how do you describe morning in creative writing

Morning Describing Words: Examples & Adjectives

Waking up to the gentle rays of the morning sun, I am always struck by the beauty and tranquility that surrounds me. The morning holds a special place in our hearts, as it signifies new beginnings and the promise of a fresh start. But how do we capture the essence of this magical time of day? In this article, I’ll be exploring a variety of adjectives that perfectly describe the morning, along with examples that will bring these words to life.

Another adjective that encapsulates the morning is “refreshing.” After a restful night’s sleep, we wake up feeling rejuvenated and ready to take on the day. The crisp morning air invigorates our senses, and the dew-kissed grass sparkles like diamonds. It’s a time when everything feels new and full of potential. Whether it’s a brisk walk in the park or a refreshing shower, the morning offers a chance to start afresh and embrace the possibilities that lie ahead.

Table of Contents

How to Describe morning? – Different Scenarios

When describing the morning, there are various scenarios that can help evoke different emotions and vibes. Let’s explore some of these scenarios and the adjectives that perfectly capture their essence:

Describing Words for morning in English

Adjectives for morning, adjectives for morning.

When describing the morning, it’s important to choose the right adjectives to capture the essence of this special time of day. Let’s explore some adjectives that can help us paint a vivid picture of the morning.

Positive Adjectives for Morning

The morning brings a sense of freshness, new beginnings, and opportunities. Here are some positive adjectives that can be used to describe the morning:

Negative Adjectives for Morning

While mornings are often associated with positivity, sometimes we may want to evoke a different atmosphere. Here are some negative adjectives that can be used to describe the morning:

These negative adjectives can be used when you want to convey a more somber or challenging mood in your descriptions of the morning.

Synonyms and Antonyms with Example Sentences

Synonyms for morning.

When it comes to describing the morning, there are various synonyms that can be used to add depth and richness to your writing. Here are some alternative words you can use to paint a vivid picture of the early hours:

Antonyms for Morning

By using these synonyms and antonyms, you can add variety and depth to your descriptions of the morning. Experiment with different words and combinations to find the perfect adjectives that capture the essence of this magical time of day.

Describing the morning can be a delightful task, as it allows us to paint a vivid picture of the early hours. By using synonyms and antonyms, we can add depth and variety to our descriptions. Words like dawn, daybreak, sunrise, and crack of dawn evoke a sense of new beginnings and the beauty of nature awakening. On the other hand, words like dusk, nightfall, midnight, and evening can convey a different mood or state, perhaps one of tranquility or reflection.

So, the next time you find yourself describing the morning, remember to explore the vast array of adjectives available to you. Experiment with different words and let your imagination soar. By doing so, you’ll be able to bring your writing to life and engage your readers in a truly immersive experience.

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When and How to Write a Character Waking Up

Writing about a character waking up can be a challenge, especially since waking up is something we do in a semiconscious state. It can be tough to pinpoint exactly how it feels, and that makes it difficult to write convincingly. In addition to that, writers seem split on when to start a scene with a character waking up, and whether you should do it at all. 

Is It Bad To Start a Scene with a Character Waking Up?

If you’ve ever been in a creative writing or fiction class, then you’ve definitely been told that it is a bad idea to start a story or scene with your main character waking up. Most experienced writers and instructors strongly advise against it. But why? Is it always a bad idea?

And really, the answer is no; you can pull off a good waking up scene that draws readers into the story. By writing a character waking up in a specific way, you can set the tone for the rest of the scene and offer a unique glimpse into the character’s personality.

However, people tend to discourage starting a scene like this, not because it is inherently bad, but because it is a tactic often used lazily. Many beginner writers rely on this technique as an easy way to transition between scenes. If the transition is abrupt, glossed over, or otherwise disregarded by the writer, then it definitely won’t be taken seriously by the reader.

If you’re considering starting a scene, or your entire story, with your main character waking up, take a moment to consider why you want to write it like that. Do you have a good reason to? Is there another way you could start it? If you don’t have a good reason for writing it like that, you probably shouldn’t do it.

When to Write a Character Waking Up

If you’re going to show a character waking up, make sure there’s a good reason for it. If you just don’t know how else to start a story, and you have your character wake up and start making coffee, chances are your readers are going to get bored. 

If you want to keep your readers interested, focus on the implications of waking up. If your character is awake, then they have to do something. What is it they have to do? Are they looking forward to it, or dreading it? Do they struggle to get up, because they are injured, hungover, or groggy? Give the readers something to think about. Instead of just telling them the character is waking up, let them wonder why the character reacts a certain way when they do get up. 

The act of waking up is not inherently interesting, so it is your job to present it in an interesting way. Use it as a way of emphasizing something, like your character’s memories, fears, habits, and plans. Make waking up a point to focus on, instead of just a lazy transition. And, however tempting it may be, do not overuse this technique. If every scene starts with the character waking up, it’s going to feel mundane. 

If your character suffers from insomnia, then you may find yourself writing many scenes with them waking up, often still tired. If you want some guidance for writing about that specifically, I have another article that could help you out: Losing Sleep Over How to Write a Character with Insomnia?

How to Describe Waking Up

Waking up is a fundamental part of being human; we all do it. The next time you wake up in the morning or from a nap, try to focus on how it feels. Don’t reach for your phone or the lights, and instead think about what it feels like to come back to reality. Were you dreaming? Did you wake up slowly or abruptly? Did you set an alarm? How soon after waking up did you get out of bed? If you focus on how it really feels to do something in your life, you’ll be able to write about it more convincingly. 

With that said, obviously not everyone wakes up the same way. And of course, waking up in the middle of the night with a hangover is going to feel different from sleeping in late on a weekend. Writing about different situations is going to require different strategies.

(As a side note, if you want to write about drunk or hungover characters, I recommend taking a peek at my other article: How to Write a Drunk Character. )

How to Describe Someone Waking Up in the Morning

Waking up in the morning is generally pretty mundane, but there are ways to make it interesting. 

If the character wakes up naturally, then try to draw the scene out so it progresses in a slow and sleepy manner. Introduce details one at a time and try to show the process of things coming into focus. In general, try to avoid actually writing the phrase “things came into focus,” since you can show your readers how that feels instead of telling them that it’s happening.

Overload the scene with descriptive language and details. Bring the scene to life as much as possible, and really set the stage for the rest of the story. Describe what the character hears when they wake up, to clue the readers in to where the character lives. Do they hear birds or busy city streets? Do they hear nothing at all? What about how they feel? Is it cold? Bright?

Don’t just let readers know that the character is awake, let them experience what the character feels as they are waking up. In addition to the physical details, include little hints about the character’s personality based on how they feel about waking up. Instead of just mentioning the sounds of the city, you could describe it with negative language, to suggest that the character hates living in the city. Or, focus on the serene calmness of the sounds of nature and the coziness of the bed, to create a comfortable feeling right off the bat.

Alternatively, if the character wakes up to an alarm, they are probably going to wake up abruptly, and with less time to absorb their surroundings. Alarm clocks represent structure and routine, and your readers will immediately associate the character with being more systematic and less carefree. You should still set the scene with some descriptions to orient your audience, but in general, you should strive to cut back on the flowery language. The character needed to wake up to do something, so they can’t waste time listening to birds. 

How to Describe Someone Waking Up from a Nightmare

Like with an alarm clock, a person waking up from a nightmare is going to wake up rather suddenly. They probably won’t be paying attention to the details of the room, and instead, are going to be disoriented and frantic. A nightmare triggers the body’s fight-or-flight reflex, so the character’s heart will be beating fast, and they will be alert and ready to act to defend themself from whatever they were dreaming about.

After waking up, the character will need to calm down before they can get on with the story. This is a great opportunity to explore the impact of the nightmare and the sentiment of the character. Are bad dreams commonplace, or is the character unused to waking up like this? Is the nightmare an echo of a bad memory, or the result of some supernatural influence? 

Have the character think about the details of the dream after the fact, but do not explain the entire dream for the readers. Give little hints about what it could mean to give readers something to think about. If the dream is foreshadowing a future event or an ongoing struggle, don’t give everything away right from the beginning!

Your character may have a difficult time coming back to reality after a nightmare. When this happens, they could experience sleep paralysis upon waking up. This is when a person is unable to speak or move for several minutes after waking up, and may hallucinate seeing or feeling an evil presence like a demon, a figure from their past, or something they fear. You could use this as a tactic to extend the nightmare into the character’s waking life, to emphasize the impact the nightmares have on them.

If you want to read more about how to incorporate dreams and nightmares into your story, check out my article: Writing About Dreams and Nightmares .

How to Describe Someone Waking Up from Being Unconscious

If your character “fell asleep” as a result of getting knocked on the head then they aren’t going to wake up the same way as they would any other time. The first thing they’re going to notice as they wake up is how bad their head hurts. A person has to be hit really hard to lose consciousness, so your character is in for a pretty bad headache when they come to, and they’re going to notice the pain before they can register any other sensation. Make sure that is the first thing you mention unless the character is woken up forcefully by another character, a loud sound, or something else. 

Once the character has had time to overcome the pain, they’re probably going to be pretty disoriented. Show the character trying to work through exactly what happened before they fell unconscious, and have them try to sort through what they know and don’t know. Was it a bad fall? A fight? How much do they even remember? Help the readers along by having the character search for context, like what time it is, where they are, and how they managed to get hurt. 

Keep in mind that a character who is struck in the head hard enough to knock them out will endure a concussion. The article How to Write About Brain Damage (Accurately!) can walk you through the specifics of including that detail in your story.

How to Describe Someone Waking Up in an Unfamiliar Place

The perfect time to execute a scene that begins with the character waking up is with a kidnapping. Your character will be just as confused as the readers, and you can use that as your hook to keep readers engaged. 

If your character wakes up in an unfamiliar place, chances are, the first thing they’re going to do is start to panic. They may start to wake up groggily, but as soon as they realize they may be in danger, adrenaline is going to kick in and they’ll be fully awake in less than a second. 

They’re going to look around at everything to try to figure out where they are, so make sure you describe the scene in as much detail as possible. However, avoid the flowery language. If your character is terrified, they’re going to look at things and not really think about them much, so describe things quickly and visually—and move on. 

In this case, waking up isn’t the focus. Have the character realize the situation quickly, so they can progress the story. If they can’t move because they’re tied up, then they might start trying to think of how they got there, and who could be behind it. But in general, the character isn’t going to waste a whole lot of time before they start trying to do something to get out of the situation.

Some Parting Thoughts

No one should be able to tell you what you definitively should or should not write. There isn’t a wrong way to tell a story. If you think starting a scene with a character waking up is the best way to do that, then don’t let anyone stop you. It’s your story after all, and if you write it with care and passion, it’s going to be interesting.

If someone tells you not to write something, don’t take that advice at face value. Try to think about why they’re giving you that advice, and why they think it would help you. It’s not that starting a scene with a character waking up is bad, it’s just that most people don’t do it well. When people tell you not to do it, they’re actually telling you not to use cheap tricks to avoid writing difficult transitions. If you know how to handle a character waking up, then there’s no reason to shy away from putting it in your story.

20 Morning Writing Prompts to Jumpstart Your Day

by Joe Bunting and Sue Weems | 130 comments

Julia Cameron's classic book The Artist's Way challenges writers to tackle morning pages each day as a way to clear the mind and set the day's intention. Today we have a few morning writing prompts to kickstart your morning journal time or writing any time of day. 

Ask people how they feel about mornings, and you're likely to get one of two responses. On one hand, you have the morning routine enthusiasts who get up early to begin their daily routines, say their positive affirmations, pump some iron or get a workout in, and anything else that contributes to their personal goals. 

For others, mornings come too early and just getting out of bed to make the coffee feels like a massive feat. 

No matter your personal experience with mornings though, my guess is that mornings themselves can be a source of inspiration. There are a number of ways to approach writing prompts for the morning. See if one of these prompts unleashes some creative potential for you!

Morning Journaling Prompts

If you're trying to start a daily habit of writing, you can use morning journal prompts as a part of your morning routine to help you tackle negative emotions, monitor stress levels, cultivate a sense of mindfulness, or just quiet the mental chatter.

1. Describe a small, daily ritual you can incorporate into your morning routine to promote a sense of calm and mindfulness.

2. Write about a recent experience where you successfully turned a negative thought into a positive one. How did you do it, and how did it make you feel?

3. Imagine starting your day with a clean slate, free from stress and worry. Write a brief journal entry about how you would design your ideal morning routine to achieve this state.

4. Write a short letter to your future self, reminding them of the importance of self-compassion and the practice of letting go of negative emotions.

5. Describe how quiet or calm feels in your body.

Life Goals Prompts

Mornings often feel like a fresh start, a way to begin anew your own personal growth. Use one of these prompts to explore your larger goals or explore a dream.

6. Describe a specific life goal you've set for yourself. What steps have you taken so far to work towards achieving it, and what motivates you to pursue this goal?

7. What is one way you've made a positive impact in your world, and how can you continue to cultivate positive change around you?

8. Imagine yourself ten years from now, living your dream life. Write a detailed journal entry about what your life looks like, the accomplishments you've achieved, and the personal growth you've experienced along the way.

9. Write a to-do list that outlines specific tasks to contribute to reaching your life dream. Nothing's too big or small to include. 

10. Write about one person who has played a pivotal role in shaping your aspirations and values.

Gratitude Journal Prompts

Research shows that gratitude has a huge impact on our overall wellness and sense of wellbeing. Incorporate a few gratitude prompts in your morning journal practice on a daily basis and see how you feel. 

11. Think about the natural world around you. Write about one aspect of nature that fills you with wonder or awe. 

12. List three people you're intensely grateful for and explain why.

13. Write about a simple pleasure you often take for granted—that first cup of coffee, the chatter of birds out back, a devoted dog curled up beside you.

14. Write a letter of gratitude to a previous year you experienced, whether in childhood or recent years. 

15. Write about a difficult time that ultimately you're grateful to have experienced. 

Creative Writing Prompts for Morning

16. Write about a morning gone wrong in a character's life (or your own). 

17. What inspires you about the morning?

18. Write about a memorable morning.

19. Choose a season and imagine a perfect morning in that season. Describe it. 

20. Describe in detail a sensory experience of a morning, either at home or during a travel experience. 

A journaling practice, especially first thing in the day can start your day right. Morning is the perfect time to take some quiet time for your writing, and I hope one of these prompts inspires you and gets your creative juices flowing. 

When is your favorite time to write? Share with us in the comments . 

Choose one of the prompts above or just take fifteen minutes to write about the morning.

Write for fifteen minutes . When you're finished, post your practice in the Pro Practice Workshop here , and leave feedback for a few other writers. 

Here's Joe's practice from 2012

The cell phone vibrates me awake. I reach for it, hold the bright screen to my squinting face, and set it for thirty minutes later. I hate mornings.

I-don't-know-how-many minutes later, I open my eyes to see the grey out my window. The field is murky with it, brown grass sticking up out of a swamp of fog. The trees are not trees but only pine. The oak and poplars have withered down to stalks, leaving the shaggy pine looking like remnants of a holocaust. The only ones clothed in a sea of naked and shaved. But in this fog, the trees never end, they float upwards, for all we know, limitless as bean stalks. My eyes shut.

The cell phone again. I turn it off. Talia makes a sound. I should get up. I should want to get up. My eyes close.

She slides up next to me. Her chin tucks into my shoulder. She gets up.

I actually like cloudy days. They are warmth, hot coffee. They are staring into grey, feeling soothed by it, letting it cover you like a blanket of introspection. Your whole world is what is right in front of you because everything else is consumed by fog. A veil over the world.

My eyes open again and I know they must stay open. I have slept far too long. I don't want to get up. Oh, I don't want to. I get up.

I look at the time, an hour of my day lost. A flock of crows fly black over the trees.

Talia smiles, says, “How did you sleep?”

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

Sue Weems is a writer, teacher, and traveler with an advanced degree in (mostly fictional) revenge. When she’s not rationalizing her love for parentheses (and dramatic asides), she follows a sailor around the globe with their four children, two dogs, and an impossibly tall stack of books to read. You can read more of her writing tips on her website .

130 Comments

Frigid night. Frigid morning.

I burrow into the comforter and hide my head. Indiana’s cold nose pokes through my shields to remind me it’s breakfast time. Beagles’ stomachs are more accurate than any alarm clock. I ignore him as long as he’ll allow, until he convinces Barkley the English Springer to join in the game of roust Mom from bed. Patient Chi waits at the door. The eldest of our three dogs knows she’ll get fed, eventually. I surrender.

