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What do you do when inspiration strikes right when you're going to bed--when that proverbial light comes on in the darkness? Roll over, tell your brain to shut up, and go on to sleep? or are you afraid you'll forget? Do you jump right out and grab a piece of paper or fire up the computer and get busy?
Last night a new idea for the beginning of my novel I've been working on for a while hit me right at that point of drifting off, and I knew I would not remember the details if I didn't get them down on paper, so I drug myself out of the nice warm bed and grabbed pen and paper and the ideas poured for 4 pages. It pulls the whole novel together and sets the tone I've been looking for. Woo hoo!! I feel like celebrating!
16 comments:
Terrific! I love that point where the ideas start pouring out. And great picture!
Wow! gwg! a whole book at 3am. Now that's a bursting of inspiration!
Thanks PJ! I do love taking pictures.
My pre-calculus teacher suggested doing homework right before bedtime and leaving the questions you couldn't get for the next morning (even picking out something to focus on) for this exact reason: your brain relaxes and thinks about all kinds of things. it works
awesome for the idea! congrats
If I get an interesting idea at bedtime, I usually think about it and develop it in my mind before going to sleep.
I have a semi-powerful memory, so I know most of the time a storyline will stay with me for much longer than one night.
Thank you for your comment on my blog! And thank you for your vote!!! I'm a stay at home mom working on my second novel, too. So we have much in common already. :)
Hope to correspond more with you through blogs and/or email. :)
ladyglamis@gmail.com
theinnocentflower.blogspot.com
I've learned to keep a notepad by my bed, just in case.
But I also have a bit of a ke-sera (spell?) attitude about it. The closer I get to sleep, the more likely I am to have a "great" idea. But often, if I write it down, when I wake up in the morning, I think--what was I thinking? This is stupid! So I've developed this method: when I get an idea just before sleep, I try to think about it as specifically as I can--then I let it go. If I remember, it was meant to be, but if I forget, oh well.
Hooray!!! I can't wait to read it! We will definitely have to celebrate over Christmas break!!! :D
Thanks for all the great comments, y'all!
Hannah--I agree with your teacher. I have a lot more mental clarity late at night. If I didn't have to get up in the morning and do school stuff, I'd probably write all night. I'm guessing you will approve of the new change. It gives Grandma a bigger role. And since you loved her... Fingers crossed.
Justus--You're still very young. I used to have a good memory, but age and children have stripped it right out of me. If I don't right it down, it will most likely be gone in the AM.
Lady G--I'm so glad we've blog met. I think we do have a lot in common. Cool!
Beth--I generally keep the paper by my bed, but my hubby doesn't appreciate the lights on in the middle of the night and it's hard to keep those lines straight and legible in the dark. I've tried. you must be very zen to just let it be. I totally beat myself up if I can't remember whatever "brilliant" idea I have at night. Now I just get up and write it down. Sometime they are really stupid, but sometimes they're gold.
A--definitely! We'll have a huge ole hoopdidoo! (esp. if everything works just right)
Good grief! I might ought to have read back through that for typos and homophone freezes. Uh...Justus, that would be "write" not "right." Holy cow! Senility is already setting in.
There are two things I need to address here. First, if I go to sleep thinking about my book I must actually STOP because I develop intricate sentences and perfect plot manouevers and then in the morning they are .... gone. Gone, gone, gone.
Second, if I have an idea for something new I write it down chicken-scratch style in my little notebook that sits on my bedside table for that purpose. But, and this is important, it can only be NEW ideas and not ideas on a work already in progress because I am unable to stop thinking about things once I have opened the door.
This probably only makes sense to me.
I know what you mean. You apparently have more control over your brain than I do. Mine often does not listen to me. Haha!
If an idea strikes in the middle of the night, I lie awake and think of it until I know for sure it's too good not to get up...because I will forget it in the morning. *sigh*
You know it! Me too! Thanks for stopping by Jodi!
That's exciting ; ) And exactly the right choice.
Also, hi ; )
Hi Lotus - thanks for visiting my blog. I have a notepad next to my bed for just such moments. Sometimes it's just a phrase, sometimes it's a whole plot-line but whatever it is it seems to strike just when I'm drifting to another plane. I think that the sub-conscious takes hold of our brains then. Seize the inspiration I say!
Lovely photo too.
Thanks for dropping by! I have the notepad by the bed too, but unless it's just a few words I make such a mess of it in the dark I have to get up.
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