I am at a certain time of my life (ahem), when changing diapers, school plays and Saturday soccer games have given way to hot flashes, foggy brain and sleepless nights. Sleep has been a bit tricky for me since my teen years; in my 50s it’s an even more hit or miss proposition. But at least the three-hour wake-fest the other night was a more useful insomnia than usual. Yeah, I freaked about losing sleep, but meanwhile, my brain raced to work out trouble spots in the synopsis I’m working on.
As I lay there in the dark, staring at the ceiling, that story evolved and morphed and changed more times than Madonna in a concert performance. Ideas spun in mental hamster wheels, some settling in as keepers and some flung out and discarded.
How did I know which ideas to save and which to round file? Which ones deserved to be the building blocks of my story and which were dross? Magic fairy dust? My muse hitting me upside the head with a metaphoric baseball bat? Well, kinda sorta. A more accurate description is that there’s a little meter inside me. I plop that idea inside the meter, it assays the contents and kaching! I get an answer.
The best way I can describe that meter is instinct. I’ve been writing books for umpty-ump years (far fewer than some of my fellow SSEers, more than some) and I’ve acquired a certain skill for measuring whether a story aspect is too much, too little or j-u-s-t right. Whether it will add to the emotional content, will up the conflict, or drag down the pace like a molasses slick.
For instance, I just finished writing the draft for THE FAMILY HE WANTED, which comes out in April. In the original synopsis, I’d envisioned a scene where the hero reconnects and meets with his long-lost sister. I’d also pictured a scene where his mother, who abandoned him as a child, re-enters his life. He meets up with her, too.
As I was working on the book, my little meter went ding-ding-ding, telling me that the scene with the sister and the one with the mother would be too similar. Only one was necessary to move the story forward the way it needed. I had to drop one of the two scenes and as a consequence, one of the two characters. But the resulting single scene packs plenty of emotional conflict.
That same process kept me up into the wee hours the other night. As I contemplated my new synopsis, my heroine went from pregnant to non-pregnant, from CEO to VP of Marketing to Community Liaison of the corporation her late husband left her. The PI hero who was originally called in to solve a case of corporate espionage will have a different role. What didn’t change was that little interlude between the two of them three months ago...
Yeah, it took three hours for my feverish brain to slow down enough to let me fall asleep again. But that late night session gave me a completely new start on my synopsis. I’m excited about the story and can see how nicely it will fit in with the first two books of the series. I’m raring to get started on it.
Just as soon as I take a nap.
http://www.karensandler.net
Fostering Family: Love. Home. Family. They're what life's all about...
THEIR SECOND-CHANCE CHILD, Silhouette Special Edition, February 2009
THE FAMILY HE WANTED, Silhouette Special Edition, April 2009
Creative process
I loved reading about your process, Karen. Fascinating! I'm sorry you lose sleep over it, but it sounds like we, the readers, benefit from it
. It already feels like a great story, by the way, even as little as you've revealed. Your whole foster-family theme is a great one.
Susan
THE SINGLE DAD'S VIRGIN WIFE, SSE, October, 2008
www.susancrosby.com
Wives for Hire from Silhouette Special Edition
THE BACHELOR'S STAND-IN WIFE, July 2008
THE SINGLE DAD'S VIRGIN WIFE, October, 2008
THE MILLIONAIRE'S CHRISTMAS WIFE, November, 2008
To zzzzzzz or not to zzzzzzzz
Karen, sounds like I'm at about the same point in life as you, with my daughter just having started college and menopause starting to rear it's head. Many of my friends mention sleeplessness in connection with this stage of life, too, but usually I don't have a problem sleeping.
Now, when I was pregnant with my daughter, that was different. I guess I got the corporate version of the nesting instinct in that I didn't feel compelled to super clean and sanitize every corner of my house. I did get a nursery room ready, but Martha Stewart I'm not. In fact, at that point in time, I couldn't envision myself as a SAHM until she was born.
