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The problem with that is that it's just as easy to make evening writing sound cool and bohemian - look at the evening writer anecdotes like Hunter Thompson's (h
by gwern 6y ago
The problem with that is that it's just as easy to make evening writing sound cool and bohemian - look at the evening writer anecdotes like Hunter Thompson's (https://mentalfloss.com/article/33487/hunter-s-thompsons-daily-routine https://mentalfloss.com/article/33487/hunter-s-thompsons-dai...)! They're all like "after sleeping in to afternoon, I go to cocktail parties exchanging witty banter with New Yorker editors, and then at midnight I settle down in the darkness with my snifter of cognac and fine Cuban cigar and write immortal prose until dawn while the muggles snore away".
- groby_b 6y agoYou do, however, sound anything but virtuous doing that. Cool and bohemian, sure - but most people strive, ultimately, to be accepted as part of society, not live outside of it. And, tbf, I don't know if my theory is in any way applicable. But it's certainly more plausible than "the liminal space right after sleep" and other quite esoteric models. The article as-is is assuming humans without ulterior motives. That often doesn't hold in practice. (This is in general a problem with studies relying on self-reported data - how much is truth vs. wishful thinking) Ultimately, any decent writer understands that the purpose of an interview is to project an image, not to deliver truthful statements about mundane details. Thompson's image requires him to not be a lark. (It was likely shaped by the fact that he really isn't one, but it's a self-reinforcing cycle) So if you are interested in finding out more, I'd suggest that it pays to focus on writers where their stated behavior contradicts their public image.
- gwern 6y agoThe 'liminal space' comes up all the time in self-reports, though, including literally the top comment on this page! There's no social desirability bias I can see there.