Changes

Way back when, I took a creative writing class. During my time in said class I learned that writers are either morning chickens or night owls. Meaning they either get their inspiration to write during the morning hours or during the nighttime.

For years I was a night owl, especially when I worked the night shift as a correctional officer at the prison. I was actually proud of that fact. Well, now that I’m a counselor, still at the prison mind you, I work during the daylight. That has ruined my nighttime forays into the fictional universes I have created.

I actually started working Day Watch about six months before my promotion, so I’ve been exposed to the daytime world for almost a year and a half. I suppose you can call me a Day Walker because I still yearn for darkness and it’s creative inspirations.

Back in the late 1990’s I found out about a special trade school in Florida where they taught people how to create video games. Before opening the school to the public, they did an experiment to decide as to what time of the day to schedule classes. At the conclusion of their experiment they figured out that in most cases, the human mind is most creative between the hours of 4 PM and 2 AM. So, they began holding six-hour classes between 4 and 10 PM. I have to admit now that I work during the daylight hours I tend to be more creative during the late-afternoon and early-evening hours.

One of the things I noticed back in the mid-to-late 1990’s working Evening Watch (4PM to Midnight) at the prison was that hawks were most active during the late-afternoon and early-evening hours. (We have a fairly healthy population of various critters at the institution, including pigeons, squirrels, rats, Mexican eagles, owls and hawks.) Anyway, I suppose since I’m no longer a night owl and I’ve never really been a morning chicken, I must be an evening hawk?