There are several schools of thought on this: some think that the morning is better – motivation levels are high, distraction at a minimum, levels of creativity in the mind are said to be high after sleeping; others prefer late evening or night-time due to the quieter hours. Some science claims that learning is most effective between 10:00 am to 2:00 p.m. and then again from 4:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. so presumably the same could be said for writing? Especially as ‘writing’ is so much more than just sitting at the desk and typing away. I spend as much of my writing time reading other stories and books, researching odd tidbits such as jobs, or locations.
I would love to be the sort of person who can rise early and get an hour’s writing in before starting my working day, but I just can’t seem to drag myself out of bed that early. So for me, writing tends to happen at the weekend and out of term time: Christmas, Easter, Summer holidays; half term breaks. When I do have the time, I tend to sit down after breakfast and then write until I can’t hold off hunger any more, however, I have also found that I will postpone the actual writing over other ‘chores’ that I absolutely must do before settling in to write: course material work, checking submissions, writing blog entries. I know, I know!
So I think the best time for me to write is, well, now! And I suppose that applies to other writers as well: the best time to write is when you can sit at your desk and write.