Thursday, July 21, 2011

Creative Momentum and Sleep-Deprivation

Yesterday, I wrote the one chapter of my novel I promised myself I would write.  It felt really good. 

I got my momentum back.  It's a slow pace - just one chapter a day, but over a week that could be seven. 

Last night, I told my husband an idea I had for a short story.  I didn't really feel like writing it.  I kind of wanted to tell it to someone else and let them write it. 

I've had some rather bad insomnia lately and have been averaging about 4 hours a night for more than a week.  I was done - still am.  Apparently when I'm in a near-psychotic state after a week of sleep deprivation, my mind gets very creative.  I wrote the story in thirty minutes. 

I printed it off copies for my daughter and husband.  My husband and I laughed about it a lot. (It's a comedy, so that's a good thing.) 

My daughter said, "That's cute."  She's a teen, so that's a very positive response. 

I asked my husband to verify the technical details (it's sci fi with some computer technology in it - yes, and still a comedy, a dark comedy at that).  We talked about it and laughed some more, enough to send my daughter to another room. 

We continued to laugh.  About an hour later, my daughter suggested that we were a little nuts, still giggling in the kitchen over the story.  We told her our ideas for a sequel.  She commented that she was amazed that I could be that creative and pull these ideas out of nowhere - and then just write it - simply execute it immediately after I thought of it. 

It's the sleep deprivation for sure.  Or maybe it's just the momentum I've built up this week by writing creatively every day.

I plan to self-publish the story next week as soon as I figure out how to do that.  I hope other people laugh, and we aren't just crazy.

I read something somewhere (sorry, too tired to remember who it was) that talked about finding your niche - the genre or sub-genre that is the one that you will write in, the one you will be known for if you make it big as a writer.  For me, it will not be a genre or sub-genre.  It will be dark comedy that crosses genres.  Even my middle reader chapter book had moments that made me laugh out loud while I wrote it - at the point where the creature thought for sure he was breakfast.  (I laugh again.)  I love writing.

6 comments:

  1. Congrats!!

    Keep us posted when you fire it up on-line.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sleep deprivation is not the way for me to build creative momentum - I just get very passive and low on energy when I haven't slept well. But good for you!!


    If you get a chance, check out a fellow writer's zombie story and help me make him wear an embarrassing shirt next year! Details are here:
    http://kelworthfiles.wordpress.com/2011/07/19/prove-the-zombies-wrong-social-platforms-can-build-readership/

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Bryce - Will do.

    @Laura, Shelly and Keena - As always, thanks for your enthusiasm. :)

    @Kelworthfiles - The sleep deprivation was not intentional at all, trust me. Maybe you aren't drinking enough coffee.

    ReplyDelete