Tick Tock...Writing time

What time of day do you write and for how long? I’m nosey and always wonder how other writers do it. Every writing magazine I read talks about the novel writer who has made it big and mentions their writing regiment of four to five hours a day. Must be nice. So what did they do prior to making it big? Weren’t they real people with daytime jobs?

My writing time is precious. I try to write at times when I know no one will bother me. But finding that time has become more and more difficult lately. Not too long ago, I attended a workshop where the writer said the only time she could write was at four in the morning. All around me, people were shaking their heads, certain that the woman was crazy. But I got to thinking about it—four in the morning does have a certain charm to it, an appeal that drew me. Both of the most important people in my life (husband and daughter) are a sleep then, and therefore, cannot interrupt my stream of thought with constant questions like: Where is the peanut butter? Besides, I’d already been getting up at five to write. What’s one more hour?

For awhile, this process worked great. I am far more creative and alert in the morning than any other time of day. But lately, I’m starting to find it a struggle to get out of bed. This is due to my daytime job as a teacher becoming crazy with the end of the school year approaching. So my question for all of our loyal followers is: When do you write? What time of day is it? And how do you juggle your family, work, and social life--assuming you’re lucky enough to have one?