The pack follows me from the bed to the bathroom to the utility room where the food bin is stashed out of their reach. We learned that lesson the hard way. Chi sits in the entry, drooling politely, as I fill the bowls. Three scoops for her as the largest, two for Barkley who wriggles and whimpers in anticipation, and a bit less for Indy, the smallest. He bounces up and down, from the dryer to the trash can – also locked away from their eager noses – and tries so hard to obey my futile “Sit” command. But he fights a losing battle. His eagerness keeps him in constant motion.

Full bowls stacked in hand, I park the trio at one end of the great room, repeating “Stay” in another futile effort to keep them at bay while I place the food by the water bowls. Chi still drools, Barkley waggles, and Indy flops into his odd half-sit half-lay position, never quite motionless. “You can eat,” is all it takes to release the hounds.

They race to the bowls, sliding in like a base runner stealing home, and in less time than it takes me to fill the tea kettle and place it on the stove, they’ve finished eating and are sniffing to be let out. We try the sit-stay combo again at the back door with varying degrees of success before they explode into the backyard to see what new odors await their morning inspection.

I have enough time for my morning yoga stretches before they’re barking and scratching to be let back in, especially in this morning’s nine degree temperature. Even hunting dogs prefer the warmth of my bedroom office on a day like this.

Only now they have the bed, and I’m at my desk, writing.

I swear Indiana is grinning.

I love the line about Indiana’s cold nose poking through your shield. Beautiful!

What a pack. I used to have dogs and they do like to get one up. Now I have cats, they like me to stay asleep.

I absolutely love Chi sitting there, drooling politely. It’s perfect.

My eyes snapped open, burning with fear. I grasp for air and, for an instant, I had forgotten entirely where I was. That ended quickly. The sound of ammunition weeping all around me was the thing that thrust me back into my instant.

Had I slept in the midst of such chaos, I thought.

Just hours earlier, I had made my bed in a shallow pit at the base of a large tree just outside of camp. I chose this spot because several large branches had fallen over and provided an amount of cover that I deemed sufficient. I packed my rifle close to my right side, placed my pack in a deeper spot near my feet, and pulled my helmet just slightly over my eyes. I mumbled a soft goodnight to my mother back in the states and closed my eyes.

Now, I find myself in, yet again, a position I had never hoped when I signed up for this war. I’m alone, cold, afraid, and knowing that at any moment my life could end.

I pull the branches slowly from my body and prepare for the worst. But, before I emerge, I take a moment and appreciate the luster of the morning. I look around and find myself smiling at the beautiful storm.

“Good morning, mom,” I whisper.

Oh, wow. Is this something that happened to you?

No, this isn’t something that happened to me. I just thought about the morning, not mine in particular, and this is what came about. I woke up in a warm bed, with my children safely sleeping in their rooms down the hall. There is too much comfort in my morning and not enough pain. That’s why I chose this concept instead.

“the luster of the morning” I like that idea that it rhymes with muster giving it kind of a military twang.

Thanks, I agree. The soft glow of the morning.

So strange – I JUST wrote about my morning routine on my blog on Wednesday, for entirely different reasons! Hope you’ll take a gander, Joe & Write Practice friends. 🙂

http://shewritesandrights.blogspot.com/2012/01/morning-new-routine.html

Love the progression of this piece. What an incredibly hard change you have to make – and you’re doing great.

“I pour a mug for myself, mom’s mug.” – Beautiful.

Hi Bethany, I peeked at your post and it was delightful in a hopeful, somber sort of way. I am so sorry about your mom. I hope your blog brings you comfort — writing soothes loss in the strangest way. I will plan to stop by and read more in the upcoming days. Thanks for letting us know about it here! With care, kati

A semitruck bounces down the highway not a hundred feet from my head. I can hear scuffling in the kitchen. If I opened my eyes, I’d see my roommate getting ready for her day, cat gnawing at her feet. But I don’t open my eyes. My day has yet to start.

I return to dreamland, grateful for this time. The old lightswitch flips, the door squeaks, and keys turn the deadbolt. She’s off for the day, meaning I am Hank’s new victim.

Morning means a kitten ready for a playmate. Morning means the smell of coffee and buttered toast. Morning means new mercies.

Morning means I must tear myself from these warm sheets and turn myself into something that slightly resembles a person. Maybe.

I’m not a fan of mornings. The routine never seems to be completed before the clock sreams, “Time to go!”

Getting out of bed is one of the worst times to live in an ancient house with poor circulation and drafty windows. I throw a polar fleece blanket over my shoulders like a cape as I search for the slippers that Hank borrowed during the night. He chases my toes as they search in vain for their jackets. The living room end table is fifteen steps from my bed yet still my feet feel like blocks of ice sliding across the sloped wooden floor. Kitty slobber doesn’t help.

Luckily this morning’s activities involve a good book and cuddle time on the couch next to the heater. It’s times like this that make mornings bearable.

I don’t dare look at the clock. I dove too deeply into Romans and now I must pay the consequences. Every other morning activity is only allowed half of its required time.

From his perch on the back of the toilet, Hank watches my fingers as I move around the bathroom. He tries to help. “Amuse” may be a more accurate term. He loves mornings for it is in the morning when his playmates, his subjects, awaken and do what they do best: be chew toys.

In a hasty panic I throw everything I think I need into a bag and head out the creaky front door, into the morning mist, and to the car that needs de-icing before it too may bounce down the highway like semitruck that served as my alarm clock all of those minutes ago.

Interesting how much our furry companions are a part of life –

Focus. It’s 6:50. What needs to happen right now?

Dishes need to be done, and a lunch made for Andy.

My mornings are about tasks. The tasks used to own me. But now I’m the boss, and I own them.

I run this place. But it used to run me. It used to feel like a prison cell made of dirty diapers and forlorn expectations. My to-do list was the fire-breathing dragon that never slept.

But one morning, as he turned to scratch an itchy scale, I shanked him down to size. I said, “This is the express lane, Smoky, and it’s 10 items or less!”

Now I own this place. I manage my time. I set limits and priorities. I own myself.

Love it! As a mamma, I can relate!

Thanks, Steph! It was a kind of triumphal piece. 🙂

Alright, boss, we submit! This is great. “I’m the boss. I own them. I run this place, Smoky.” Super fun! You went from a prisoner to the prison boss, the guy with tats up and down his built arms, gettin his people to ship in drugs and conning the guards. You’re kind of scary, actually. 🙂

HaHa! well…minus the drug running! I’ve transitioned my mindset over the past few months about being a full-time mom at home. I had to take ownership for the choices I made in becoming a mom, and begin to look at it as a vocation. As I started to view myself more as a professional, it was easier to manage my time/tasks/resources like I used to in a traditional job. Huge difference in quality of life!

Nice. I like that.

Wow, that was clean and powerful! As a mom I was right there with you, I felt the ire rise in my own chest!

Go get your dragon, Beck! 😉

Yes, Jen! Dishes can wait. (Diapers, not really, alas).

“Cleaning and scrubbing can wait til tomorrow…”

I have that monologue in my head everyday…the floors aren’t THAT bad. They’ll wait until tomorrow! 🙂

I love this Jen – freedom from the to do list – own your own day, own your own life. Very empowering. Have a great day.

Thanks, Nics! It’s what I try to do, some days more successfully than others. Glad to know that I successfully communicated the freedom – thanks for the feedback!

Sharp and snappy…good job!

Thanks! I had a little bit of “rawr” going on when I wrote it.

Loved this. Tasks aren’t going anywhere but attitude makes the difference. Going off to slay the laundry pile…

It makes all the difference. I’ve found that the attitude of ownership has made a huge change in how my day goes. It’s the difference between the laundry pile “happening” to me, and me taking out the laundry pile. You can call your dragon “Smelly.” 🙂

Wow! I love the energy as you take control. Powerful!

I’m sad to say that my energy waned by the end of the day, but today is always a new day! Thanks for the great feedback!

Love this. It’s a short passage with a long message. Good metaphor.

Thanks, Nancy! That’s exactly what I was going for – so thanks for the feedback!

I’m a stay at home mom by choice as well. I love how you describe your to-do list. I feel like I have one of those breathing down my neck as well. Our work is never done. I should be cleaning my floors rather than sitting here reading but the floors will have to wait. It’s actually quiet in my house right now. Kind of eerie 🙂

Joe- “My eyes open again and I know they must stay open.” So true. I love how your morning starts with a question about how you slept when really you want to still be sleeping. Katie

Thanks, Katie!

I’ve never been a morning person. I’ve often wished I was. The grass is greener on the other side of the fence, I suppose.

I grumble awake. My first thought most days, indeed this day, is, “I wish I could sleep longer.” The comfort and safety of my bed scream loudest in the mornings. Like Joe, the sharpness of my cell phone-turned-alarm clock pierces my pupils and I cannot read the screen clearly. There’s no need. My hand finds the snooze button instinctively, as if it needed no help from my brain. I’m not sure what good my brain is that early anyway. As I drag myself out of bed, because that’s what it takes these days, I head half-heartedly towards the day’s work.

There must be more.

It is lunch time and I still can’t see clearly. Why hasn’t the morning fog lifted? Why haven’t my eyes cleared themselves and been able to focus on the world yet? Why is my mind still groggy, as if I were only 5 minutes into my 9-minute-snooze; as if I have never fully wakened?

Someone I know once insinuated that a day doing something you hate can feel like years; and years of doing what you love can feel like a day. I have spent years doing that which I do not love. I am a night person who’s been relentlessly beaten by the morning day after merciless day.

But I have good news. My eyes are beginning to see clearly. Things are coming into focus. My mind is coming awake and the early morning fog is starting to lift. The beatings will end soon. It’s time to start my day.

(nods to Joe as the “someone I know”)

“5 minutes into my 9 minute snooze” – I like that!

Thanks Stephan!

Love it, Kevin. And I like this effort at narrative. I think you do it quite nicely. You’re in the moment, giving us good description and action, with a little spice of internal monologue. It’s great.

At the end you almost lose it though. I would have changed this, “But I have good news. My eyes are beginning to see clearly.” To something like this, “Later, though, my eyes begin to see clearly.” But overall this is a very strong practice, bud.

I also love the insinuation about my insinuating 🙂

Thanks Joe. What I tried to do there was describe a typical morning and then I shifted gears with your quote describing the fact that I feel as though I am living my life right now in the groggy, foggy, not quite awake feeling of the morning and at the end was hoping to make the point that the future is coming into focus and I’m about to truly wake up and stop the groundhog’s day of a morning my life seems to be and really start my day (which in your quote would equate to the rest of my life).

But I tried to do it without actually saying that is what I was doing, haha. I’m not sure if I was successful with that or not. Thanks for your critique. Meaningful as always.

Yeah, that makes sense. Also, it’s difficult to cover all of that in one paragraph, and usually when we’re trying to save space we summarize. It’s understandable. I think what you’re trying to do is fascinating and you definitely came close. Thanks bud!

Joe, in my brief time of knowing your blog, I’ve noticed you have an uncanny ability of writing timely posts, both for myself and others! When I checked your blog this morning, I had just finished working on a(nother!) rewrite of a “morning” scene in my WIP. Your post (in which I very much liked your “beanstalk” analogy!) made me think more about how to incorporate time into my text. I had a few minutes just now to spruce it up a little more in that regard. Here it is:

From his spot on the rear bench of his boat, Rex heard the church bells from town start up again. One , two, three chimes. He was anchored at the dock in front of the northern border town of Jack Pine, Minnesota, and had been for quite some time now. Eight, nine, ten. The morning train was officially an hour late. He rummaged beneath his seat, finally finding his metal thermal bottle lodged in the tip of the stern. He popped off the cover that did double-duty as a mug, pulled out the cork, and took a whiff. Strong stuff. If nothing else, he thought, let it be said of Phyllis that she knows how to brew a real pot of coffee: boiled black and thickened with an egg. Jet fuel, he called it, even though he had never flown in a plane. He poured the remainder of the sludge into the mug and, over its rim, stared down the town in front of him. Where could he go to kill time until the train finally came in? He had a bucket of silver shiners he could go sell to the bait shop on the shore. In fact, he used to be one of their top suppliers when he had lived in Jack Pine with Myrt. But the owner was also a man of God who wouldn’t do business with the divorced, unless they were the ones paying him. Not that Rex was properly divorced. Worse, in the eyes of the town folk -and quite possibly in those of the Almighty – he had wrenched a child from his mother’s arms and skipped town, leaving the helpless woman to fend for herself. Granted, he hadn’t strung their dirty laundry up to air along Main Street, but he had most certainly left a pile of it in his wake. At best, he could expect a proper Biblical stoning the minute he stepped into town. Christ, I’m was as crazy as old Mags, he thought. With a shaking hand, he rummaged in the storage compartment alongside his bench until he located the jar of mother’s milk he kept onboard for emergencies such as this. He sloshed it into his coffee, bringing it to level, and slammed it down. He closed his eyes, stretched back, and let the morning sun above wash over him and the waves below rock him until the drink found its way to his nerves. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Jack Pine, Minnesota, as just another port of entry, a necessary business stop, and until that morning train showed up for him to meet, he was going to the café to find himself a little lunch.

Perfect! I love serendipity (the concept, not the movie).

Ew: “thickened with an egg.” Do people really do that?

This character seems interesting so far, and you’ve got a great voice developed here. Lots of backstory, though. Like this, “Not that Rex was properly divorced.” I would try to put this “on screen” if you can. That’s an important bit of story that you don’t want to give away cheaply. And rather than having him thinking through why it’s going to be a pain going to this town, I would just show him having a pain going through the town. Does that make sense?

I really like this character though. Is he your protagonist?

Sadly, I can personally attest to this particular coffee recipe! (blech!!)

Thanks so much for your comments, Joe. This is the intro to my 4th chapter, which has been giving me FITS. As I commented before, backstory is starting to creep in and I’m not sure how to cope with it! You hit the nail on the head – I need to put it onscreen, which should work very well in this case. I’m just not sure how to transition from the previous chapter (change of place and a new day). Maybe I need to set the stage for that change at the end of the previous chapter better?

Sorry – I’m thinking “aloud” here. Thanks for your advice and time. I’m glad you like Rex. Yes, he’s the protagonist. Pesky SOB, won’t let me alone. Hence this crazy mess of a novel I’ve undertaken!

My life, in relationship to the morning, has shown signs of schizophrenic tendencies. My parents said I was a morning person at an early age. Up at the crack of dawn, I was eager to start my day with a bowl of corn flakes and a side of Romper Room on the TV.

But adolescence changed all that. During my high school and college years, there were summers I never even saw morning, unless we are talking about the front end of it. In my teen years I would greet the morning like a drunk anticipating a hangover. Daylight would have to work overtime peeling back my thickened eyelids. Finally, after most of the world had taken their lunch break, I was making my way to the bathroom for a shower.

Today, after parenthood and career have had their way with my aging earth suit, I have become rather chummy with a variety of aches and pains, and I must say, they are definitely night owls. They do their best work while I attempt a good night’s sleep.

This is pitiful to admit, but I think I burn more calories in my sleep than I do during the day. I am constantly tossing and turning and getting up multiple times to go to the bathroom. I recently came up with an idea for a new workout video, “Snooze till You Lose: Workout in Your Sleep.” I could make millions!

Now, my mornings are more like an act of surrender. I pull off my white pillowcase and wave it in the air. “I give up!” I shout to my nocturnal dynamic duo. Aches and Pains have won again. I rise like an aging wrestler getting up after the final bout of his career. My wife of 31 years sleeps soundly on her side of the bed. The alarm clock glows a dark green 5:00.

I shuffle stiffly toward the bathroom. Leaving the light off, I blindly take aim. Hello dear friend. Thanks for being there for me in the middle of the night. Thanks for putting up with my, well, you know. I flush in the dark.

I change into my workout clothes but plan to avoid the treadmill. I head downstairs to the kitchen for bran flakes and liquid energy. The dog is as perturbed as I am when I flip on the light. I settle into my easy chair and grab my Bible. Now my day begins. Now I am ready for the Light.

Great forth paragraph Tom, especially surrendering to the aches and pains. Now that I’m retired sometimes I just don’t get up.

“…my aging earth suit.” I dig that line. It’s something that each one of us can relate to in our own way. Well done.