What DID keep me up at night, however, was worry about all I had to do at work to get prepared for an extended maternity leave. I was the Director of Student Records at the University then, and my maternity leave was scheduled to run through the end of the semester. Plus, we were changing things up a bit and were no longer going to provide hard copies of the students' grade reports to their deans' offices, requiring them to get the information online.
So, I had to be sure that everyone was aware of the process, that we had adequate supplies to produce the student copies, and that my functions would be covered while I was gone. We were bringing up a new screen in our computerized system, which I was to test and get the bugs worked out to provide access to the information we were discontinuing in hard copy. I also had to be sure to get the advisors to buy into the new process and be sure everything else was on track.
I found myself lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling, worrying about getting everything done in time. No matter how I tried, how many deep breathing exercises I did, or how much tossing and turning went on, I just couldn't get to sleep until the wee hours. Then, I'd be so exhausted at work that I couldn't accomplish half of what I needed to get done in a day, thus perpetuating the cycle!
I guess I should be grateful that my DD didn't make her appearance until 15 days after her due date (and, yes, she was definitely 15 days overdue). That gave me a little extra time to get things together.
Adopt a shelter pet. www.shamrockpets.com
View my DD's very public video acting debut at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E-v05kMucw.
Karen, I know the feeling...
I had breast cancer almost a decade ago. The treatments threw me into early menopause. Spent a lot of nights sweating and staring at the dark ceiling. In those days, I would actually try not to think about my stories, as I knew that then I would never get to sleep.
Sometimes, though, I just can't help it. And I'll spend the night awake mulling a problem as you describe. So glad you worked it out--and have a nice nap.
Christine Rimmer
http://www.christinerimmer.com
Catchin' those Z's
Karen, I hear you loud and clear on the insomnia. My nights have been interspersed with waking periods from the moment I had my first child. Today, I still wake up periodically through the night. And if I'm onto a story germ or trying to sort through a difficult plot point in a book... Oy! The hours zip by and I'm staring at the dawn.
On a "normal" night, however, waking up at 3 a.m. has taught me to grab the book I'm reading and, like the kid I once was, turn on the flashlight and read for 20 minutes. Before I know it, my eyes are drooping and it's lights out until the alarm rings. :)
Btw, I love the idea for your new synopsis!
Mary JF.
http://www.maryjforbes.com
AND BABY MAKES FOUR -- Silhouette Special Edition - Nov. 08
"Home To Firewood Island" miniseries -- Bk. 2
Commiseration!
I know what you mean, Karen. I'm only 44 but in the same stage, two daughters now in university, one to go. We always knew the time when we had three teen girls would be interesting, but we hadn't banked on me being perimenopausal at the same time! It's a hormonal stew here some days.
I too often lie in bed thinking about various plot points and where I'll begin next morning. Often a (seemingly fantastic) idea will pop into my head just as I'm drifting off. If the pad and pen are on my nighttable where they're supposed to be, I jot something down. Otherwise, I tell myself I'll remember it in the morning. Of course, I never do. Sometimes, even my scrambled jottings don't make any sense. But usually something else comes out and I have to trust that my subconscious will make sure nothing is lost.
Thanks for sharing your process with us! It's always fascinating to hear a bit about some else's journey.
Roxanne, is-it-hot-in-here-or-is-it-just-me?
"If you don't have the time to read, you don't have the time or the tools to write." -Stephen King, On Writing
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
I've been gone a couple days, so haven't been able to check in. I wanted to say it's nice to know there are others who commiserate with my sleep issues like Roxanne, Christine and Mary. Might not help me sleep, but at least I feel better knowing I have company.
http://www.karensandler.net
Fostering Family: Love. Home. Family. They're what life's all about...
THEIR SECOND-CHANCE CHILD, Silhouette Special Edition, February 2009
THE FAMILY HE WANTED, Silhouette Special Edition, April 2009