Daily Routines

John Ashbery

From 2015:

My writing process consists of sitting around my apartment in the afternoon, wondering if it’s gotten too late to do any writing. Around 4 or 5 I make myself a cup of tea, which I sip while reading poetry. After a while I either start to write or call it quits for the day. Usually I listen to some contemporary classical music while this is going on. I usually do it several times a month (say 10?) if other things don’t intervene.

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Ennio Morricone

Morricone composed not at a piano but at his desk, hand-writing his music in pencil on score paper. He woke as early as 4:30 a.m. and generally got to work by 8:30 or 9:00. He said in 2016:

I wake up very early, and go to sleep early too. On a typical day, I start with some exercises, then read the newspaper. By 9am I’ll start writing music, and continue until lunchtime. Then I have lunch with my wife and chat to her, and resume writing until the late afternoon.

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