I like the line, “I rise like an aging wrestler getting up after the final bout of his career.” It’s very descriptive and I can almost hear the bones cracking as he rises from his bed.

The “earth suit” is great.

I love your colorful description and humor. I think I chuckled most at “I pull off my white pillowcase and wave it in the air.” I could just see myself doing that! And the end, “ready for the Light.” I wouldn’t have a good reason to get up without him!

I really liked this line as well, I thought it was a good metaphor.

I love how you associate the light with being reading for the light of day – beautiful analogy. Thank you for your post I enjoyed reading it.

Love the term earth suit….and certainly can relate to nightly rousing, aches, and pains….caught my night life well.

Your hilarity strikes again! If you’d like to turn this into a more finished piece, say for your new newspaper job (which I’m still so excited about, for you), this should be your first paragraph, “This is pitiful to admit, but I think I burn more calories in my sleep than I do during the day.” That’s where you hooked me. I love the self-mocking tone, and mixed with the naive excitement. Everything after is great, too. Well done, my good sir.

Absolutely fabulous! I can’t even pick a favourite line! I really enjoyed this, and laughed at your visit with your old friend… really great piece!

I had the same thoughts as I was writing but I was afraid to admit them. Thanks for speaking for me.

A wonderfully honest telling of the hardship of the mundane. My mornings (and nights) are similar to yours, Tom. Thanks for not sugar-coating anything. I love how even after the worst of nights, the morning can still seem bright. Loved your redemptive outlook in this, while still acknowledging the struggle. (Btw, I kind chuckled at the bathroom scene. Guess I’m just a guy.)

I love to read things that make me laugh. I laughed a lot reading this. Hard to settle on one part as I liked the entire piece. The description, “aging earth suit” made me smile. Enjoyed this!

Joe that is exquisite. I can see it and I can feel the pocket of safety, warmth, life that is yours within the fog. It’s beautiful.

Thank you, Marianne 🙂

That’s supposed to say Steph (dang auto-correct!)

I liked the other as well – I think it would make a good character name! 🙂

The stars seem to fall or more like vanish to the coming day’s song. I hear the lock turn. Click. My front door opens and I walk out ready for the day. So I thought. My eye raise up to see a dreary but somehow calming morning.

The sky is a shade of black I had never seen before. A black that does not consume, but rather shine like a dawning day. I stare for a moment which in reality is nearly a full minute before shaking the spell it laid on me.

I walk briskly down the stone stairs. The ground feel cool even to the touch of my hard soled boots. The chill in the air covers me with the yearning to return to my warm bed that I had left not half an hour ago.

It’s humbling knowing I’m one of the few things that dare stir this long before the shining of day. Though most see the light as a sign of morning. The shining night that prepares it’s slumber is my vision of a true morning.

Happy Beginnings, New Day.

This is very beautiful. I should try to give writerly or readerish reasons why, but I won’t. Just lets say, it resonates in the way Silent Night does.

I know that shade of black. It’s almost impossible to describe and you’ve done the best description here that I think I’ve ever read. I tried it in mine but I kept to the sense of vision and couldn’t get it right. Bravo!!!

Ugh, my heart sinks to the tone of the annoying beep. I know it immediately, I’m going to pay. No longer a bounding youth, with bundles of energy and stamina, my body tells on me.

All nighters, or at least very late nighters, should be relegated to the twenty something years. Yet, there are nights when I struggle to relinquish the delicious silence, my solitude undisturbed by little ones lying quietly under the spell of sleep.

The growing sliver of light, slicing into the grayness of the room, announces my toddler. Silent as an Indian stalking game, she creeps up to the big bed. “Mommy?” a tiny voice questions. I giggle at being discovered, a simple game played without rules and ending predictably every morning.

Little hands reach out and I pull her up beside me. Tucked in close, her sweet breath caresses my face. We doze a moment together, tangled in the fuzzy cords of sleep. Sharply the alarm insists that the day be faced. In a toss of ringlets and kicking of covers, Maggie hops from the bed, answering the command. And so it begins.

I know this scene very well! Very well versed!

The morning light through my window is still gray. The baby is crying. He wants his wet diaper changed. I take it off and he curls back into a ball and falls asleep, naked. I hate to disturb him further, but I put a dry diaper on him, because I don’t want to have to change my sheets today. I lay down next to him. He nurses and I fall back to sleep.

An hour later I hear the recycle truck making its rounds. The wind had been fierce all night, and I have yet to take the trash out. I get up without waking the baby and pull an abaya over my pjs, and hurry the trash to the curb.

Since everyone is still asleep, so I take my kindle to bed to read the day’s news. I check today’s prompt, and wonder if I really want to write about morning. And when I do, it is 3:46 pm.

This was OK, but I didn’t really get the lat paragraph. The sentence, “Since everyone is still asleep, so I take my kindle to bed to read the day’s news”, was a bit awkward – you have to drop either “since” or “so” and then it would flow better.

The last line – I’m not sure I understood what it was you were trying to point out. Is it that you spent so long wondering about whether to write about the morning that by the time you did it was late afternoon? Or is the point that everyone else was still asleep at that time?

I think it means that she was trying to decide whether or not she’ll be doing the writing practice (which was to write about “mornings”). Though, by the time she was able to decide it was no longer morning.

The “so” was a mistake.

Fair enough, I take back what I said then 🙂

I loved your last line. I can relate. Maybe you had a long night with the baby. Morning came too soon and you weren’t really ready to think about it until 3:46 pm. Maybe between all the baby and kid stuff you didn’t get a chance to write about your morningn until then. And I’ve certainly had days when “morning” seems to last that long – you’ve just gotten back to that piece of bread you put in the toaster four hours ago, you’re finally grabbing a shower, making beds, etc. Not because you’re lazy, but because mothering children is a lot of constant work!

3:46 pm. I get it.

You say a lot about your day without saying a word here. I’m retired now but I remember those non-stop flight from dawn till dusk. I hope you take notes as much as you can. I wrote a horrible, really horrible, book when my daughter was about five and when I read it now I remember so much about her. It is the descriptions of the children in the book that I know I took from her, that bring her little girl self back to me. It’s better than looking at photos.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve never been a morning person. I never understood people who could bound out of bed, put on a pot of coffee and be instantly ready to face the day. For me, the lure of a cozy bed far outweighs that of a hot shower. I’m the guy who sets his alarm for 6.30, planning to get up, go for a run, and still have time to shower and make a fruit smoothie before arriving at work early to impress the boss.

But like all the best laid plans, this one never comes to fruition. Inevitably the snooze button is just a groggy swipe of the hand away, giving me relief from facing the reality of the day in 5 minute bursts.

When I was younger, I occasionally managed to push through these mental barriers. In high school I went through period of a couple of months where my morning routine was exactly as I described: up early, run, fruit smoothie. Even though it was mid-winter, pitch black and freezing cold, there’s something exhilarating about running that early in the morning. It gives you a feeling of superiority, pounding the pavement past houses full of lazy sleepers who can’t even be bothered to get up and experience what you do. “Lazy bastards”, I would think. “I can’t believe I used to be like that.” My iPod would provide the soundtrack to my life. Morning Glory by Oasis was my powersong.

Need a little time to wake up, wake up/ Well, what’s the story morning glory/ So well, but we need a little time to wake up wake up

But the best part about running at an ungodly hour on a cold dark December morning wasn’t feeling superior to those not doing the same – it’s the unspoken bond you have with other morning runners. The upwards nod, or raise of the eyebrows, as you run past each other, or even a quick “Morning” in between breaths, there’s an understanding that you’re all part of the same group: athletes committed to a cause, no matter how early you have to go to bed the night before.

Now, lying in bed with the alarm buzzing at 7am, I think of those people, that crazy club of morning runners, and I wish I were still part of them. I still could be, if I jump out of bed now, put my trainers on, and go, without a second thought.

I press snooze, and turn over. Maybe in another 5 minutes.

I open my eyes. I try to recall the dream I had but it keeps on slipping from my mind. I remember running. I remember my hands were bound in chains. I remember…nothing more aside from that.

Damn! I could have used that dream as story material.

I turn to the side and the clock on my bedside table has 4AM displayed on its digital face. Too early. I woke up too early. I close my eyes to try to go back to sleep. After a minute or two I give up. I sit up on my bed and stretch.

I pour myself a cup of coffee. I take the cup close to my face and I breathe in deep. I allow it to wash over me. I put down the cup without taking a sip—I don’t drink coffee. Is that weird? Every single morning I make myself a cup of coffee just to breathe in its wondrous scent. Everyone has their own quirks I guess. I tap on the touchpad of my laptop and the screen comes to life. A blank word document stares at me. I sigh.

Okay, time to go to work.

I’m about to place my fingers on the keys but then I hesitate. What to write? I try to recall my dream once again but I still find it elusive. I type in a couple of sentences. I read them once, then twice, and then I delete them. I turn my face to the ceiling and I spin on my swivel chair. It’s been a week already and I still haven’t gotten over my writer’s block. A minute passes by and I start to see patterns on the stains on my ceiling. I see a gnarled face of an old man. I see a skull. I see a spider sitting on top of the skull.

A skull-eating spider? No… An old man who loves to collects skulls. He has a pet spider. The spider’s not your typical spider though. It loves to eat the flesh off of dead people. Whenever the old man gets his arthritic hands on a newly found skull, he lets his pet spider eat the flesh off of it first—to clean it up, to make it look nice and neat. He then sets it on his wooden cabinet, along with the other skulls he had collected. He takes out a key in his pocket and he unlocks a drawer. Inside, another skull sits. It’s smaller than the others. It’s older as well. It has already turned yellow with age. He looks at it long. He looks at it with a smile. He doesn’t see a skull. He sees his son. The old man with the gnarled face starts crying, his pet spider sitting on his shoulder. I open my eyes and I start typing, the scent of coffee lingering in the air.

My body is tired, it fights for breath. I wake, reaching for the orange inhaler, that will ease the burning in my chest. Two maybe three puffs, and I sink back into the pillows. Breath comes easier now, not as jarred. What time is it? I reach for my phone, and bleary eyed try to focus on the small screen. 10.30am, I haven’t overslept that much, but I am still tired. Yet not sleepy.

Shafts of sunlight peer through my curtains. Bright light, that makes me want to get up and run. But not yet, I am still ill.

My morning pattern is disrupted. My brain feels heavy, my mind anything but mindful.

And, I am not happy.

I know illness cannot be overcome without rest. In the jumble that has become my morning, nothing is quite what it seems or what I feel it should be. Yet, I have to come to a place of acceptance, that without rest, I will not get better.

I long to return to the time of up, and out on the road. My breath hard and sharp again, but this time, because I am pushing, I am striding out. Several miles later, I return. I am free. I am ready for interaction. I can face my day.

In my head I am running.

In the dawn’s early light, when the only other souls up are farmer’s or doctors returning bleary eyed from nightshifts. My feet beat a rhytmn, my mind feels free, I am connected. I am within nature. A big sky stretches to the hills, clouds rest on her.

Several weeks now, without a run. Several weeks of weak breath, and tiredness. Of continual meds and higher doese. Several weeks of weakness. Several weeks please end today.

I slump back against the pillows, and dream for my morning’s, my running, my freedom – to return to me.

What are you up to this morning?

I’ve hooked up with the write practice this morning, pondering on their prompt morning, I’d love to know what morning means to you?

That’s it for now …

Salt and Sparkle = Life Remarkable

http://www.saltandsparkle.com/home/2012/1/21/morning.html

The room feels brighter than it usually is. I open my eyes wider and see the messed up blanket that my sister used. Oh, they already left for school. I grab my phone and check on the time. 07:10, it reads. I turn on my tummy and type a quick greeting as I do every morning, when I get up earlier than usual.

“Morning,” I typed and added a simple smile at the end.

I put it back on the bedside table and bury my face into my pillow. I can still sleep for an hour.

Eyes closed but mind wavering, I hear that familiar melody alerting a message. I turn, take my phone and read the new message. I smile.

Every morning seems like a routine already. A text message and a smile.

I lie back down on the bed, staring at the white ceiling as I think of the tasks I have to work on today. But I close my eyes again and feel sleepiness crawling back into me. There’s nothing much to do anyway.

Every morning, I battle laziness and sleepiness, since I no longer have classes, nor do I have a job.

I think about the things I could accomplish for a whole day, if only I wasn’t so lazy. More than one blog post would be ready for publishing. My crazy story – or maybe a short novel – idea could be planned out. I could finally memorize one song and play it on my recently repaired guitar.

So many things, so much time. And I could finish them too, if only I wasn’t so lazy. Eyes still closed, I feel everything growing dark. Everything around me quiet and still.

I’ll sleep for an hour and then I’ll get up and start working. But for now, I want to sleep.

Nice, Unisse. I want to know more about this, though: “I turn, take my phone and read the new message. I smile.”

It’s a message from someone special.

Every morning is the same. And no matter how many days pass by, it still makes me smile. 🙂

I love mornings….not one in particular, but all especially those early ones when I wake up in my cozy apartment, I look at the window and see no car,no people, nothing…like I am the only one on the Planet. Then I imagine myself so many things waiting for the sun to show up. I prepare my coffee and relax till 7 when I go downstairs to by the newspaper. I have a nice conversation with the old man at the newsstand and I’m coming back in my apartment. I check my email, read the newspaper, drink half of my coffee and take a shower. Then it comes the difficult part: I have to get dress!:) After changing my outfit 3 or 4 times, I put a little make up if I still have time, brush my hair and call for a cab. I watch myself in the mirror for the last time, I take a deep breath and then I run on the stairs because I realize how late I am:)

Well chosen details – I was immediately in your “world.” Cool.

As I open my eyes to another mist filled brisk morning, my first thought is that I have another day to enjoy life. I’m not quite ready to give up the reverence of the misty glaze that greets me, the warm mist rising through the rays of the sun. The sense of peace so completely overwhelms me. The quiet loudly fills my soul and I just want to revel a few more minutes in those first moments of the day, before the reality of life sets in and my day blossoms.

This was quite beautiful, Patty. I especially liked this, “The quiet loudly fills my soul and I just want to revel….”

The urge to roll over wins. Turning slowly I realize anxious little eyes jumping up and down next to the bed, begging entrance under the warm covers. I lift the duvet signaling admission and happy eyes enthusiastically crawl over me and snuggle in between toasty bodies.

My eyes glance at the clock – 4:something. Not time to get up yet. Scrunching my pillow, I nestle down for a couple more hours of sleep. Ahhh…

I’m awakened rather harshly by sheets of rain pelting against my window with curious force. Groping in the darkness, I reach for my cell and squint to see the time. It’s 6:30 a.m.

When a loud crash of thunder shakes the entire house with a thundering boom, all morning drowsiness suddenly disappears. The sheets feel cool and delicious, but an overwhelming urge to peek out the window at the storm overrides my desire to enjoy the comfort of the bed.

I pad across the floor in bare feet. The trees are bending low, their limbs waving violently as the wind whips about. Lightning bolts every few minutes, illuminating the world momentarily.

It’s extraordinary. We don’t get thunderstorms in January. And such an unusual occurrence on a winter Saturday morning calls for comfort. The type of comfort that can only come from warm, melt-in-your mouth goodness. Sugar and butter.

The hum-drum of falling rain becomes a comfortable, familiar rhythm as ingredients are measured and mixed. Dough is kneaded, rounded, and shaped into little rolls. Soon, the smell of cinnamon wafts through the air.

I open the window to take a deep breath of the fresh rain scent. Early morning hours are pure magic.

This is what I experienced this morning. I enjoyed reading your creative descriptions.

Thank you, Lea!

Very much enjoyed this today.

Eyes not yet open, I snuggle back and our bodies meld together as one. Sean’s arm is wrapped around me, protecting me from the world. One of my ear plugs has fallen out and the other has wiggled it’s way to the half mark and threatens to leap at any moment.

The morning used to be my favourite time of day. I loved getting up while it was still dark out and nobody else is stirring. I would sip my morning tea, enjoying the uninterrupted silence, and challenge the crossword puzzle. Alas, those days are now as rare as a hen’s tooth.

My last mini marshmallow has now fallen from my ear and my peace is interrupted. An irksome cacophony has commenced outside my window, likely a murder of crows, which I would ironically very much like to do away with at this moment. I try to jam my earplugs back in place, to no avail. My eyes have popped open and there’s no going back. Time to get up.

