Friday, January 05, 2007

Sleep & Stuff

First the stuff... in the first to days of the week, (not counting Monday, cause that was a holiday) I wrote 38 pages on Dash!Then I ran headlong into the muddy middle. Now you'd think that because I had the plotting board this would't have happened. That was the idea, anyway. But no. I need to update the plotting board cause I have gone way off course. I looked at it and shuddered last night. Instead I am going to try something very easy to get me started again. I am going to do a point by point outline of ever plot action. Very plain language, not worrying about emotion or anything else like when you try to create a synopsis. Just this happens and this happens, bullet by bullet. I am hoping by writing it out, I can just sail right past the middle on to the end. Wish me luck. I HAVE to get back on track and SOON!

Now for the sleep.

I used to have the gift of sleep. As in I could do it anywhere, anytime, Now? Not so much.

Oh, I can sleep alright. In the middle of the day. Gawd, I love a good nap. Snuggling under the covers with my weiner dog. Letting everyone else go about their day without me for an hour or so. Actually when I nap I can sleep for about 2 hours if I let myself. In fact, I don't know just how long I can take a nap for because Someone either wakes me or I set the alarm clock. Of course, when I do, I usually regret it because then I can't get to sleep at night.

Now I either have a hard time sleeping or I wake up at like 2am and can't get back to sleep. Sure I doze a little, but not for any length of time. Since Dh is on swing, I usually wake when he comes home. Now I either sleep again or not. I never know. Things bug me that didn't use to. Animals. The TV. My husband, the hampster, running around doing his chores. (He is sort of obsessive compulsive over the house being tidy at all times and the laundry always being done. We have two teenagers, one of them a fashionista daughter, five cats and two dogs. Tidiness at all times is a dream he just can't let go of.) So all night I hear tap, tap, tap, as he scurries through the house in the neverending war against bits(on the floor, couch, counters, whatever) and laundry. That is why we call him the hampster spinning around on his little wheel. ANYWAY.... It didn't used to bug me. Now it does.

Or else it's the writing. My head fairly spins with ideas, plots, plans. How to get more done in a day? How to make more money? What I can do to torture my characters? That kind of thing. I obsess over my career or my kids. It never stops. And unfortunately, I am the type of person who NEEDS eight hours of sleep. I get less, I get more bitchy. Some nights are fine and I get enough sleep. But many, too many, are not.

And there you have it. My name is Teri and I have sleep issuses.

And I didn't even get into Restless Leg Syndrome. Yes, people, it's real and it's the creepist thing evah! hey. Hmmmm. I could use that in a plot.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I feel your pain! First, I have RLS as well but have found that a couple of advil helps. Second, when I was at the store the other day I saw a sleep aid that you can take in the middle of the night and won't make you groggy in the morning. I tend to wake up at 3am and can't get back to sleep for hours. I obsess over work, over writing, dream about success, all of that (it's the last that generally puts me to sleep). Anyway, I'm thinking of trying that mid-night sleep stuff and will let you know if it works!

Lexi said...

Great news on the 38 pages! Not so good about the muddy middle. Good luck with getting over the book and sleep issues.

Amanda Ashby said...

I know what you mean about the sleep thing. On Boxing Day I slept in until 11am and I swear it was the first time in six years that my head wasn't full of fog!!!! Good luck with the book.

Rachel Vincent said...

I've recently discovered that when I'm pushing a deadline, I can write until all hours of the morning, then get up early and do it again. I can get just a few hours of sleep a night for as much as two weeks in a row. But then I crash. No way to avoid it. Eventually, I need my sleep too.

Good luck on the sleeping! And plotting. I hate plotting. ;-)