Has your sleep ever been shattered in the middle of the night by strange sounds? Did your sleep-crusty eyes flash open as Adrenalin spiked your heart rate? Did your ears fill with the harsh sound of your own breathing? Did you lurch from your pillow and clutch the blankets close, listening? Listening. Waiting. Hoping the sound isn't real, and all is safe and quiet?
Well, not my husband. He's married to a writer. I broke him of that long ago.
I like to write at night, when it's quiet and calm with nothing to interrupt me. No little ones to yank on my hand as I type, sending my well-crafted sentences spiralling into tjklnmg'a and ltjewklna iicjlsm with each jerk on my arm.
The only problem with writing at night, other than not getting any sleep, is I tend to mutter things as I type. Lines of dialog, harsh breathing, and strangled sobbing are common backdrops to the click click of the keyboard as I live my stories along with my characters. Okay, I don't really sob, but sometimes it's close.
At first, long ago, my hubby would wake up and stagger out of bed if I blurted out, "No!" Now he sleeps through it. If someone breaks into our house, we're goners. He'll sleep through the whole thing until they wake him up and then he'll say,"Oh, I thought it was just my wife."
When I write during the day, I spout random lines from my book, pant with a running character, or re-enact a death scene in my chair. My kids will stop and say, "Was that you, or someone in your book?" It's kind of funny really. And to them, I'm completely normal.
Now, you probably think I'm crazy, and you might be right, but I am not alone in my actions. Many writers exhibit this type of creative behavior. There is even a movie called, Stranger Than Fiction, where the author acts out her scenes, visits the hospital to see dying people for inspiration, and other bizarre (to non-writer type persons) behavior.
When I saw it, I laughed so hard I cried. Then I went and wrote a sweet scene complete with obnoxious facial expressions and muttered dialog.
4 comments:
I love Stranger Than Fiction! My favorite part was the flours. Although the visit to the hospital was hilarious---especially when she asked where they kept the ones who weren't going to make it. We should watch that at our next reunion.
That would be fun. And the flours was awesome. Who wouldn't fall for a guy who brought you flours?
My sister used to have "terror-mares". She would act out a nightmare. I think that will be my blog post today. Thank you for the inspiration!
Hey, anytime I can give you inspiration about terror just let me know. :)
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