I put aside my murderous thoughts, and tenderly place a kiss on his wrinkled brow. And as I turn for my robe, he jumps up and is do and wn the stairs before me. I am envious of his astonishing agility as I hobble my w ay down with aching arches from overdoing it the gym yesterday. I should have listened to the doctor and bought those arch supports after all.

He sets the coffee to brewing, he has put the kettle on for my tea, and as I near, he turns towards me, with an impish smile. He sweeps me up in his arms, leading me around the kitchen, and our laughter takes the place of the lyrics to the marvellous melody that only we can hear.

And this beautiful day begins.. .

Wow. I feel slightly jealous!

That is beautiful, both the description “mini marshmallow”, “his astonishing agility as I hobble down with aching feet”, and the morning itself. I love “dancing to a melody that only we can hear”.

I love your writing, Joe. Your words are so perfectly descriptive and I can see the sights out your window. It’s all good but that second paragrpah is especially spectacular. Very well done.

Thanks so much, Shelley.

It’s four thirty. The ritual begins with the knowledge that I should get up and start writing. But I’m just so toasty warm. Maybe I’ll lie here and plan the next chapter from my pillow. Soon my head is overflowing with details. I stick one arm outside of the covers, braving the chill, and reach for my writer’s notebook. I fumble for the light switch and then my glasses. My husband grumbles and turns away from the light. As my tired eyelids slowly rise, I scribble down some notes, but I can’t read them. Oh heck. I need to be at my computer. I throw on some sweats and stop by the bedroom window. The street light at the top of my driveway illuminates a steady stream of rain. But no other lights are on up and down the street. I am the first one up. Winning! By the time I get to my office, Old Man McCarthy across the street has turned on his kitchen light. Whew. That was close. He almost beat me. For another morning we’ll make our coffee in sync. While my kitchen fills with the aroma of freshly brewed café Verona, I check e-mail and Facebook. I respond to all my night owl friends who wrote after I had gone to bed. After pouring my first cup of coffee, I google search for my novel. Then I do a fifteen-minute Write Practice. It’s a warm up, I tell myself. Lots of time has passed, and I need a break. So I get the newspaper and pour my second cup of coffee. And then I panic. Every day the same. It’s eight o’clock already. My husband is not on assignment right now. If he smells that coffee and wakes up, my writing is shot. He will arrive in my office with an ironclad plan for the day. I scribble madly on my notepad and then on my keyboard, nervously listening for the creak of hardwood under slippered feet. Will I ever finish this second draft?

I like the idea of making coffee “in sync” with the neighbor. The details here are simple but well chosen. I feel like I’m looking in and then at the end I feel the rush like it’s me trying to get finished before something makes me leave my writing. I’m watching and then I’m there. It’s like a good movie.

I wake up. But I was never really asleep. Not last night. Not most nights.

My days are busy, full of worry and wonder. And the occasional exciting event.

But today, I am aware. Of the emptiness and routine. I eat my oatmeal, swishing it around in my mouth before I swallow. I can barely taste the gritty mush. For a moment, I think of the Matrix, but the thought passes and I hear the kettle shriek.

I go to the kitchen and pour myself a cup of coffee. French press — the way I prefer it. I haven’t smiled yet today.

I sit in front of my laptop, with a blanket and dog covering my legs. And I begin to write.

The only sound in the house is the central heating (or air, I’m not sure) kicking on and off every few minutes. That, and the rapid clicking of keys. The world is still asleep.

I lean over the arm of the couch and type. An hour later, I feel the strain in my back. Time flies in the morning.

I say goodbye to Ashley. I didn’t even notice her getting up. Or showering and brushing her teeth. Or even getting breakfast. She kisses me as she walks out the door, and my gaze returns to the screen.

1500 words. It was a good morning.

Finally, I smile.

And morning begins.

A paling night sky glows through my high basement window. I turn into my pillow, I sleep again, and dream of a road into a house, into a room, into air.

I wake to a pink light diffusing into waning night. A winter-bare rosebush is revealed by the pink light. I turn back to the pillow, draw the covers around my shoulder, and dream about an elevator that leads to a ceiling, and beyond that a maze of vines.

I feel the warm sun from the window. I see a wren in the rosebush, hopping, cocking its head to look at me. I the song of another wren, and I throw off some covers, turn the pillow, and push my face into it’s cool side. My little cat curls close and we dream about a zoo, with tiny animals that keep getting loose.

The sun gets hotter. It’s no use, I wake up. The cat jumps to the hot window sill to sleep some more. I try to think back and untie the dreams, but they have curled up with the cat to sleep on the other side of consciousness.

Some really great lines… “I wake to a pink light diffusing into waning night.” beautiful… and that last line… so perfect!

The night is still awaiting the sun. They have always been aware of each other but could not ever meet. Soon the water will wake up and awaken all roots. Trees will break the slumber of birds to sing and wake up all the world. Soon from the other side of the crack in the mountains, light would flutter and rise above the earth. The earth will glow like a bride’s face. Thus, begins the awaking of another day.

Krishna Kumar

You’re a poet, Krisha.

Is it any Good or am I wasting your time and mine ?. I request your candid response.

It’s beautiful.

My body is warm and cozy under the weight of the blankets and, although I am awake before dawn, I do not wish to get out of bed. The thought of the chilly air colliding with my warm skin causes me to burrow deeper in to the bed and even closer to the warm body of my husband. I feel safe and at peace wrapped in my lovers arms.

“Good morning. I love you,” he whispers in my ear, then snuggles even closer.

What a wonderful thing to hear first thing in the morning. I respond in kind.

The wind howls across the lake. Tree limbs sweep back and forth over the roof. A low rumble of thunder in the distance soon becomes a lion’s roar, rattling the windows and shaking the house. The dark blue sky lights up as a bolt of lightning strikes nearby.

I lay there and think how our outdoor plans for today have just been cancelled and I smile.

I really like the “lion’s roar” bit!

The first thing that wakes me is my phone buzzing to alert me to an e-mail. I glance at it bleary-eyed. The address bar tells me some barbaric blog site called “The Write Practice” was active at 8:18 in the morning. The subject bar seems to mock me. “Morning,” it says, as if I were stupid and didn’t know that already. “No shit,” comes my muttered oath. I throw the phone back onto the night table, groan lightly and pull the covers over my head to keep out the unwanted morning cool. What seems like seconds later, the phone vibrates again. I give it a cursory glance, seeing my friend’s name this time, and know that I have to answer. With oodles of sweet, sweet sympathy and plenty of smiley faces to camouflage my case of morning bitch, I respond to her cry for help. 9:24, I read on the bright, bright screen that is then placed face-down under my pillow. I lie there for a moment, thinking that I really should get up. I have to vacuum the house. I have to clean my closet. I have to drink coffee and eat breakfast. I have to start building a responsible morning routine. Something must be wrong with me. I have no problem getting up at 5:00 in the morning to get to school, I think. Why can’t I get up at 9:30 when I don’t have somewhere to be? Something’s wrong. I snort at my own interior monologue and close my eyes again. My 10:00 alarm rings. Just a couple seconds of waking up time, I think, then I am really getting up. I hear my mother yelling at my little brother that he can’t just sit around all day – chores are to be done in the morning. I think to myself, yeah, I should get up and do mine, too. I fall back asleep. The vacuum cleaner turns on at 11:30. I drag myself out of bed and up the stairs to where my mother sits on the couch watching television. “Who’s vacuuming what?” I ask irritably. She looks at me. Her blue eyes glow with contempt at my disheveled appearance. “Your father is doing sanding work in our bathroom. He’s vacuuming the dust that fell.” “Oh,” I say stupidly. “Chores need to be done,” she reminds me. “Your brother did the bathroom already.” I splutter. “What?! I did the bathroom last night!” I explode in French. English isn’t expressive enough. “Did he not notice that everything was spotless and all the towels were changed and that it smelled like cleaner?” “Oh well, now it’s just doubly clean,” she states matter-of-factly. That’s not how it works! I am furious. I should have gotten up earlier, this wouldn’t have happened. Screw this. I’m going back to bed.

“The subject bar seems to mock me. ” Loved that and your response to it!

Whoops, sorry for double posting!

The Morning After Cats (Not The Musical)

My eyes are drawbridges, slowly rising, opening up to let the world through. I barely slept, my own wheezing keeping me awake half the night. Cats. Always the culprit. Sure they are cute in their own way. Furry, fuzzy, playful. Somehow they always find me. But waking up in the morning in a house where a cat lives has been the equivalent to the worst hangover of my life the several times I’ve done it. I’m always woozy, mostly from trying to inhale real air and failing due to that one piece of cat hair stuck precariously in the back of my throat. My airway constricts. I feel sick and panicky, wondering how I’m going to get out alive.

Okay, I lied. Waking up the morning after I’ve been in a house with a cat all night is worse than a hangover.

I swell. I itch. My eyes become narrower and narrower until I can barely see. Laying down is a death wish. If I don’t want to wonder how I’m going to make it through the night while reclining, I have to sleep sitting up. Imagine that. Being that close to the carpet of hair never works for me, although I’ve tried. I’m not the most allergic person to cats I’ve ever known, but I’m pretty bad. My dad could be worse. He’s just the most allergic person to most things I’ve ever known. He’s allergic to the sun. Breaks out in hives if he’s out in the sun for more than a half hour. So as a result he wears a lot of sunscreen. But back to the cats.

I remember the first time I was around cats overnight. I was in New Jersey, staying at my long distance boyfriend’s house. I was 17 and it was probably the first time I’d stayed away from home in a different state than the one I lived in with people who weren’t my relatives. It was really exciting until it was bedtime. Aside from the thick layer of dust infesting my teenage boyfriend’s bedroom (my sleeping quarters while he slept on the couch), there was my worst enemy: the central heating duct. Circulating air all night. Not clean air. Hot, cat air. The kind that makes me itch when it blows on my skin. The kind that is gross and musty and dusty and cat-y. Ugh, I didn’t sleep at all that night and from then on, whenever there’s been a cat in my midst, I cringe.

Sidenote: people who aren’t allergic to cats never know how hard it is to be allergic to something that they think is a part of their family. Imagine being allergic to someone’s baby. Sure you like the baby and would love to hold it and love it and give it attention but because you know you’re going to sneeze and convulse and not be able to breathe for the next day or two, you sort of want to avoid it. Like the plague. Then people get offended that you don’t want to play with their pet. To some they think it akin to ignoring their baby because to them, it IS their baby. Well, I’m sorry. I like your cat/baby, but I can’t help it! When I come over to your house, I feel bad because for some reason, your cat likes me. A LOT. It wants to rub against my pant leg (oh great, now I have to wash that.). It wants me to pet it and it will purr until I do. (Have to wash my hands now! Twice. And scrub). And sometimes it can sense my fear (not of it but of it’s hair invading my nostrils like a disease) and it runs away from me. Those times, I’m lucky. They say I could take allergy medicine. But can you imagine being told you need to take a pill every time you come over to someone’s house? A pill that makes your dopey and tired and silly stupid? That’s what allergy medicine does to me. So I’ll take it if I’m desperate, but otherwise, I’m just going to fake it and pretend that I’m not dying if I come over to your house when you have cats. Please don’t be offended. Your furry friend isn’t a friend to me. And for that, I apologize.

My cell phone rings. It’s the alarm clock. My arm goes sideways and turn it off. The rest of my body follows and immediately I’m back to sleep.

I always dream deeper after the first alarm sounds. This morning is different. I don’t stay in bed, I wake up, walk to the bathroom, pee, wash my face, dry it. I walk to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee on the stove. I turn around and walk back to the bathroom to take a shower that is warm but not too hot (that can elevate your blood pressure, did you know?).

I get dressed, do my hair, make up and choose what shoes to wear. I take my time organizing my bag and getting my lunch ready. After everything is done I go wake up Felipe so we can have breakfast together.

I go in to my room and sit on the edge of the bed, I stretch my arm to touch him and that’s when the alarm clock sounds and I really have to wake up, so I can start everything again.

*Sorry for any mistakes! I’m brazilian! 😉

The second paragraph here has the rhythm of a morning routine. I think if you leave off the last sentence of the second paragraph. it would be even plodding, with the over-learned cadence of a morning routine. The last sentence in that paragraph stands out as something all together different. It is interesting info but not necessary in this very spare and very well written little story about that awful dream we all have about getting ready. Boy I hate to do all that stuff twice. I don’t see any errors. Your English is better than a lot of native speakers for sure.

Great job, Joanna. You’re English is EXCELLENT.

I like this interjection here: “(that can elevate your blood pressure, did you know?).” I didn’t know that!

Besides that, I agree with everything Marianne said. Great stuff, Joana 🙂

An abrupt awareness of my position in the bed and my aloneness in the dark room signaled a switch in consciousness from asleep to awake. I closed one eye before glancing toward the digital clock to prevent overstimulation. 5:43. I shouldn’t bother using an alarm.

The list of verbs had begun to accumulate the moment my eyes opened. Stand up, walk, drink, heat, eat, drink, dress, drink. I had plenty of time to wake up but only 45 minutes to digest before I’d be forced to throw my entire body into violent action on the tennis courts.

I followed the kitchen tiles around the counter to the stove and jolted backwards the moment I lifted my eyes. An unmistakable cockroach perched threateningly on the kitchen cabinet. The urge to scream pushed its way up my throat, and I shivered it back down. We stood-off, the cockroach and I, each paralyzed in an unexpected break in morning routine.

At 7:10 my alarm clock rings out, I aggressively slam the snooze button for a few more precious minutes of sleep. I roll over and return to my slumber, until my persistent and noisy wake up call tries again. This time I listen, and open my eyes to a chilly and rather cluttered room. After laying there and pondering the day ahead I arise from my bed and begin preparations for school which begins at 8:30. I have 15 minutes until I need to leave. It takes me a few more minutes to wake up. “If I hurry I can grab some breakfast before I leave,” I say to myself as I put my jeans on. I then gather my books and place them in my backpack. I now have 5 minutes before I need to leave. “No time for breakfast.” I brush my teeth and say so long to my mom who is sitting on the couch chatting with a friend. I walk out the door and toward my car. I look down my street to see the sun greeting me just as he did the morning before. I start my engine and another day begins.

A thick gulp of water, darkness Swipe my I.D. badge, followed by job title “Beep”… “beep”. Beliefs crystallize to a steaming teacup The warmth never sweetens my interpreted poise Words in a vague structure An exposed connection with hazel eyes, mine Two more clear faces before a mistaken stranger’s hello

-Not really D.J., it’s Sarah

If I didnt see this writing exercise, I would probably have never written anything praticularly about the morning. Because actually, im not really a morning person, I usually dont wake up before noon. Its probably because I go to bed much too late. Dont know why my sleeping routine has seriously changed since im here, in Porto. Maybe im more relaxed? Could be.

My morning starts with snoozing the alarm of my mobile phone, like 5 times. So that gives me almost half an hour more of sleep, yay! I push of the blanket so I feel the cold air touching my skin through my pjama, which helps me to get out of bed. I open the curtains, slowly walk towards the bathroom and wash my face, which helps me to really wake up, because most of the time I feel like a zombie. But the funny thing is that actually Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, I always enjoy it. A piece of toast, some olives, cheese, and ofcourse a boiled or preferebly scrambled egg. Thats how I start my day, if I have time. If I dont have time, its just yogurt or cereal, but thats also fine by me. As long as I eat something before I leave the house, otherwise I can not function. If I have a shower, a long hot shower, thats even better. It takes me about half an hour to get ready to leave the house. Put on my clothes, do my make up and prepare my bag. It wasnt so bad, the morning. Maybe tomorrow, I will snooze my alarm just 2 times.

At the sound of the alarm, I sneak downstairs in darkness to hit ‘Brew’ on the coffee machine, sneak back upstairs to steal a few more minutes of dark peace, waiting for black gold to gather in the carafe. Those moments nestled between sleep and waking, branded with residues of dreams cooked up in mental battle between emotion and reason, peppered with random thoughts not subsided float up to consciousness. I lay in the warm covers grateful for time’s in-betweens, a drifting meditational fuzz lazily selecting early focus. It’s well understood even by my floating mind that this is a warm-up, and as so nothing it stops and sniffs out really ‘counts.’ Once fresh coffee presents its warm comfort, the day can’t be denied entrance and I welcome my morning ritual and all its events, still folded tight like tissue paper origami.

