s an owl hooting outside my window. I’m at my laptop, thinking about creativity and eating yogurt. My mind is telling me that I shouldn’t be doing either of these things this time of night. My mind is saying, if you’re up this late, you should at least be working on your novel.

And put the dishes away, while you’re at it.

But I’m here instead, thinking about this tension: this pull between what we should do, and what we find ourselves doing, like staying up late to write. For me, the night hours feel more malleable, more creative—a time for stories and words and art.

I had this problem as a child too, when I’d read late into the night. Books kept me up, wide-eyed. And then, come morning, I’d be exhausted. Wondering why I started that book right before bed, when I knew I’d never sleep.

I know other authors who are so very disciplined: they get up early; they write their novels first thing in the morning. I have always wanted to be one of those writers, and yet the only time my mind seems to quiet is long after sunset, when my kids are asleep. When I’m the only one awake, besides the owl. Then, a calmness descends, and every word on the page feels whispered, a secret I’m sharing with the dark.

I have an artist friend who also works late. She walks at dusk, does her artwork afterward. A self-proclaimed night owl, her night-time art session is her preference. It’s her routine, her stride. It works.

On the other hand, there are plenty of productive early risers. There’s an essay by Maria Popova1, where she tracked famous writers’ sleeping habits, and their literary productivity. (Early risers included Toni Morrison, Edith Warton, Haruki Murakami, etc.) Of course, to paraphrase Popova, there are many factors that shape creative output. She emphasizes:

“No specific routine guarantees success, and the only thing that matters is having a routine and the persistence implicit to one. Showing up day in and day out, without fail, is the surest way to achieve lasting success.”

For me, whenever I stay up late like this to read or write, my mind won’t turn off. It fixates on the next plot point, the next chapter, and then it’s difficult to fall asleep—I’ll toss and turn and wish I’d never felt that blue light on my face after dark.

Before, I had excuses not to be disciplined, not to wake up early. Babies, then toddlers, who interrupted my sleep constantly in the middle of the night. My nights were not my own. Neither were my days.

So now it’s hard to give up the quiet darkness, the owl. It’s hard to keep a creative curfew.

But for every night that I spend deeply engaged with work, I forfeit the next day. Tired, my brain not cooperating. And so, (for me), it’s time to experiment with my routine. To see what allows me to “show up” the most. That might mean saying no to the night, and claiming the early mornings instead.

It’s winter, after all. It will still be dark.

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I’ll let you know how waking up early goes.2 In the meantime, I’d love to hear what creative rhythm works best for you. When do you feel most creative?

Some of you might know that my adult thriller, PLEASE ENJOY YOUR STAY, is coming out with Emily Bestler Books (Atria) in Fall 2026! My editor and I just finished up a final polish on the line level, and now the book has gone off to the copyeditor. I’m excited, and also deep into a draft of my second adult thriller. (For those of you who subscribed to my mailing list after my young adult thriller, NO BEAUTIES OR MONSTERS, was released, I thank you!)

Megan Miranda’s YOU BELONG HERE. I’ve actually read all of her (8?) thrillers except for one. What are you reading? Let me know in the comments!

Happy reading, writing, and finding your own creative coordinates, (whatever time of day that might be),

x Tara