For
the past four months the only way I’ve been able to fall asleep is to continue
plotting the action for the novel I’ve been working on. I’d lie in bed, think
of where my characters are and what’s happening to them, and then figure out
the next moves in my story. Oh sure, I have a general plot, but the specific
obstacles and resolutions get worked out just before I lose consciousness.
I
create tangled webs and then see if there’s a way out. I envision the ultimate
perils and decide which characters are going to face them. And I torture myself
with motive, means and opportunity, all while peacefully lying on my bed in the
dark. By the next day, I’m ready to get to my computer and see where I’ve left
off.
But
for the past two nights, I haven’t been able to fall asleep so readily. Why?
Because I’ve just completed the first draft of my next
mystery-suspense-adventure novel. And while this is cause for celebration, it
means that I now have to start all over again with a new plot, new characters
and a new novel. Unfortunately, until the current novel has reached its final
revision and my editors are done sending me countless notes, I fight off any
attempts from my imagination to start a new venue. I think this is something
left over from my childhood.
Put that toy away before you take out the
next one!
You’d better wash those dishes
before you even think of cooking something else!
You’re not going to wear that
sweater until you send Aunt Marion a thank-you note!
No doubt about it. It’s the closure
element and it’s followed me from childhood to mid-life and beyond! So now, I
have to find another way to fall asleep. And it’s not that easy. Just ask my
husband who has to listen to me at night.
“My plot’s gone. I can’t get to sleep. What
do you do? What do you think about?”
“Nothing. I just close my eyes and I
don’t think about anything.”
“No wonder you snore after 5
minutes. Well, I can’t just think of nothing.”
“What did you think about before you
started writing that book?”
“The other book.”
“Well, just don’t think about
anything and go to sleep. Good-night!”
It was
impossible. I thought about bills –Did I remember to pay them? I thought about
food – Did we remember to buy eggs and milk? I thought about the pets – Did I
make an appointment for the cat’s teeth cleaning? I thought about our lawn, the
car, my teeth, my water aerobics class, my book signings in the fall, the couch
that I hate, the stove that I hate even more, my husband’s teeth, and the fact
that my printer ran out of toner. It was awful. AWFUL. And then I decided to do
something about it.
To
heck with closure elements. I started to plot a new book….After all, I really need
those Zzz’s.
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