I adore my creature comforts. Take away my food, comfy clothes, or my sleep, and I unfortunately get cranky fast. I may not be high maintenance; however, if I don’t get the basics, especially at least 5 hours of sleep at night, I struggle to not devolve into a whiny, teary-eyed blob, sprawled on the floor, having a pity party of one. Keep me adequately fed, watered, and comfy, though, and it’s mostly smooth sailing, even when life gets hectic.
I love sleep. Sleep loves me. Sleep and I are best buds. Don’t ever keep us apart for too long. Or else my world starts caving in. Give me sleep or give me death, people! (Yeah, I can get a bit on the melodramatic side when I’m sleep deprived.) That’s probably why I hate insomnia so much. It’s an evil thing that gets in the way of my dreamland bliss.
And tonight, the insomnia monster is at full force. It’s after 4:00 AM, and here I am writing a blog post about sleeping instead of–you guessed it–sleeping! As a writer, though, I’ve come to realize that even insomnia can be a mighty secret weapon, if wielded properly. There’s something about sitting alone at night, the house (and world) silent around you. Alone with your thoughts, musings, and crazy imagination. Just the clicky-clack of your fingers flying across the keyboard. It never fails to get the ol’ creative juices flowing. And sometimes inspiration hits like a giant dam suddenly burst upstream.
Tonight is one of those dam moments. Although I would much rather be sleeping right now, (dawn comes quickly these days), I must admit that I’m having the time of my life tonight. Well, perhaps, not my life, but certainly in recent days, weeks, and possibly even months. I feel like a new person. I’m on fire. I’m overflowing with ideas, and I can’t get enough! I’m almost tempted to never sleep again–well, at least until I get all of these concepts written down.
After I couldn’t fall asleep, I started writing a new story based off of a crazy dream I woke up to yesterday. The dream was so vivid that I actually remember a huge chunk of it. It makes a pretty good story, too. It has plenty of plot twists and the climax is so unexpected that I doubt many people will see it coming.
I’ve had an extremely productive night. I picked a title. I started character dossiers. I even wrote a story synopsis that is almost 4,000 words long. It’s coming along beautifully! I’ve never had a novel idea flow this freely and easily. I have all the main plot points laid out. I merely need to flesh out the storyline more and add depth to my characters. Then, I can dig into writing this book from cover to cover. It feels like this thing is almost writing itself!
I know I should be heading off to bed soon to try–yet again–to drift off to sleep. Nonetheless, part of me is energized and rejuvenated by this flood of inspiration. If writer’s block is a drought, I’m experiencing the monsoon of the century, folks! I honestly don’t want to stop! It’s as though I’ve inadvertently hit pay dirt. I accidentally found an oil well, and it’s madly gushing all over the place. How can I not be excited or eager to enjoy the moment while it lasts? Who knows when this inspiration will dry up?
WIsh me luck. I’m going to need it! I must find a happy balance between sleep and writing when my brain is still exploding like a monstrous volcano. You know, I should treat this surge of creativity more like a fire, rather than a force of nature. Under the right conditions, a fire can be harnessed and contained. With both the appropriate amount of air and fuel, flames can burn for a long time without causing harm. A writer requires a healthy balance of writing time and rest. If I tread carefully, I won’t burn out and neither will my inspiration.
© 2020 Amanda R. Dollak
Amanda R. Dollak 