Downstairs a private world of responsibility and discovery beckons me. After that first joyful cup of java, I march to. Given too much time to craft justifications to delay a workout, I might let the body’s temple decay or expand beyond its blueprint, so I’ve shifted to meeting the varying workout routines with excitement and interest. Amazing how quickly the temple’s alter is anointed when entered with reverence and joy. A timed shower, gathering of commuter’s armaments – lunch, backpack, reading and communication tools – and buttoning up the house for departure seals the morning as I step out into wooded surroundings. The best days are clear, allowing sapphire blue to seep through trees not yet adorned with leaves. Spring is here and I couldn’t feel more fresh and alive.

There are few things more sacred than the stillness, the newness of each morning. As the phone jostles me awake, silently, I groan at the thought of leaving the comfort of my warm bed, I struggle to push the memory of another kind of comfort that awaits me to the forefront of my mind. I stumble towards my closet, wiping the sleep from my eyes and in an almost robotic fashion, pull on a pair of shorts and a shirt- whichever is conveniently residing at the top of the pile.

While my feet still ache from the previous day’s work, the sight of my trusty running buddies begin to call my senses awake. I lace them up and head for the door. Along the way, I don the appropriate apparel, a reflective vest, a lamp to light the way and a spritz of motivation to keep me moving forward.

The double beep of the door ushers me into the still cold darkness and the burst of fresh air ignites my senses. I coerce myself to put one foot in front of the other, forcing myself into a rigid forward motion. I look around at the still darkened windows of my neighbors as I pass and I feel more together than alone.

While the rest of the world still delights in their slumber, I am accompanied by my thoughts, my dreams, and the increasing chirps of nature slowly yawning and stretching to greet the new day. I’m more alive than ever and surer of my place in the world. Right here, where I belong, I awake to find my place- one foot in front of the other in the stillness and newness of each morning.

I wish I could bottle up dawn. If I could, I would place them in a vessel of fragile crystal, and hide them from sight. I would tiptoe to my precious cargo, and take it out of sight. I would cradle it, taking care to delight in it.

Dawn is a release-yes, for us!- from the shackles of the night. It is the slow spread of vibrant colors of blushing reds, joyful orange, somber blues, and the golden lights of bottled laughter against an almost black canvas of the now lost yesterday. It is the frozen tabelau of a world still sleeping, and a break from an almost neverending motion of life. In my dawn, I feel peace.

After the slight struggle of the night’s shackles, I am tired and weary. My bed beckons me, but the day must begin. And after I wrestle my cotton clouds of comforts, and trudge to the room of cleaning, I see my world in a new light. The air is crisp, and fresh. My grateful lungs inhale it to replace the stale air of the night before. My brain is rested, and my body rejoices in a world of delightful silence. Even the birds seem to share my joy, chirping in absolute delight.

If I could bottle my dawn, I could trade the day’s chaos and noise for the wonderful world of stillness and peace. Dawn is a treasure, a gift sent from my Creator. Dawn is peaceful, and dawn is a delight.

I love the mornings. It is my time alone. To do what I want whether it’s watching TV., making cookies, or writing. The start of a new day. A fresh start. A new beginning. Yesterday is gone.

Hello, an extract from a story where the ‘morning’ theme applies in the most standard of ways (the fact that the story is set in the morning) haha. Hope you enjoy and any feedback is much appreciated. Thank you! P.S. Don’t be afraid to be harsh. All was still. The road hadn’t been used for hours, undisturbed sand settled inside the cracks and crevasses of the tarmac. The sun rose from the East, casting long morning shadows over the ground. The only sounds came from the distinctive flapping of bird’s wings as they rose for their morning flight. All was normal.

The events of the morning so far were no different than any other. It was seldom that cars ran past and on very rare occasions the thundering of cargo carriers could be heard overhead. With the exception of the long tarmac carriageway, the only man made object was the tatty, faded route 66 sign, the flaking white paint had largely been ripped off by the wind and replaced with the orange tint of sand granules, the two black number sixes still served their purpose however as they could still be identified through the windscreen of a passing motor. The 66th route lead in a straight line from the North to the South, when standing next to the dilapidated sign the black tarmac surface was no longer visible after two miles in both directions. Bronze canyons cast in light and dark shadows swallowed each point of the road and made it impossible to see any further. Apart from the birds, life was a scarcity along the orange plains that fell and rose in the East and West. Thick Cacti, rooted to the ground were dotted every now and again in random places for as far as the eye could see, their underground tentacles digging for the remnants of the wet seasons rain water. Survival of the fittest.

The faint hum of engines grew louder and louder until two cars were spat onto the road from the North Canyon. The sun’s rays bouncing back off the windows and silver linings of the vehicles. It did not take them long to cover the three-kilometre distance to the sign. But there they went no further, the two vehicles, now distinguishable as a lime green Jeep and bright red Buick, came to a halt yards away from the pole that supported the triangular sign.

I hear the front door of our apartment creak open and the accompanying clatter from the 5 small chimes banging against each other and the door. It is a startling awakening. It’s 5 a.m. my son has just arrived home from working overnight. I know that it is him for reasons beyond the fact that he is the only person that would be entering at that time of day.

It is the sounds that give him away. The first sound that you hear is the electronic key pad of the door lock. Each number keyed sounds a different pitch. So, in theory, to gain access the sounds would be the same if you or I know the combination. However, there is another variable to consider. Tempo.

Each member of the family marches, to a different drum beat. Or, when they key the combination into the front door lock some do it very fast, others slow. This drastically affects the sounds of the person entering the house and is also a clue to who might be entering. I tend to hit the repeated numbers faster in double time. Like dah tatta dah! Then there is the opening of the door.

The door makes a unique sound and is made up of at least three parts. The sound of the hinges of the door, the chimes and yes the tempo or speed in which the action is taken. My son usually opens the door quickly, and the creaking sound of the door is one quick, short screech. At that speed, those dangling chimes go to town and clash like crazy. It is loud.

My wife usually opens the door at a tempo that fully maximizes the potential of those chimes. They sound like the tiny bells in a hand bell choir. She really likes those bells, and I would give just about anything to throw them away.

Back to my morning. It is 5 a.m. and I am ready to rock and roll!

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12 Sun, Sunrise & Sunset Metaphors for Writers

The sun is one of the most common contextual features of a setting that we write about. But it’s hard to come up with creative new ways to talk about something that has been discussed in countless books over Millenia. Below, I’ve compiled some creative sun metaphors that can help you break through that writer’s block and find the perfect setting description in your story.

After exploring metaphors for the sun, I’ll also provide some further adjectives and color descriptions that can help add flair to your writing, and create the perfect image in your reader’s mind.

Sun Metaphors and Similes

1. It Slipped through my Fingers

You can picture in your mind sunrays on your hand and, with your fingers outstretched, some of them passing through the gaps in your fingers to lay on the ground below. To say it slipped through your fingers is metaphorical because it didn’t literally slip through anything. It didn’t slide or bounce or refract off your fingers at all. In fact, the it is a long, long way away. Rather, it’s the sunrays that pass between the fingers. But we can be much more creative and visual in our description than to say “the sun rays passed between my fingers” – so we say “it slipped through”.

2. The Blazing Sun Mocked Me

This is an example of personification of the sun. In this metaphor, the sun isn’t a friend but a tormentor. An example of a time when it might mock a protagonist is when they’re out on a hike through the desert. The protagonist is exhausted and dehydrated, with a long way to walk in the heat of the day. Here, we might imagine the protagonist being along and feeling as if the sun is their only company. But the heat means it isn’t a friend but an enemy, mocking you as you try to escape its heat.

Related: A List of Summer Metaphors, Similes and Idioms

3. It Peeked Through the Clouds

We use this metaphor for the moon as well. Imagine the clouds obscuring the sun’s view, but as the clouds part, it seems like it “peeks out” at you to take a look. This is another example of personification. Of course, an object without personality or a brain can’t take a peek at anything. But this personification helps us to create an image in our minds.

This metaphor can be used at the end of a storm to show the end of the storm and the return to better weather.

4. It is a Golden Coin

When I took college classes in creative writing, my professor shared a book he wrote, and it opened with the line: “the sun flipped a golden coin”. I’ve always remembered it and banked this in my mind as a great way to start a story. Others have had their own adaptations of this, such as calling the sun a golden orb or medallion in the sky ( See Also: Sky Metaphors ).

5. The Sun Chased away the Clouds

Here again we have personification. Of course an inanimate object can’t chase anything or anyone! But what is happening here is the description of the changes in the weather as a battle between different elements. The clouds are being chased like a sheepdog chases sheep, to return to its rightful position as the top dog in the skies.

6. It Stood Watch over its Realm / Looked over You

We can imagine the sun being the ruler over us. It sits so far overhead and is visible from just about anywhere you are (so long as you’re outside). It almost feels like it’s watching us constantly, standing guard. Again, this is of course personification – it doesn’t really do any watching at all! If we were to consider it to be like a god , we can imagine it’s watching us and passing judgement on us all day long.

7. It Smiled Upon Me

This one is another more positive, upbeat metaphor. The idea that you are being smiled at from above gives you a sense that you’re blessed and cared for throughout your day. This might be a metaphor you use if you feel as if you’ve had a lucky day or got some good news today. You can’t imagine using this metaphor when you’re going through hardship or feeling the punishing heat of rays on your skin.

8. The Sun’s Yolk

This metaphor calls the sun an egg! It may sound absurd, but if you look at it, it looks like a yolk from the inside of an egg. You might write “the yolk of the sun” as a metaphor to describe it, for example. This is your classic straight-up metaphor where you are directly calling one thing something else.

Sunrise Metaphors and Similes

9. God’s Morning Star

This is a metaphor you might want to use if you’re writing a story from a religious perspective. To wake to “God’s morning star” is to see God in nature – be it a Christian, Muslim or Buddhist God, or even simply a pantheist . It might be seen as a moment to reflect on God, the beauty of the world, or even a moment for quiet prayer before eating.

The character might be waking feeling blessed, or even, feeling as if they’re downtrodden but continue to sustain their faith in their religion.

The sun is quite literally a star , so this is borderline figurative or literal (also depending on you believe in God!).

Related: A List of 19 Light Metaphors

10. The Sunrise Greeted me in the Morning

I love this metaphor. I can imagine someone pulling open the curtains and feeling joyful about their day ahead. When the curtains open, the sun is revealed – shining big and bright right back at the protagonist. The sun is a symbol of the person’s mood and greets or “welcomes” you to a day you’re looking forward. Here, it is being personified, which means you’re giving human features to non-human things.

   Related Sun, Moon, Sky and Stars Articles:

• Red Sky Symbolism
• Sunrise Symbolism
• Sunset Symbolism
• Morning Symbolism
• Harvest Moon Symbolism
• Orange Sky Symbolism
• Sun and Sunrise Sayings
• Morning Star Symbolism
• Symbolism of the Sun
• Night Symbolism
• Darkness Symbolism

Sunset Metaphors and Similes

11. The Sun Succumbed to the Moon

This is a description you might use at the end of the day as night falls. Here, we can imagine the sun and moon taking shifts (there’s another metaphor for you!). They swap each 12 hours, almost like they’re in an unending battle. Here, the sun is the loser, succumbing to the moon (or night), to “retreat” through night.

12. It went to Bed

This is a metaphor to explain the coming of the night. Just as we go to bed, we can also imagine that orb in the sky going to sleep for the night. We shape the patterns of our lives around the night and day, so it makes sense for us to project some of our behaviors back onto the sun itself. This, again, is a form of personification where it’s being given the trait of an animal or human – the idea of going to bed!

Read Also: A List of Nature Idioms and Nature Metaphors

Colors to Describe the Sun

• Yellow – This is probably the most common color that comes to mind. On a clear day in the middle of the day, we’d expect its color to be yellow.
• Amber – This is the color you might expect to see during dusk or early in the morning.
• Copper – We’ll often use “copper” as an adjective in creative descriptions, such as “the scorching copper sun”.
• Honeycomb – This is the color you might experience in a certain ambiance, such as in a forest where the rays slip through the leaves and spot the forest surface with honeycomb colors and patterns.
• Golden – Like Amber, we might use this descriptive color when the atmosphere is thick at dawn or dusk.

Adjectives to Describe the Sun

• Blazing – A term you might use on a particularly hot day.
• Flaming – Similar to blazing – for hot days.
• Glowing – A good term for sunrise or sunset when there is a golden color in the air.
• Shining – A good term for the middle of the day.
• Scorching – Another one for hot days.
• Scolding – Again, this adjective describes the heat of the day.
• Licking – When you can feel rays dancing on your skin.
• Tickling  – Similar to licking.

Sun metaphors can help enhance your writing and make it more descriptive. Aim to create an image in your reader’s mind by using adjectives and colors that match the mood you are trying to set. You can use different metaphors or idioms for different times of day or moods of your protagonists.

Other metaphors you can use in your writing to enrich it include happiness metaphors and fear metaphors.

I’m Chris and I run this website – a resource about symbolism, metaphors, idioms, and a whole lot more! Thanks for dropping by.

BRYN DONOVAN

tell your stories, love your life

• Writing Inspiration
• Semi-Charmed Life
• Reading & Research
• Works In Progress.

Master List for Describing Weather

A lot of writers struggle with describing settings. I’ve written before about how to describe settings and why it matters , but a few people have told me they’d like me to do some of my master lists for writers to help them out!

I have a weird love for creating lists like this, so I’m happy to do it. “How to describe weather” seemed like a good place to start. This way, you won’t get stuck trying to figure out how to describe nice weather, or thinking up ways to describe rain. Hopefully, this will make your writing go faster.

I always include simple as well as more creative ways to describe or write about weather. Sometimes, the simple word is the one you want! I included dryness and humidity in a few of the categories because it felt weird for them to get their own.

As always, this is not a comprehensive list, and I might add to it. My list will probably make you think of other possibilities, too. Bookmark or pin it for future writing reference!

HOT WEATHER 

blazing sunshine

glaring sun

baking in the sun

sun-drenched

scorching heat

extravagant heat

relentless sun

like a suana

dense tropical heat

radiating heat

blistering heat

oppressive heat

insufferable heat

suffocating heat

heat pressing down

searing sun

shimmering heat

like an oven

like a furnace

WARM / PLEASANT WEATHER

(“Pleasant” is a matter of opinion, of course.)

a beautiful day

a clear day

a temperate day

a golden day

a glorious day

heavenly weather

bright and sunny

a gorgeous spring day

a dazzling summer day

a brilliant autumn day

a vivid blue sky

a cloudless sky

fluffy white clouds

gentle sunshine

lazy sunshine

kind sunshine

filtered sunlight

dappled sunlight

welcome warmth

one of those rare, perfect days

the kind of day that made people forget to worry

the kind of day that lifted people’s moods

COOL WEATHER

refreshing air

stimulating cool air

invigorating cool air

bracing cool air

a nip in the air

a brisk day

a chilly day

weak sunshine

GRAY / OVERCAST WEATHER

(Most people don’t like gray days, so most of these descriptions are negative. I love them, so I had to add a few positive descriptions.)

colorless sky

a soft gray sky

a dove-gray sky

a gray day made for books and tea

steel-gray sky

granite sky

cement-gray sky

threatening clouds

foreboding clouds

COLD WEATHER

glacial air

bitter cold

brutal cold

bone-chilling cold

penetrating cold

devastating cold

numbing cold

punishing cold

dangerous cold

unforgiving cold

too cold to talk

so cold it burned one’s lungs

so cold it took one’s breath away

like a blast from a hair dryer

a gust of wind

insistent winds

heavy winds

strong winds

cutting wind

whipping winds

biting wind

wintry squall

violent gale

howling wind

shifting winds

restless wind

fresh breeze

soft breeze

balmy breeze

perfumed breeze

slight breeze

hint of a breeze

stirring breeze

wind rustling through the trees

fine drizzle

gray drizzle

pebbles of falling rain

spitting rain

stinging rain

steady rain

rain falling in torrents

cascades of rain

rain beating down

shower of rain

sheets of rain

hard-driving rain

pelting rain

lashing rain

slashing rain

THUNDER AND LIGHTNING

rumbling in the distance

a roll of distant thunder

crash of thunder

crackle of thunder

crack of thunder

clap of thunder

bang of thunder

booming thunder

rattled with thunder

earth-shaking thunder

tempestuous

a furious storm

flash of lightning

streaks of lightning

SNOW AND ICE

flurries of snow

dancing flakes

snowflakes floating down

snowflakes wafting down

swirling snow

falling thick and fast

big flakes falling like petals

blinding snowstorm

raging blizzard

sparkling expanses

blankets of white

caked with snow

boulders of snow

branches coated in ice

glittering ice

crystallized by frost

silvered with frost

clouds of mist

swirling mist

billowing fog

cloaked in mist

cocooned in fog

shrouded in fog

enveloped by fog

smothered by fog

made mysterious by fog

the fog rolled in

the fog was burning off

the fog was lifting

the fog was clearing

the fog was dissipating

I have many lists like this in my book  Master Lists for Writers: Thesauruses, Plots, Character Traits, Names, and More . Check it out!

