Okay, this might get me permanently banned from posting on the blog, but I'm in need of some help my fellow Midnight Writers...a little couch time if you will.
I ain't sleeping so good lately. A lot of it has to do with the novel I'm working on I think. It's a lot darker than the stuff I usually write (and the stuff I write isn't all bunnies and butterflies) and I'm having these funky dreams about people that aren't really people. They are both animal and human. And it's only gotten worse after I've adopted my home remedy of a glass of red wine before bed. Red wine bad....
Anyway, any suggestions? How do you all "turn it off" before going to bed? I tend to write late into the night and then have to somehow shut it off and go to bed. Whatever I'm doing, ain't working. Maybe I need to kick it up a notch and move to Scotch.....
Mark (the other Mark)
16 comments:
Until I turned to fulltime writing, I used to write before going to bed, too. And had insomnia and even when I did fall asleep, would invariably wake up during the night with my characters in my head. And wake up with them in my head in the morning.
No solution, dude.
On the bright side, it's a great way to solve plot problems. Just before you go to bed, you say, I need a solution for this.
And you're pretty sure to wake up in the morning with a solution.
(I'd go easy on the scotch before bedtime, but that's just me).
I've found cigars work really well for solving plot issues. I know, I know, I have a lot of vices....
But seriously, if I'm super stuck on something, I'll go outside (never smoke those things in your abode) and have a cigar and somehow everything seems to line up. Is nicotine a muse?
Marks I and II: I'm not going to be of much help here. I'm too busy scrubbing the bathtub tiles (see my post at some later date about procrastination).
But I do think writing is a 24/7 job. And when you find yourself awake in the middle of the night, there is almost inevitably a reason. As Mark Terry says, you're just working on the sotry in your head. Once you know that, you'll stop worrying about it and then you'll sleep more soundly. But there is really no cure for the writer's disease.
(Putting my nurse cap on): how about trying Mellatonin? It's a "natural" sleep inducer, and is supposed to improve REM sleep. Hmmm. But can't be completely sure if that will stop your creatures or . . . just make them more colorful.
Did I mention I'm retired from the medical field? Not responsible if your animal-people suddenly sprout two scary heads.
Candy (unlisted phone number) :-)
My old fail-safe technique used to be to visualize myself on a beach or Scuba diving. Just going with the flow, breathe in, breathe out, move on as the song goes...
But I started seeing fish-people.
And thanks G.M. Now I'll start dreaming of cleaning the bathroom....
I need a "talking doctor"....
Cleaning in your dreams - not a bad thing!
But what really helps (seriously) is repeating a poem or something backwards in your head. A favorite child's rhyme (Mary Had a Little Lamb) - whatever. You would be surprised how difficult this is to do. It kind of wears your already tired self out and then you sleep.
Trust me on this.
Sweet dreams!
Candy and GM~
I'm so desperate here that I'm going to take both or your advice. Load up on Mellatonin and read kids books. But the only kids book I have is "Everybody Poops." This might turn me in a direction I don't want to go....
Candy, I'm sorry, but I'm going to need that phone number....
I know you need your rest and all, but those dreams sound amazing! Do they have titles? Some of mine do.
Amanda~
Your profile picture frightens me. Wanna get a drink sometime?
And isn't Heidi the best!? Xuni.com rocks!
Mark--
Heidi is amazing. I saw your site as she was working on mine and kept hoping mine would be half as good. She did a great job.
A drink sounds good. Wait'll you hear about some of my dreams. Let's just say plane crashes and vampires seem to be recurring themes.
Three rounds of a sudoku puzzle clears your mind wonderfully!
This has been a real problem for me lately. I actually saw my doctor about it. We're working on a number of things together, but exercise is a big part of it. The problem with writing is it involves a helluva lot of sitting on your ass. In my case, combine that with a day job that involves, er, sitting on my ass, and you have a recipe for increasing roundness, increasing blood pressure, and increasing sleeplessness.
So far, I've been erratic though. Not as much exercise as I need. But even a little bit seems to help.
Is it any wonder that some of history's greatest writers are/were addicts of some kind or another.
I swear by Tylenol PM for some of "those" nights. And I agree with Bill (or his doctor), when I exercise, even semi-regularly, I sleep better and am better able to turn the process off when I go to bed.
Have you tried sex? Same principle as exercise.
Sue Ann~
Forget Amanda....You wanna get a drink sometime????
Hey!
Amanda~
There is enough of me to go around love!
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