I loathe insomnia. I’ve had chronic insomnia since I was a teen. Back then it never was a real problem because, well, you don’t have any real obligations and responsibilities you have to adhere to. It was the same at university, I’d just schedule classes for a little later. But as an adult, I have to get up at certain times in the early morning even when I didn’t fall asleep until 5am. It leads to a lot of sleep deprivation. And sleep deprivation triggers sleep paralysis and migraines in me. My spouse is an early riser who sleeps like the dead. He has this sort of perfect sleep cycle I envy. Not a skill my brain ever learned. So insomnia is my natural state. And insomnia ideas are the result.
However, I am a night owl so that part of it is natural to me. I only really write at night since that is when I am in my groove. Except for right this moment. Weird. And I like being a night owl. I just wish the rest of the world was night owls too. And then we wouldn’t have all this getting up early business.
Insomniac Ideas
Anyway, the one thing insomnia is good for is brilliant plot insomniac ideas. While you are trying to sleep you think about a lot of things. I have trained myself not to overthink and worry while trying to sleep because that just contributes to insomnia. Instead, I daydream. I think about plotlines and novels I am working on.
Last night I had this idea I began to think about. It was this half-formed idea that had occurred to me during the day for a novel idea. And while trying to fall asleep I indulged in that idea. I fleshed that idea out. I made a whole story from that idea. A whole world. And that is the perk of insomnia. Prime thinking time. Wonderful ideas come to you and you can give them a lot of attention while waiting to become tired.
The only real issue is that I never get up and write these down. Because I am snug as a bug in a rug. And I don’t want to ruin my perfect comfort. So a lot of these ideas poof out of existence by the time I get up. Damn, do you ever regret not writing it down. Waste of good inspiration.
Last night though, I wasn’t even close to being tired yet so when I woke up I still have this fully developed idea.
Question now is whether to write on it or stick with my work in progress that is nearing the end. I think I will lay down some notes for this. And write on it once I do. I can always flip between the two of them.
This new idea is another urban fantasy. I have been looking to work on another series that is urban fantasy. This one the main character will be a sorcerer. It’ll be fun.
So yay to insomniac ideas for inspiration while you can’t sleep.
The Wyrd 