Do you describe weather conditions in your writing? Do you have a favorite example of a weather description? Let me know in the comments! Thanks for reading, and happy writing!

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21 thoughts on “ master list for describing weather ”.

In my current WIP, weather is a crucial element. Not only is the woman in the romance a professional photographer — of weather — but it is a weather phenomenon, namely a tornado, that brings them together. So the description of the sky and the weather is quite detailed in places (specially as the supercell storm roars down on them).

On another angle, the phrase “gloriously sunny” is one that despite having that horrible “ly” adverb (shudder) is so evocative of the type of weather and the POV character’s attitude (and possibly even the type of weather that has gone before), that it’s powerful. It says a huge amount with only two words.

Hi Chris! Oh, wow…that’s a lot more detailed than most of us ever get in writing about the weather. It sounds like a great premise!

I will need this list as I begin edits next month on my WIP. I currently live in Hawaii, but am writing a story at Christmas time in Vermont. 🙂 Thank you!

Aw, nice! That’s some very different weather from what you’re used to. 🙂

It really is! And traveling to the climate I need isn’t ideal right now. So, off to the freezer I go! 🙂

Wow! This is fantastic. Thanks. You ARE a master at this.

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This is comprehensive! It’s bookmarked for future use. Thanks!

Thanks, Steve, I’m glad you liked it!

Amazing list that goes beyond the words that I struggle with – especially describing the rain-painted setting of Snowdonia.

Love your lists. You don’t have one for beaches by any chance? Would this, including the weather be another book by any chance??

Hi, Nicole! It’s funny you should ask. 🙂 I am going to release a second, more expanded version of MASTER LISTS FOR WRITERS . It’s going to have several setting descriptions in there (including a whole list for beaches!), and the weather list will be in there, too! I’m hoping to get it done before November of this year, but we’ll see. Thanks for asking!

That’s awesome and look forward to it’s release.

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I am in Chinan. I happened to enter this web-link and want to learn more about writing, I wonder if there are any descriptive passages. I can only find some words and expressions…

That was really useful. Thank you!

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This list is fabulous. Thank you for sharing it. I will be consulting it when incorporating weather elements into writing my next picture book.

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19,903 quotes, descriptions and writing prompts, 4,965 themes

early morning - quotes and descriptions to inspire creative writing

• alarm clock
• Cloudy morning
• going to work
• quotes for good morning

The early morning is the dominion of the birds, for they in bright feathered plume are so very in love with the sunrise.

The early morning comes as a promise kept.

The early morning comes as an invitation to become the agents of a new dreamland reality - one we can make each day with careful loving actions.

There is an awakening magic each day in the early morning, a sense of an old earth-spirit rekindled that seeks to knit together all that is good.

In the early morning the hues of the world bloom anew is if each were a tiny flower reborn.

In the early morning, daylight unwraps the hues of the world.

I awake to the steady patter of rain upon my window, droplets yet to scatter the nascent rays of rising sun. The sound brings a calmness to mind, a soothing melody, a natural lullaby. With eyes at rest I feel my centre, live happily within myself for these blessed moments of solitude. I drift on calm seas, aimless as a child on summer vacation, paddling, at ease with the fluidity of time. Soon I return to the moment, the song of the rain becomes as fusion, birds bringing sweet high notes. In my mind's eye I am with them, singing upon the roof tops, filling my lungs with fresh air, watching the world come into focus.

The lights of my bicycle shine as smudged stars, the wintry mist cold upon my skin. As the journey passes, sunlight rouses more colours from their sleepy monochrome and, though the road still has the black look of night, the sky is already more bluish than charcoal. Under the fumes of the morning traffic a tincture of the dawn lingers, like dew upon leaves, a gift of freshness bequeathed anew each day.

The new day, the new sky, the water and the land - ever the same and ever evolving - the embodiment of the moment and the eternal entwined.

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18 Awesome Descriptions Using Time To Use In Writing

By describing where the events are about to take place, you can transport your reader into another world. Make use of the five senses – sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste – to evoke the atmosphere of the setting.

The following will give you some examples of how you can describe using time as the main element.

The same place can look and feel very different at different times of the day. Take a park, for example.  At daybreak, it is cool and invigorating, full of songbirds, walkers and joggers. At midday, it is sleepy, hot and still. In the evening, shadows lengthen and coolness returns. But at night, it can be a frightening place, with dangers lurking in the dark shadows of the foliage.

• The day dawned crisp and clear.
• The sun poured through my window. Another day had dawned, bringing with it new hopes and aspirations.
• The light of dawn seeped into my room. I rubbed my bleary eyes and walked to the window. There was a pearly glow in the sky.
• The first rays of sunlight lit up my room. The dawn chorus of melodic birdsong drifted in.
• The rising sun cast a rosy hue across the morning sky. Golden fingers of sunlight lit up the scene.
• The just-risen sun shone softly on the city streets, bringing with it a flurry of early-morning activity.
• Dappled sun shone through the trees, creating mysterious shadows.
• The blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds that drifted lazily in the gentle breeze.
• The blazing midday sun shone relentlessly on the hikers.
• The roads shimmered in the heat of the midday sun. The sunlit skyscrapers pierced the hot, blue sky.
• The afternoon sun bathed the buildings in its warm light.
• Tiny specks of dust seemed to dance in the shaft of afternoon sunlight that slanted through the window.

EVENING AND NIGHT

• The evening sun cast long shadows on the ground. The slanting rays of the setting sun gave a warm orange tinge to the sky.
• The sky was ablaze with the fire of the setting sun.
• The night sky was aglow with bright city lights.
• The pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the night sky.
• We looked up at the blanket of stars that stretched to infinity.
• The occasional barking of faraway dogs broke the silence of the night.

Encourage your child to use these descriptions in the tests and examinations. Help them familiarise with these phrases through simple activities by writing short introductory paragraphs with one or two of the descriptions, or give them short dictation quizzes!

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20 of the Best Words and Phrases to Describe the Sky

By: Author Hiuyan Lam

Posted on Last updated: October 20, 2023

Categories Vocabulary Boosters

Look up at the sky, what words would you use to describe it? (And don’t you dare say blue). There are many ways to convey the sky’s appearance to others once you can find the right words to describe the sky.

But what are the right words? Where will these words to describe the sky come from?

Don’t worry yourself young ​​whippersnapper. That’s what you’ll learn today.

Here are 20 of the best words to describe the sky:

5 words to describe the sky when it’s good weather

  A vast blue sky is one of the easiest ways to describe good weather, but there are other adjectives you can use to paint an even better picture.   Here are 5 words to describe the sky when it’s good weather:  

5 words to describe it when the weather is rainy

  When it’s raining, what do you notice about the sky? What is its color? How does it make you feel? What is the atmosphere like?   Once you consider these things, you can move on to these 5 words to describe the sky to understand how they match up with your experience:  

You May Also Like:

20 of the Best Words to Describe Coffee Like a Professional Taster

5 words to describe the sky when the weather is cloudy.

  As the name suggests, cloudy weather means the sky has a lot of clouds. Instead of being plain and boring, here are 5 words to describe the sky that you can use:  

40 of the Best Ocean Instagram Captions for a Beach Day

5 words to describe the sky when there are hurricanes/typhoons

  When there are hurricanes/typhoons, the sky is like no other time, and if you’ve never seen one, it might seem like the end of the world.   Here’s a couple of words to describe the sky during this type of weather event:  

  With all these words to describe the sky, your friends, family, and acquaintances will be impressed by your descriptive skills and will gain a better understanding of what you’re trying to communicate. If that fails, just snap a quick pic!  

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Does this sound like a good description of someone falling asleep due exhaustion? Anything I can do to make it sound better? [closed]

I'm trying to describe somebody falling asleep from exhaustion, in first person. I'm currently using a longer, detailed description, but is that the best way?

Never had a few moments deliberation seemed like an eternity as I feel my consciousness ebbing away, and my thoughts, as clear and concise as they were mere moments ago, were coming to an end. My eyes grow heavy from the strenuous effects of excessive agitation of the brain--that faculty which, in all its strength, I had not prepared for such a weakness. At once, I was struck with incoherence, an inconsistency to my thoughts, as I kneeled down and leaned a shoulder against the wall—for I had already decided to give myself away to my pursuer, to exhaustion , to be dead to the world before the rest of me ever hit the cold concrete floor…

• creative-writing

• 1 @MonicaCellio : I'd think under current site rules, we'd close this as a critique question. Any reason you edited rather than closing? –  Standback Commented Aug 9, 2015 at 4:55
• @Standback my finger hovered over the "close" link, but it seemed like this could be tweaked to ask a more specific question, and it seems like the level of detail/verbosity is the key factor here. But I could go either way -- there were no votes from the community, so I tried the edit. –  Monica Cellio Commented Aug 9, 2015 at 4:57
• Just how import is sleeping to the story and the character doing it? With a long winded description like this, it's like waving a red flag and shouting into a blow horn saying: This is important remember this! If it's not important, say: I fell asleep. Move the story along never fall so in love with your own writing that the story is pushed back for overdone descriptions. –  darkocean Commented Aug 24, 2017 at 4:17

4 Answers 4

A bit too wordy for my taste, but that's purely subjective. I'd have to see the rest of the piece to make a better judgement. The overall imagery could work. The long, run-on sentences work well in showing fatigue, but some of it might need a bit of a clean up. For example:

My eyes grow heavy from the overwhelming effects of excessive agitation of the brain for which, in all its power, I had not prepared for its weakness.

This sentence is just not right. If you leave out the inserted sentence "in all its power", you get:

My eyes grow heavy from the overwhelming effects of excessive agitation of the brain for which I had not prepared for its weakness.

which makes no sense, grammatically.

At once, I was struck with incoherence—an inconsistency to my thoughts, as I kneeled down and leaned a shoulder against the wall—for I had already decided to give myself away to my pursuer—to exhaustion—to be dead to the world before the rest of me ever hit the cold concrete floor…

There are so many — here that I don't know to what they refer to, what sections are they surrounding. For example, it looks as if "—an inconsistency to my thoughts, as I kneeled down and leaned a shoulder against the wall—" is an inserted sentence, which makes no sense. I believe you were going for "At once, I was struck with incoherence — an inconsistency to my thoughts — as I kneeled down and leaned a shoulder against the wall" but even so, the em dashes make it so awkward. I think it would look somewhat clearer like this:

At once, I was struck with incoherence, an inconsistency to my thoughts, as I kneeled down and leaned a shoulder against the wall—for I had already decided to give myself away to my pursuer, to exhaustion, to be dead to the world before the rest of me ever hit the cold concrete floor…

It's still a pretty awkward sentence though. As I said already, long, run-on sentences are perfect for this situation, but they still need to be clear and readable to the reader. I had to go back several times to get my head around it.

• Your very helpful! I will make some changes and re post for you. Your very thorough and it is very refreshing to get an intellectual response to my question! Thank You! –  Shawn Commented Jul 5, 2013 at 22:53
• Okay. Made some changes. Let me know if it sounds better. If you would like a few pages worth of the works before and after this piece. Please feel free to let me know and I can email them to you. Thanks! –  Shawn Commented Jul 5, 2013 at 23:00

Using shorter sentences (and varying their length) can make the piece more readable:

Never had a brief span seem like an eternity. As I feel my consciousness ebbing away, as clear and concise as it was mere moments ago, it was coming to an end. My eyes grow heavy from the strenuous effects of excessive agitation. At once, I was struck with incoherence, an inconsistency to my thoughts, as I kneeled down and leaned a shoulder against the wall. I decided to give myself away to my pursuer, to exhaustion. And I would be dead to the world before the rest of me ever hit the cold concrete floor.

I'm not sure if the piece makes sense after my edit. But you get the idea.

I'm not clear on the timing. Is this first person narrative in the moment, or the narrator recalling the event after the fact? If it is the former, it is overwritten by about 100 to 1, since someone that exhausted shouldn't be able to think such detailed imagery. If it is the latter, the present tense should be changed to past tense.

My eyes flickered into darkness due to exhaustion.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged creative-writing or ask your own question .

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Now booking from February 2025!

Do you ever struggle to find the time or energy to write creatively in the morning? If so, you’re not alone. Many people find it hard to get into the creative mindset early in the day. In this blog post, I’ll discuss some tips for establishing a morning routine that will help jumpstart your creativity.

1) Get up early. 

Getting up earlier can give you more time to focus on your writing. Plus, there’s something about the quiet of early morning that just feels conducive to creativity. So set that alarm clock a little earlier than usual and see how it goes. Personally, I baulk at the idea of getting up an hour early, but I can manage twenty minutes. Those twenty minutes make a huge difference to me and my writing life.

2) Take some time for yourself. 

Before you start writing, take a few minutes to do something for yourself. This could be anything from taking a quick walk around the block to reading a few pages of your favourite book. The important thing is to take a few moments to clear your head and get into the right mindset for creative writing. 3) Find a comfortable spot.

Make sure you’re comfortable before writing. Find a spot where you can sit or stand comfortably. You might also consider playing soft music in the background to help you focus.

4) Try journalling or free writing before turning on the internet.

Set a timer for five or ten minutes and just write whatever comes into your head, without stopping to edit or worry about spelling or grammar. This can help get the creative juices flowing and warm up your brain for writing later in the day.

5) A change of space. 

If you want to write in the morning, but you’re struggling, try writing in a different location each day, or at least mix things up a bit. If you typically write at your kitchen table, try taking your laptop outside to the porch or park or working at a coffee shop instead. A change of scenery can help jumpstart the creative process!

If you’re not a morning person, don’t despair – there are plenty of other times during the day when you can get your creative juices flowing. Try setting aside some time each day to brainstorm new ideas or work on developing existing ones. If you can’t seem to get started, try brainstorming in the evening before bedtime or whenever you have some free time during the day. The important thing is to find a routine that works for you and stick with it! Want to know more about your writing routine? Click here for my fun quiz.

Do you have any other tips for jumpstarting your creativity in the morning? Share them with me here.

If you want to read something similar, check out the following:

How to Find the Time to Write How To Set Effective Writing Goals

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It’s no surprise to me that sales of fantasy fiction increased by 45% in 2021, as the world struggled to get used to the new reality of the pandemic. We

This week has been a lovely one, as I’ve been writing with fellow author, editor, and writing coach, Isobelle Lans of Inspired Creative Co. Isobelle joined me for a week

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Book a discovery call with me today, and find out how I can help.

A discovery call is a thirty minute chat about what you need help with. It’s very informal, and is like having coffee with a friend.

We will talk about anything you like to do with your writing. I use my experience as a creative writing tutor to both offer possible solutions to issues, as well as coaching you to understand why you are experiencing the issue and how we can move forward.

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How to Describe Coffee in Creative Writing: Tips and Examples

Describing coffee in creative writing can be a challenging task, but it is an essential skill for any writer who wants to create vivid and engaging scenes. Whether you are writing a novel, a short story, or a blog post, the ability to describe the aroma, taste, and texture of a cup of coffee can help you bring your scenes to life and captivate your readers.

One of the best ways to describe coffee is to focus on its aroma. The scent of freshly brewed coffee can be rich and complex, with notes of chocolate, caramel, nuts, and fruit. By using sensory language and vivid imagery, you can transport your readers to a cozy coffee shop or a bustling café and immerse them in the sights, sounds, and smells of your scene.

Another important aspect of describing coffee is its taste and texture. A cup of coffee can be smooth and creamy, with hints of sweetness and bitterness, or bold and robust, with a strong and intense flavor. By paying attention to the nuances of the coffee's taste and texture, you can create a sensory experience that will engage your readers and leave them craving a cup of joe.

Understanding Coffee

History and origin.

Coffee has a rich history dating back to the 15th century, when it was first discovered in Ethiopia. The legend goes that a goat herder noticed his goats becoming more energetic after consuming berries from a certain tree. He tried the berries himself and experienced a similar boost in energy. From there, the consumption of coffee spread throughout the Middle East and eventually to Europe and the Americas.

