Robert McCrum marvels at the idiosyncratic ways writers try to cajole their creativity:
Writing rituals, like all fetishes associated with creativity, are intrinsically interesting. Jonathan Franzen attracted a lot of attention when he described writing The Corrections in a state of primitive solitude. According to Time magazine, "Franzen works in a rented office that he has stripped of all distractions. He uses a heavy, obsolete Dell laptop … Because Franzen believes you can't write serious fiction on a computer that's connected to the internet, he not only removed the Dell's wireless card but also permanently blocked its Ethernet port."
Then there are other considerations such day versus night, drunk versus sober, or champagne (Harold Pinter) versus benzedrine (Graham Greene) versus coffee (virtually everyone). Some writers are larks; others are owls. Mario Vargas Llosa has an elaborate psychological theory for choosing first light as the best time to write.
The Dish 