how midnight silence become my loudest muse?

a love letter to the hours when the world finally whispers back.

It used to happen after 1 a.m., sometimes closer to 2.

The streets outside were empty, the world finally quiet. I’d sit by the window with a notebook and a cup of half-cold tea, waiting for words that never came during the day.

Back then, the silence felt alive.

The soft hum of the fan, the distant sound of a stray dog�"it all turned into a kind of music. I could hear my own thoughts without anyone interrupting.

In those hours I wrote about everything I couldn’t say out loud: small heartbreaks, strange dreams, questions I was afraid to ask. The night kept my secrets and gave me sentences in return.

Sometimes the pen moved so quickly it felt like someone else was writing through me. I’d look up and notice the clock jumping from 2:30 to 3:15 without a sound. The darkness outside wasn’t scary; it felt like a quiet friend leaning close, urging me to keep going.

There were nights when memories knocked harder�"faces I’d almost forgotten, words people left unsaid. Instead of running from them, I let them spill onto the page. Each line felt like a conversation with a part of myself I never met in daylight.

By the time the sky softened into pale blue, my tea was cold and the city was beginning to stir. But I never felt tired. Those late hours had already filled me with something warmer than sleep�"a calm that stayed even when the day got loud again.

Looking back, I think that’s what midnight really gave me: a place to listen, to write, and to finally hear my own voice.

ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋ, ɪ �"ᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴅs ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ʙᴇᴇɴ sᴇᴀʀᴄʜɪɴɢ �"ᴏʀ.

SHREYA✨

Author's Note

ignore grammar problems

Reviews

[Relic]

I think this a good story, although asking a reader to ignore grammar problems is kinda weird. The question marks eliminate letters that could easily fixed.

[ink.haze]

okay will follow up your advice, thanks for that btw

[Relic]

Anytime. :)

[JayG]

• ignore grammar problems

So, you don't have enough respect for the reader to do it right? Grammar serves a critical purpose. It helps the reader "hear" the writing in the way the author intends.

Next. Why would you make the reading harder with black and white zebra stripes on the page, and inverted print presentation? Stop playing with gimmicks and focus on making the writing interesting.

• It used to happen after 1 a.m., sometimes closer to 2.

Here's where you lose the reader, because they have no idea of what "it" is. So, as the words are read, they're meaningless. And a confused reader turns away right then, because you can't retroactively remove confusion.

• The streets outside were empty, the world finally quiet.

The streets, where? We could be in old London, or on Mars in 3025. That matters.

• I’d sit by the window with a notebook and a cup of half-cold tea, waiting for words that never came during the day.

So this is what used to happen? Who cares? That's history, not story. And, who would bring a half cup of tea with them and then not drink it? But that aside, are you dying to know what's on my desk to drink? No? That's how important the protagonist's snacks are to the reader. Anything that doesn't meaningfully set the scene, develop character, or move the plot is fluff that serves only to slow the pace of reading and bore the reader.

In total, this is a blog entry, not a story. That's not good news, I know, but you've given the reader no reason to want to know that this unknown person, in an unknown location, in an unknown year, used to write on unknown subjects in the late hours for unknown reasons.. Hell, I write late at night, are you dying to know about that?

Never lose sight of the fact that your intent for the meaning of a given line doesn't reach the page, so it's the reader and the meaning the words suggest, based on THEIR life experience, not your intent.

You need to look into the what and how of writing fiction. We're given none of the necessary skills in school, because they're readying us for employment, and the writing tasks, there: reports, letters, and other nonfiction writing.

So, try a few chapters of a good book on the basics, like Debra Dixon's, GMC:Goal Motivation & Conflict, for fit

https://dokumen.pub/qdownload/gmc-goal-motivation-and-conflict-9781611943184.html

Jay Greenstein

Articles: https://jaygreenstein.wordpress.com/category/the-craft-of-writing/the-grumpy-old-writing-coach/
Videos: https://www.youtube.com/@jaygreenstein3334

- - - - - - - - - - -

“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader. Not the fact that it’s raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.”
~ E. L. Doctorow

[Davidgeo]

It's funny you mention the word "respect" given your disposition. You truly lack self awareness. It's become quite amusing.

[JayG]

What's funny is you checking every post to see if I responded. You're desperately trying to upset me, thinking about me day and night, while I see you as the mental age your picture displays.

My granddaughter looked at one of your posts and said, "Pop Pop? What's wrong with him?"