Types of Coffee

There are many different types of coffee, each with its own unique flavor and brewing method. Some popular types include:

• Espresso: A strong, concentrated coffee made by forcing hot water through finely ground coffee beans.
• Latte: A coffee drink made with espresso and steamed milk.
• Cappuccino: A coffee drink made with espresso, steamed milk, and foam.
• Americano: A coffee drink made by adding hot water to espresso.
• French press: A brewing method that involves steeping coarse coffee grounds in hot water and then pressing them through a mesh filter.

Coffee Economics

Coffee is an important crop for many developing countries, providing employment and income for millions of people. However, the coffee industry is also plagued by issues such as low prices for farmers and environmental concerns. Consumers can make a difference by choosing to buy fair trade coffee and supporting sustainable farming practices. In addition, coffee consumption has a significant impact on the global economy, with the coffee industry estimated to be worth billions of dollars annually.

Overall, coffee is a complex and fascinating subject with a rich history, diverse range of types, and important economic implications.

Describing Coffee

Coffee is a complex drink with a wide range of flavors, aromas, textures, and aftertastes. In creative writing, describing coffee can help create a vivid and sensory experience for the reader. Here are some tips on how to describe coffee in a creative and engaging way.

Taste and Aroma

The taste and aroma of coffee are perhaps the most important aspects of its flavor profile. Coffee can be described using a variety of adjectives and descriptive words, such as:

• Sour: a sharp, acidic taste
• Sweet: a sugary, caramel-like taste
• Bitter: a strong, pungent taste
• Fruity: a taste reminiscent of berries, citrus, or other fruit
• Nutty: a taste reminiscent of nuts, such as almonds or hazelnuts
• Caramelly: a sweet, caramel-like taste
• Chocolaty: a taste reminiscent of chocolate
• Citrus: a taste reminiscent of lemon, orange, or grapefruit

The aroma of coffee is also an important aspect of its flavor profile. Some common aroma descriptors for coffee include:

• Fragrant: a pleasant, sweet smell
• Floral: a smell reminiscent of flowers
• Resinous: a smell reminiscent of resin or pine
• Spicy: a smell reminiscent of spices, such as cinnamon or cloves
• Enzymatic: a smell resulting from the enzymatic breakdown of coffee compounds

Texture and Body

The texture and body of coffee refer to its physical properties in the mouth. Coffee can be described using a variety of adjectives and descriptive words, such as:

• Creamy: a smooth, velvety texture
• Thin: a watery, insubstantial texture
• Full-bodied: a rich, substantial texture
• Light-bodied: a thin, delicate texture

The aftertaste of coffee refers to the taste that lingers in the mouth after the coffee has been swallowed. Coffee can be described using a variety of adjectives and descriptive words, such as:

• Bitter: a strong, pungent aftertaste
• Sweet: a lingering, sugary aftertaste
• Salty: a taste reminiscent of salt
• Nutty: a lingering taste reminiscent of nuts, such as almonds or hazelnuts
• Fruity: a lingering taste reminiscent of berries, citrus, or other fruit

Roast Profile

The roast profile of coffee refers to the degree to which the coffee beans have been roasted. Coffee can be described using a variety of adjectives and descriptive words, such as:

• Light roast: a light brown color, with a mild flavor and acidity
• Medium roast: a medium brown color, with a balanced flavor and acidity
• Dark roast: a dark brown color, with a strong, bold flavor and low acidity

In conclusion, describing coffee in creative writing can help create a sensory experience for the reader. By using descriptive words and adjectives to describe the taste, aroma, texture, aftertaste, and roast profile of coffee, writers can create a vivid and engaging experience for their readers.

Coffee Experience

The perfect cup.

Describing the perfect cup of coffee is not an easy task. It can be different for every person, but there are some common characteristics that most people look for. A good cup of coffee should be warm, strong, and smooth. It should have a rich flavor that is not too bitter or too acidic. Some people prefer their coffee black, while others like to add milk and sugar. Caramel, chocolate, and hazelnut are also popular flavorings that can enhance the taste of coffee.

Coffee Shop Ambiance

The ambiance of a coffee shop can greatly affect the coffee experience. A welcoming and cozy atmosphere can make the coffee taste even better. The intoxicating scent of freshly brewed coffee can be enough to get someone in the door. Good coffee shops should have comfortable seating and a relaxing environment that encourages customers to stay and enjoy their coffee. A well-designed interior with natural lighting and plants can create a pleasant and calming environment.

Morning Ritual

For many people, coffee is an essential part of their morning ritual. The first sip of coffee in the morning can be a moment of pure bliss. It can provide the energy needed to start the day and can be a comforting routine that helps people transition from sleeping to being awake. Coffee is often paired with breakfast, and the combination of coffee and food can be a delightful experience.

In conclusion, describing the coffee experience can be a challenge, but it is worth it. The perfect cup of coffee, the ambiance of a coffee shop, and the morning ritual can all contribute to a memorable coffee experience. Whether it's a quick cup on the go or a leisurely morning at a coffee shop, coffee can be a source of comfort and enjoyment.

Coffee Language

When it comes to describing coffee, there are a variety of terms and phrases that can be used to convey its unique qualities and characteristics. From slang and nicknames to specific descriptors and the coffee flavor wheel, understanding the language of coffee can help you better appreciate and enjoy this beloved beverage.

Coffee Slang and Nicknames

Coffee has a rich history and culture, which has led to the development of a variety of slang terms and nicknames for the drink. Some common examples include:

• Jo: A shortened form of "java," which is another term for coffee.
• Mud: Referring to the thick and rich consistency of certain types of coffee.
• Starbucks: A popular coffee chain that has become synonymous with the drink itself.
• Cop: Another term for "cup of coffee."

Coffee Descriptors

When it comes to describing the taste and aroma of coffee, there are a variety of specific descriptors that can be used. These might include terms like:

• Bright: Referring to a coffee with a high level of acidity and a sharp, tangy flavor.
• Flowery: Describing a coffee with a delicate and floral aroma.
• Nutty: Referring to a coffee with a rich and nutty flavor, often with notes of almond or hazelnut.

By using these and other descriptors, coffee lovers can communicate more effectively about the unique qualities of their favorite brews.

Coffee Flavor Wheel

One useful tool for describing the taste and aroma of coffee is the coffee flavor wheel. This wheel breaks down the various flavors and aromas that can be found in coffee, including fruity, floral, nutty, and chocolatey notes. By using the flavor wheel, coffee drinkers can more accurately describe the specific qualities of their favorite brews, and better understand the nuances of different types of coffee.

Overall, the language of coffee is a rich and complex one, with a variety of terms and phrases that can be used to describe its unique qualities. By understanding this language, coffee lovers can better appreciate and enjoy the many different flavors and aromas that this beloved beverage has to offer.

Author's Perspective

When it comes to describing coffee in creative writing, the author's perspective is crucial. The way the author perceives coffee will influence the way they describe it to their readers. It is important for the author to have a clear understanding of their own taste preferences and to be able to articulate them in a way that is both descriptive and engaging.

From the author's perspective, coffee can be described in many different ways. Some authors may focus on the aroma of the coffee, describing it as rich, earthy, or floral. Others may focus on the taste, describing it as bold, smooth, or bitter. Still, others may focus on the experience of drinking coffee, describing it as comforting, energizing, or even addictive.

It is important for the author to be honest in their description of coffee. They should not exaggerate or make false claims about the taste or quality of the coffee. Instead, they should focus on describing the coffee in a way that is accurate and true to their own experience.

When it comes to describing coffee to a friend, the author's perspective may be different. They may use more casual language and focus on the aspects of the coffee that they think their friend will enjoy. They may also use analogies or comparisons to help their friend understand the taste or experience of the coffee.

If the author is describing coffee in a way that is incorrect or misleading, they may be perceived as being "wrong." It is important for the author to do their research and make sure they are accurately describing the coffee. If they are unsure about a particular aspect of the coffee, they should consult an expert or do more research before including it in their writing.

Questions and Resources

When it comes to describing coffee in creative writing, one might encounter various questions. Here are some of the most common questions that writers may have:

• What are some descriptive words to use when describing coffee?
• How can I describe the aroma of coffee?
• What are some creative ways to describe the taste of coffee?
• How can I describe the texture of coffee?

To answer these questions and more, there are several resources available. One such resource is the Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel, which provides a visual representation of the various flavors and aromas that can be found in coffee. This can be a helpful tool for writers looking to accurately describe the taste and aroma of coffee.

Another useful resource is the Specialty Coffee Association's Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel, which provides a more detailed breakdown of the various flavor components found in coffee. This can be especially helpful for writers looking to create more nuanced descriptions of coffee.

In addition to these resources, it can also be helpful to sample different types of coffee and take note of their unique flavors and aromas. This can provide writers with firsthand experience and inspiration for their writing.

Overall, by utilizing these resources and exploring the various questions that arise when describing coffee, writers can create rich and engaging descriptions that truly capture the essence of this beloved beverage.

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WRITERS HELPING WRITERS®

Helping writers become bestselling authors

Setting Description Entry: Forest

August 23, 2008 by BECCA PUGLISI

green, brown, dead fall, fallen trees, logs, branches, twigs, fallen leaves, ferns, underbrush, moss, brambles, thickets, ivy, berry bushes, pine needles, pine cones, acorns, insects, rabbits, birds, squirrels, lizards, mice, foxes, spider webs, deer, sun-dappled, shady, shafts…

Sounds branches creaking, feet shuffling through detritus, squirrels chattering, leaves rustling, wind whistling around trunks/disturbing the leaves, birds singing, insects humming/ churring, rustle of animals rooting in underbrush, scrabbling of lizards on tree bark, limbs..

Smells tree smells (pine, etc), wildflowers, earthy smell, animal scents, rotting wood, fresh, stale, dry, damp, wet, scents on the wind from nearby places (water, wood smoke, ocean), wild mint/herbs, decay (bogs, stagnant pools of water, dead animals), skunks, skunk weed…

Tastes earthy air, sweet/sour berries, nuts, mushrooms, wild onions, seeds, bitter, mint, gritty, mealy, meaty, relish, savor, sample, salty, acidic, sweet, flavorful, sour, tart, flavorless, swallow, mild, nutty, relish…

Touch rough tree bark, kiss of falling leaves, branches slapping, uneven ground, knobby roots underfoot, sticky sap, underbrush that tangles/grabs, prickle of briars, slick leaves, twigs snagging at hair/scratching face, tickle of hanging moss, spider web strands on skin, soft…

Helpful hints:

–The words you choose can convey atmosphere and mood.

Example 1: I lifted my face, letting the light and shadow dance across my skin. Bees hummed in and out of the pennyroyal. I inhaled its minty smell and continued on, delighting in the sound of my feet sliding through the leaves.

–Similes and metaphors create strong imagery when used sparingly.

Example 1: (Simile) The trees lashed and crashed against each other like drum sticks in the hands of a giant…

Does your setting take place at night? Check out this similar Entry: WOODS AT NIGHT

Think beyond what a character sees, and provide a sensory feast for readers

Setting is much more than just a backdrop, which is why choosing the right one and describing it well is so important. To help with this, we have expanded and integrated this thesaurus into our online library at One Stop For Writers . Each entry has been enhanced to include possible sources of conflict , people commonly found in these locales , and setting-specific notes and tips , and the collection itself has been augmented to include a whopping 230 entries—all of which have been cross-referenced with our other thesauruses for easy searchability. So if you’re interested in seeing a free sample of this powerful Setting Thesaurus, head on over and register at One Stop.

On the other hand, if you prefer your references in book form, we’ve got you covered, too, because both books are now available for purchase in digital and print copies . In addition to the entries, each book contains instructional front matter to help you maximize your settings. With advice on topics like making your setting do double duty and using figurative language to bring them to life, these books offer ample information to help you maximize your settings and write them effectively.

Becca Puglisi is an international speaker, writing coach, and bestselling author of The Emotion Thesaurus and its sequels. Her books are available in five languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. She is passionate about learning and sharing her knowledge with others through her Writers Helping Writers blog and via One Stop For Writers —a powerhouse online library created to help writers elevate their storytelling.

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Reader Interactions

October 11, 2021 at 6:06 am

That helped me a lot!

October 7, 2021 at 2:08 pm

I love descriptive writing but can you help me to write a forest setting description?

February 26, 2021 at 10:01 am

Thank you for this great help…☺️☺️

February 23, 2021 at 4:37 am

Thanks this helped a lot!

January 19, 2021 at 1:39 am

Lovely book, It helped me a lot thanks

August 19, 2020 at 10:54 pm

Are you lovely ladies planning to put these descriptions into an ebook? I’m enjoying all seven of your thesaurus books.

August 20, 2020 at 8:13 am

Hi, Michelle! I’m so glad you’re enjoying our books. Are you asking when the setting thesaurus is going to be turned into a book? If so, you’ll be happy to know that those books are published and available. You can find ebook information on our Bookstore page. https://writershelpingwriters.net/bookstore/

If you have other questions or need to clarify anything, just let us know!

July 13, 2020 at 8:35 pm

OMG! This is powerful. God bless you richly. Please ma, can you help me to proofread my short fiction. I’m begging in the name of God. I have written a short fiction, but no one to help me to proofread it. [email protected] . Thanks in anticipation.

July 14, 2020 at 10:44 am

Sorry, we are unable to do that, but if you join a writing group or have a good critique partner, they should be able to help you. Good luck and all the best. 🙂

May 21, 2020 at 4:59 pm

amazing thankyou so much 🙂

March 11, 2020 at 3:19 pm

thanks! these will help a lot with the forested settings in my book series: the elemental masters.

June 26, 2020 at 5:42 am

Oh wow, your books are absolutely amazing. I’ve read all of them

March 9, 2020 at 1:50 am

Thank you for this, however, could you also do the same setting description based on the setting of a beach? That would be extremely helpful for me. THank yoU!

March 7, 2020 at 10:28 pm

Hi, this is extremely helpful, but could you make another setting description, the same as this one, except about a beach scene? That would be super helpful for me. Thanks!

March 8, 2020 at 1:56 pm

Hi, Stacey! We actually do have a Beach entry. You can find it here: https://writershelpingwriters.net/2008/09/setting-thesaurus-entry-beach/ . And our TOC also contains a list of the entries you can find here: https://writershelpingwriters.net/occupation-thesaurus/

But if you’re looking for settings that we don’t have, you might consider checking out our website, One Stop for Writers. All of our thesaurus collection are there, and most of them have been expanded to include additional entries. For instance, here is the complete list of setting entries you can find at One Stop: https://onestopforwriters.com/scene_settings

Best of luck to you!

March 9, 2020 at 5:47 am

Thank you so much Becca, i just really appreciate it, i love the websites you gave me and it is simply WONDERFUL!!!

March 6, 2020 at 3:12 am

This is wonderful, thank you! Very helpful!

October 24, 2019 at 6:10 am

IT FANTASTIC

January 1, 2019 at 7:15 pm

this really helped me. thank you lol 🙂

July 12, 2017 at 1:21 pm

I am helping a friend open a bar in a small town…the lifestyle here is of the following: Fishing, boating on our two rivers….Wabash and Tippecanoe and hunting deer. Cannot come up with a name to incorporate both of the passions our customers would enjoy. I have gone to your description setting entry for ideas…but just can not gel together this duo!!! Help?

July 12, 2017 at 8:00 pm

Hi, Patti. I’m sorry, but I’m not clear on what you’re after. Are you looking for help coming up with a name for a fictional town?

October 5, 2014 at 2:41 am

THANKS VERY MUCH FOR SUCH A WONDERFUL WORK. MY DAUGHTER WILL HAVE A GOOD RESOURCE OF DESCRIBING WORDS.

February 29, 2012 at 1:40 pm

Thank you so much for this! I have been struggling with my forest scenes for the longest time, stuck on the same small handful of descriptors–this is brilliant. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

May 1, 2011 at 4:48 pm

Thank you very much for these amazing words! keep the work up!

March 7, 2011 at 7:54 am

Thank you so much. These beautiful words makes picturing a scene extremely easy.

February 1, 2011 at 2:13 pm

I absaloutly loved thease words i really needed them to help me get my English paper to life

January 25, 2011 at 6:47 am

It’s a great Help for me. I was looking for such post that could give some interesting wording to describe a greenery and forest scene.

