The Nocturnal Scribe

Living on your own produces some really weird work habits, and because I’m a writer my work habits are really fracking weird.

First off, I do not wear pants unless I have company. Sometimes I wear shorts and other times just my undies, which are boxer/briefs so it’s like wearing shorts too. I usually wear an inspiring geek t-shirt, or lately muscle shirts when recovering from my latest tattoo/touch up. So every night when I’m working on a new comic book, a ghost novel or even my own works… everyday is a very casual Friday.

Another habit I’ve picked up from my solitude concerns my sleeping habits. When I have no kids around, I become very nocturnal. I spend most of my time between 8pm to midnight either watch the Leafs/Raptors/Jays on television or a favorite show if it happens to be on. I’ll usually eat something during that time and then when all the shows/events are over, it’s time to get to work. I usually get most of my writing done between 1am to 7am every night unless I have the kids. When the kids are visiting I got to bed early, which for me is around 2am.

I didn’t mean to work like this, but for some reason I happen to get a lot more work done when I’m writing at night. Less distractions would be my guess, and things are very quiet too. That’s a very poor excuse since I’m usually wearing headphones and listening to music when writing too. I’ll write until either I can’t anymore or I’m almost ready to pass out and then crash. Then I usually sleep in until somewhere between noon and 2pm.  Neil Gaiman once said the best thing about being a writer was that you got to sleep in every morning, and who am I to disagree? I like sleeping in till noon all the time.

When I visited Dad in Florida December past, he was up at 6am every morning to walk the dogs 3 miles. He just assumed I’d want to go too. He assumed wrong, because I had only fallen asleep an hour ago after writing a comic book and a new chapter for Wattpad. I get that the dogs like to pee but the old man is retired. He doesn’t have to wake up early anymore, he’s just not used to it yet. He needs to rediscover the joy of sleeping in. Maybe I’ll try to corrupt his sleeping pattern when I go back out again in a few weeks.

My Dad asked if I would be okay checking out a game at Lakeland, Florida instead when I visit. That is the spring training home of the Detroit Tigers, which is a far closer drive to where Dad current resides. He knows I’m a die hard Jays fan, but I’m also not a stiff ass. I’m going to see a dozen Blue Jay games at the Dome this year, so I said it was okay to check out the other place when I visit. It will weird seeing two other teams play, but a game is a game and I’m good.

I’m still seeing the Toronto Maples Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning that week, so that’s all I care about. I bought tickets last month and we are going to have a blast. I’m bringing my Leaf Jerseys down with me, so Dad and I can represent when rooting for the visiting team. We’re going to have a good time, and even try a killer place for supper before the big game. Since I got the tickets, Dad is going to cover the grub. It’s something I’m looking forward to since buying Leaf tickets up here are insane. Let me just put it this way, it’s cheaper for me to fly to Florida and buy three tickets to see this game than it would be for me to buy three tickets to see the Leafs in Toronto. I kid you not.

I’ve got some more work to do in the next two weeks, and I’ll be hanging out with my boys all next week for the Spring Break. Right after that, I fly to Orlando for more fun in the sun. So I’ve got a lot to do, and so little time to do it. I hope everyone else is enjoying their week, and I’ll be around.

Cheers,

Peter