Sleep... and the writer

a 3 Day Novel post

photo by Igordoon Primus on Unsplash

Let’s get this one out of the way:

Time spent sleeping is NOT wasted time for the writer. Ever.

Sleeping accomplishes more for me than if I were able to stay awake around the clock. True.

It’s just knowing how you work, and putting thought into making that happen… in a conscious way.

What are your plans for this weekend? The times I’ve done it, I could not resist the excitement of watching the clock turn to MIDNIGHT and getting started then. I then wrote until exhaustion set in, and went to bed. Which of course turns your clock all around. But really for the purposes of this weekend, the only hour that matters is the midnight-on-Monday one.

Thoughts

Let your “clock” find its pace with the work. When the work is not going well might just be the perfect time to go to sleep. (See note below on “naps.”) You might find certain times of day and night lend themselves to certain parts of your story, too. (Some scene deep in the night? In the early aft? Write it then.)

The idea to leave off “while the work is going well” so that when you return, you have a place to go to immediately. Consider this. See if it works for you. If you write to the end of a scene or chapter, not knowing where it’s going to go from that point, that can indeed leave you in a state of staring at the screen when you are back at it.

If you do complete a scene, then before you beeline for bed, jot some notes about where you will be starting out for your next spell of writing. Resist the urge to actually start the writing—but do the notes!

The half hour before sleeping is a critical time. Research says that whatever you see or read in that time, your mind will review while sleeping much more than it will any other period of time in your day. (Something to know before an exam!) So use that half hour wisely: read a passage you want to mull over in your sleep, jot notes on where the story is going, or where it might go. Or redirect your mind: maybe you want a particular poetic rhythm in your work, and you’re not finding it (maybe you’re too anxious to let it happen)… so read some poetry. Maybe you need to revisit some research, and need to consider ways to integrate it. Try not to do the screen thing at this time, though, as it really can interfere with sleep.

List 12 things—see this idea in the “idea generating” post. Think methodically about the passages/scenes/chapters you are struggling with.

Then let your subconscious mind do what it needs to do. So much of writing is about faith. And a little gestation time, too.

A note on naps

I’m a huge fan of naps. Not the kind in which I pass out for several hours, and awake to find the day eaten. But short. Timed, even.

I set a timer for 10-20 minutes. Most of the time, it’s just enough to close my eyes, let my muscles relax, and fall into that weird state of suspension. Then I’m up, brain cleared, and back to it.

Try it. Or longer. Maybe your body works best with 45 minutes or an hour.

I know that after 20 it’s as if I’m clean-slated, and yet have also generated some ideas… somehow.

The magic of sleep.

3 Day Novel discussion thread

Throughout the weekend, please post any questions/thoughts/brainstorming in the discussion thread. I will be checking in with frequently!