Thank you very much 🙂

April 7, 2010 at 6:13 am

I showed my teacher and she said you rocked. Thank you 🙂

March 26, 2010 at 2:52 pm

Great help for my book! Thank you!

December 13, 2009 at 12:30 pm

Thanks. Great Guide for a descriptive piece of writing A*

December 11, 2009 at 12:26 am

Creatively helpful , specially to beginning writers like me. Thanks for this web.

October 2, 2009 at 10:38 am

very helpful thanxx cood u include more sentance exxampils thanx that wood be helpful! miss m

September 23, 2009 at 11:35 am

April 21, 2009 at 8:29 pm

I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!! Just what I am writing about!!! THANKS!!!!!!!

August 24, 2008 at 1:17 pm

Thanks for the kind words. When Angela and I started this blog, one of our main goals was to keep it relevant to writers. Glad to know we’re doing alright on that front :).

August 24, 2008 at 12:07 pm

This is fabulous!! I love it!

August 23, 2008 at 8:02 pm

Angela and Becca, you one-hit wonders, you’ve done it again! You’re very good at relating to the reader (and making it easy on the writer).

August 23, 2008 at 5:51 pm

Great job. And I really like the drumsticks simile.

August 23, 2008 at 10:45 am

So perfect! Thanks! I love the simile and metaphor section!

[…] Forest […]

[…] is a forest entry already, but I think that at night the woods can be an entirely different setting, full of mystery […]

Writing In the Morning: How to Create Perfect Routine

Discover the benefits of writing in the morning and how to create the perfect daily routine.

Would you like to wake up early? For years, I was a night owl. I wrote in the evening or late at night. I enjoyed the idea of writing into the wee small hours with only Frank Sinatra, the moon, and the blank page for company.

But, a job and the demands of family life make it difficult to write at the end of the day or late at night. For me, it wasn’t practical to write past midnight and then get up the next day, go to work at my full-time job, and function with a family.

I struggled with rising early and wondered if I’d ever become a morning person. Then, I read about the daily routines of many creatives I admire. I found many of them like waking up early, including the composer Ludwig Van Beethoven, the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and authors like Haruki Murakami , Ernest Hemingway and Kurt Vonnegut.

Famous Early Morning Writers

1. write down your ideal morning writing routine, 2. prepare your writing the night before, 3. pick a target time for waking up early, 4 . create your sleep schedule, 5. follow a wind-down ritual, 6. use caffeine… sparingly, 7. get into a state of creative flow, 8. track your progress, the final word on early morning writing habit, how can i force myself to wake up early, is it good to wake up early, is writing in the morning good, what should i write every morning.

Well-known early morning writers include Ernest Hemingway, Dan Brown and Kurt Vonnegut. A few years ago, I attended an event where Dan Brown spoke about his daily routine. He said he gets up at four am every morning to write his thrillers and fiction because that time of the day is free of distractions. Vonnegut and Hemingway both rose around five to five thirty am most days to work on their novels. Hemingway said about his early morning writing:

“When I am working on a book or a story, I write every morning as soon after first light as possible. There is no one to disturb you and it is cool or cold and you come to your work and warm as you write.”

Julia Cameron famously advocates for rising early to engage in long-form stream of consciousness writing in her book The Miracle of Morning Pages . She writes:

“Each morning, as we face the page, we meet ourselves. The pages give us a place to vent and a place to dream. They are intended for no eyes but our own.”

The American philosopher and psychologist William James was another advocate of a consistent routine. He said:

“The great thing, then, in all education, is to make automatic and habitual, as early as possible, as many useful actions as we can, and to guard against the growing into ways that are likely to be disadvantageous to us, as we should guard against the plague.”

Thinking through an ideal morning on paper will help you visualize your day and increase your chances of avoiding procrastination first thing

Here’s mine: meditate for twenty minutes, brew coffee, engage in a writing session for at least one hour, and record ten ideas. After that, I make breakfast and get the kids up for school.

Although your ideal morning routine may not look like this, it’s useful to consider what you want to accomplish after waking. Do you want to engage in brainstorming, write some early morning pages, edit an article, outline a book chapter or simply engage in writing practice?

The good news is it’s easier to make time for writing at the start of the day as you’re less likely to become distracted by email, social media, the news, work and other distractions. If you need help, consider free writing about your early morning routine.

Before bed, consider what you want to write the next morning. Read through the previous day’s work. Leave your notes, drafts and other writing tools. Open up your writing app and queue the day’s music. I sometimes also like leaving a Post-It note on my keyboard containing a prompt about creative work or what to write first.

When you get up, starting a writing session is much easier if everything is in front of you. Writing down what you will write the next day primes your subconsciousness to work on the idea even when you’re asleep. If you need some inspiration for your morning routine, check out the blog My Morning Routine .

If you set your alarm clock for four AM tomorrow morning, you may get up, but you’ll be exhausted and unlikely to repeat this heroic feat of endurance the following day .

It’s not much fun getting up at dawn and then fumbling through the day with only four or five hours of sleep. Instead, set your alarm clock for half an hour earlier than your normal time. The following day, set your alarm for 45 minutes earlier than your normal rising time. And so on.

Like pennies gradually filling a jar, these small incremental gains will help you reach your desired rising time and become an early riser. 

Pick an ideal time to wake up based on work and family commitments. For example, if you work a nine to five job, rising at five am or six could work. However, if you work shifts, you may need to adapt to this rising time.

My ideal rising time is half five. If I rise any earlier, I’m too exhausted to function during the day. If I wake any later than six AM, I’m running behind, or I don’t have enough time to write before the working day begins. My target rising time enables me to make time for distractions and interruptions.

You set an alarm clock for getting up, so why not one for going to bed? You can easily create the ideal sleep schedule with various apps including the inbuilt clock app on the Apple iPhone and Android phones. They’ll determine what time you should go to bed at to achieve the optimal amount of sleep, based on your target rising time.

I set an alarm clock for 21.30. Once this alarm clock goes off, I stop checking emails, using my computer, drinking caffeine, and doing anything else that will keep me up late. The clock app on Apple iPhone includes a setting that will give an ideal bedtime based on waking up early.

I also recommend using a sleep tracker, like a Garmin Watch, Whoop, or Fitbit, so that you can track your sleep cycle for a few weeks.

It’s hard for night-owls to get into the habit of falling asleep at an earlier time of day than usual. That’s where a good wind-down or nighttime routine can help.

When you receive a notification about going to bed, it’s time to reduce exposure to screens, avoid heavy meals and engage in relaxing activities like meditation or reading.

The blue light glare of a computer screen stimulates the brain and makes it harder to fall asleep. If you must work late in front of a screen, consider investing in a pair of blue light glasses. According to a 2017 study by The University of Houston, they can increase melatonin production by 58%.

I also like leaving an alarm in a different bedroom from where I sleep. When an alarm goes off first thing, I have to get out of bed and go into the other room to turn it off. The act of moving makes it harder to press the snooze button or roll over and go back to sleep. The simple act of moving will mitigate feeling groggy too.

I sometimes set a second quieter alarm clock in the bedroom to avoid waking others up. After a few days, your body will begin to adjust to this new routine and it should become easier to fall asleep and wake up in the morning.

A cup of coffee in the morning can jumpstart your day better than any energy drink . It’s tempting to start consuming more coffee when you first start waking early. However, avoid drinking multiple cups of coffee throughout the day, as you’ll find it harder to sleep.

If you drink coffee in the afternoon, trace amounts of caffeine will stay in your system until well into the late night and impact sleep quality. Switch to low-caffeine or caffeine-free drinks after mid-day. If you need to restore energy levels, take a 20-minute nap at lunch, at least until your body adapts.

Investing in a set of noise-cancelling headphones is a fantastic way of enjoying a writing session, particularly one at dawn. You can use it to listen to ambient or lyric-free music, which will help you get into a state of creative flow faster. In that state, all sense of time and effort fades away and it becomes easier to write a difficult first draft . You’re far more likely to do your best writing in this mental state.

For help finding this type of lyric-free music, check out the Flow State Substaack newsletter. Headphones (or earplugs if you’re on a budget) will also block out distractions like other people getting up and going about their day.

It’s easier to create a good habit if you know what works and doesn’t and how close you are to realizing this habit. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day on your new early morning schedule.

For the first few weeks, I recorded when I got up, how long I slept, and when I went to bed. I found out that checking email and social media late at night is bad because I find it hard to sleep afterwards.

I recommend using Jerry Seinfeld’s Don’t Break the Chain system. It’s a good habit formation strategy that anyone can easily apply. Each day you wake up early, mark an X through today’s date. Your job is to build a chain of Xs and avoid breaking this chain. For more, check out our writing productivity guide .

Many writers wake up early because their mornings are usually distraction-free and quiet. These hours are also ideal for working on creative projects like a book, a blog or writing morning pages.

You don’t need to be an early bird to start waking up at dawn. It takes practice and some self-discipline. Maintaining consistent circadian rhythms helps. A circadian rhythm refers to your sleeping and waking cycle. Consistent early morning risers go to bed and rise at the same time every day, including at the weekends.

My morning routine varies. I don’t get up early every day , 365 days a year. I sleep late at least one day at the weekend, and there are times when it’s not possible or practical to get up at six AM because of the demands of the previous day.

I accept these days for what they are (a time to rest or sleep) instead of seeing them as setbacks on my journey towards creating an ideal morning writing routine. It takes a little time to shift a sleep cycle from working and rising late to rising early.

I told a friend once when you find writing time in the morning, “you give the best of yourself to yourself.” He laughed. I know this sounds ridiculous, but it’s harder to work on what matters if you’re feeling physically and mentally exhausted from work or day-to-day life.

But what if you are more creative  at night? If you’re happy with your late-night writing process, stick with what works. Tharp sums this up in her book, The Creative Habit .

“In the end, there is no ideal condition for creativity. What works for one person is useless for another. The only criterion is this: Make it easy on yourself.”

Writing in the Morning FAQs

During the day avoid caffeine. Stop working in front of a screen after your evening meal. If possible, go to bed at a reasonable hour and read for a little bit, ideally a paperback. Lay out your clothes and set an alarm in a different room from where you sleep. The first morning will feel challenging, but rising early will become more natural after a few days.

If you want more time to work, meditate, exercise, write or work on personal projects that cultivate your well-being, waking up early is a good habit to create. You’ll have more free time to work on what matters rather than other people’s priorities. Waking up early also means you’re more likely to feel energised and fresh.

Writing in the morning is good because that time of the day is usually quieter and free of distractions. Prolific early morning writers often say they can get their best work done before lunch as they have more physical and mental energy. It’s also an ideal writing time if you’re balancing the creative process with a full-time job.

Deciding what to write every morning depends on whether you’re a blogger, podcaster, author, or freelance writer. Usually, it’s a good idea to work on your most important creative project and hit a target word count or milestone for the day. That way, you’ll accomplish the hardest task of the day first thing. You could also try writing early morning pages, whereby you engage in long-form stream of consciousness writing by hand.

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Writing Tips Oasis - A website dedicated to helping writers to write and publish books.

How to Describe Waking Up From a Nightmare in a Story

By Rebecca Parpworth-Reynolds

Are you writing a thriller in which a character is haunted by a reoccurring nightmare? Would some descriptive words help you with your writing? Check out this post on how to describe waking up from a nightmare in a story!

Worried and nervous.

“He awoke to the anxious thudding of his heart and cold sweat upon his brow.”

“The nightmare had left him anxious and unable to sleep. Yet, at the same time, he could not bring himself to get out of bed.”

How it Adds Description

Waking up from a nightmare can often leave someone feeling on edge even after being awake for a little while. They may be very wary and nervous about things in the waking world, so you may wish to describe them as “anxious”.

2. Breathless

• Unable to breathe easily.
• Breathing too fast.

“He jolted awake in the middle of the night, feeling suffocated and breathless from the vivid nightmare that had just plagued his sleep.”

“Gasping for air, she woke up breathless from a nightmare that felt all too real.”

Sometimes people can wake up from nightmares gasping for air, either out of sheer panic or from the content of the bad dream. Describing their “breathless” reaction can help to spread this panic to your reader so that they understand just how scary the nightmare was for your character.

3. Disoriented

Confused and not knowing what to do or where to go.

“As she woke up disoriented from the nightmare, it took her a moment to realize that she was in her own bed, safe from the terrifying creatures of her dreams.”

“Drenched in sweat and with a racing heart, he woke up disoriented from the nightmare, unsure of where he was or what was real.”

When someone wakes up from a nightmare, they can often feel “disoriented” and confused, as their brain struggles to make sense of the sudden shift from the dream world to reality. The intense emotions and sensations experienced during a nightmare can make it difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is not, not only confounding your character but your reader, too!

4. Distressed

Upset or worried.

“Tears streaming down her face, she woke up distressed from a nightmare that had stirred up painful memories and emotions she thought she had buried long ago.”

“He woke up distressed and shaking, the vivid nightmare leaving him with an overwhelming sense of dread and an urgent need to escape the darkness that had enveloped him in his sleep.”

When someone wakes up “distressed” from a nightmare, they are usually experiencing incredibly strong emotions brought on by the bad dream. These emotions can be so intense that they may continue to linger long after the person has woken up, helping you to display the lasting impact of the nightmare to your reader.

5. Emotional

Having strong feelings .

“Overwhelmed, she woke up emotional from the nightmare, struggling to calm her racing heart and ease the knot in her stomach that refused to go away.”

“He woke up emotional from the nightmare as he tried to come to terms with the intense feelings of grief and loss that had left him reeling.”

“Nightmares can be emotionally intense experiences that can leave a person feeling overwhelmed. When someone wakes up “emotional” from a nightmare, this may be because it has tapped into fears and worries that the person has tried to suppress from their waking life. As a result, the emotions your character feels when they wake up can help give your reader an insight into their innermost thoughts and feelings.

• Out of control thanks to extreme emotion.
• Extremely upset.
• Hurried due to anxiety or worry.

“Waking from the nightmare, she frantically threw back the covers to try to escape the monsters haunting her dreams.”

“She woke up frantic due to the nightmare, her heart and her thoughts racing as she struggled to differentiate between the nightmare and reality.”

Nightmares can be very distressing, and when someone wakes up from a particularly vivid or terrifying nightmare, they may experience a sense of panic or urgency that is difficult to shake off. This can lead to them feeling out of control, or lead to hurried movements and bodily sensations such as their heart beating or rapidly sitting up in bed. If this indicates how the character in your story wakes up, try describing them as “frantic”.

7. Panicked

Experiencing a sudden feeling of fear that makes it hard to compose oneself and think and act rationally.

“She woke up panicked from the nightmare, her body trembling with fear as she clung to her blankets.”

“He woke up with a panicked yelp from the nightmare, which many of the other boys relentlessly teased him about at breakfast the next morning.”

Sometimes nightmares make us lose our composure, meaning that we react in unexpected ways when we wake up from them out of sheer fear. This “panicked” response might even catch your reader off-guard!

8. Relieved

Happy that something bad had not happened or that something bad has ended.

“He woke up relieved , the feeling of dread and despair that had consumed him in his sleep fading away as he realized that the worst was over and that he had made it through the night.”

“She flicked her eyes open rapidly, expecting to still be in the hellscape of her nightmare, but was relieved to see the four walls of her bedroom.”

Waking up from a nightmare can sometimes be a pleasant experience, especially when the person realizes it is not real. Create a feeling of safety for them and your reader by describing them as being “relieved” that it is all over.

9. (With a) Start

Moving suddenly when something has surprised or scared someone.

“She awoke with a start , her heart threatening to beat out of her chest.”

“He awoke with such a start from the nightmare that he had to act quickly to stop himself from falling out of the bed.”

Sometimes waking up can trigger sudden movements, such as a gasp, reflexes such as a kick, or even the shock of feeling like you have fallen from a great height onto your bed! If your character wakes up “with a start” then it is clear to your reader that there was something scary in their dream they needed to get away from!

10. Terrified

Very frightened.

“Shrieking in fear, she woke up terrified from the nightmare, her body drenched in sweat.”

“He woke up terrified from the nightmare, his heart racing and his hands trembling as he tried to catch his breath, the memory of the terrifying images still fresh in his mind.”

Rather than just describing someone as scared, “terrified” gives a greater depth of emotion when it comes to waking up from a nightmare. For example, they may be incredibly confident in their daily life, but suddenly they are reduced to a quivering wreck thanks to their bad dreams.