Writing while sleeping, well almost . . .

I don't know if anyone has ever tried it (and no I don't quite mean literally, but close to it). It works for me, at least. It's those few minutes when I am about ready to fall asleep, my subconscious takes over and an amazing thing happens: ideas, creativity, connections. I used to do this a lot in college when writing essays. In college, I went so far as laying down on my stomach, eyes closed and just let my fingers move. Finding something new to say about literature that has been around forever is hard, if not impossible. I used my subconscious to help make connections that my conscious self wouldn't find. My mind does this all the time as I drift off to sleep anyway. I have dream-like thoughts that go beyond typical thoughts and form pictures similar to a full blown dream, but I am not quite asleep. If I try and control the direction of the thoughts, then I can work on whatever it is I was trying to work on. It helps with writer's block, as long as I at least have a starting point. I used this technique last night to try and piece together memories my character had of her childhood. They are obviously vague (as so many of my childhood memories are). They are shaped by her perceptions of the world as a child, and she has to go back at them as her adult self to begin to piece together their true meanings. I may use this technique tonight in order to continue this exploration of a fictional character's childhood memories.