[Davidgeo]

Nobodies checking your posts my dude. You leave so many reviews they pop up on the main page, so every once in while I have a little feast on your ego. Hahhaha... I know this s**t drives you nuts Jay. I know this makes you feel self doubt... have fun with that champ.

[Davidgeo]

(you should feel self doubt fyi... you live in a self aggrandized delusional fantasy land, for real)

[ink.haze]

Hi Jay,

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts. I appreciate that you care deeply about the craft of writing — that much is clear from your message.

That said, I do believe literature has evolved beyond a rigid set of rules or one “right way” to write. Grammar exists to guide clarity, yes, but voice, rhythm, and emotion often live in the spaces where structure bends. If a story’s intention is to feel real — fragmented, nostalgic, intimate — then breaking convention becomes part of the storytelling, not a flaw.

As for the “zebra stripes” or presentation — aesthetics are subjective. What may seem like a distraction to one reader can be immersive to another. Art isn’t meant to please every eye; it’s meant to speak to those who get its language.

Regarding the “it” in my opening line — the absence of definition was deliberate. Ambiguity builds tension, inviting the reader to stay, not spoon-feeding them clarity in the first breath. Some readers turn away from confusion; others are drawn toward it. Both reactions are valid.

About setting and half-cold tea — realism doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it hums. Life, as well as writing, breathes through quiet gestures — a cup of tea untouched, a window, a pause before dawn. Not every sentence must move the plot; some are meant to move the soul.

You’re right about one thing: readers interpret through their own experiences. That’s why no story will ever be universal — and why that’s precisely the beauty of it.

Still, I value your perspective and the resources you shared. Growth in art comes not from agreement, but from dialogue — so for that, truly, thank you.

Best,
Shreya sambhavi

[JayG]

• I do believe literature has evolved beyond a rigid set of rules or one “right way” to write.

But has the reader? The thing about belief is that no matter how sincerely held, it has nothing to do with that belief being either true or false. And in any case, your belief doesn’t make to the page, or your reader.

It’s great to be an innovator. But unless you know the field before you begin, your “innovation” may be you falling into something that was found not to work many years ago. And as someone who has both taught at workshops and owned a manuscript critiquing service, I can tell you with certainty, that were this a submission to a publisher, it would be rejected on line one, for the reason given.

Certainly, you can write in any way you care to…unless you hope to publish. Then, it’s what the reader believes that counts.

My point: Since the day you began to read, every book you’ve chosen was created with the skills of the profession. And while you don’t see the tools in use, you do see, and appreciate, the result of their use, and will reject anything that wasn’t in a paragraph—as will your reader.

And that’s the best reason I can advance for devoting a bit of time to digging into those skills.

Remember, you aren’t there to explain, when the story is read, so it’s the words you supply and what they suggest TO THE READER, based on their life experience, not your intent.

• As for the “zebra stripes” or presentation — aesthetics are subjective

Naa. They’re the ones you use when writing spam. You’re one of the students, learning advertising, who so often bombard this site with exactly that “Hey, look at me!” format. It doesn’t work for that spam nor will it work for fiction.

• Regarding the “it” in my opening line — the absence of definition was deliberate. Ambiguity builds tension, inviting the reader to stay, not spoon-feeding them clarity in the first breath.

The technical term for that is: “nonsense.” 😄 Missing data isn’t an enticement; it’s just missing data, not a hook. To quote Kurt Vonnegut: Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.

• realism doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it hums.

And mashed potatoes have no bones. So what? We’re not talking theory, we’re talking about this piece as it stands on this day. And on this day, you, the narrator, are reporting and dispassionately explaining, to a reader who expects you to make it seem that the events are happening to that reader. It’s written with the nonfiction skills you learned in school, fact-based and autor-centric, made more so by pretending to be the one the events once happened to. But telling is telling, and has no place in writing fiction. You cannot practice the profession of Commercial Fiction Writing with those of advertising. Thatrequires the emotion-based skills of the profession.

And as side-note, those skills can improve advertising copy, as well

Try a chapter or two of that book I suggested. You’ll find it eye-opening.

[Davidgeo]

Jay man, you still go on about people posting youtube videos under their writing... you have zero clue as to what reality is like at this point in time. Stop embarrassing yourself and the human race in general.

[JayG]

Ink Haze: The Troll is one result of this site no longer being moderated.You can press the little X at the right of his comment to delete it is you care to.

He's a just the usual troll, though, who found it's a lot easier to tear down than build. And since he stopped taking his meds it's gotten worse.

[Davidgeo]

You are projecting again Jay boy.