Writer's Insomnia

Insomnia.. 64 million Americans get it a year.. Apparently even exhausted parents who, when their newborn finally goes to sleep at a decent time, find themselves VERY awake lying in bed. Late-night brainstorms often wiggle their way in about that time, and something that seemed like a breakthrough at 2 a.m. turns into me shaking my head in wonder at 9 a.m. Such as turning all the half-empty bottles of condiments in my fridge upside-down in order to help 'speed up the process' of squeezing it out. We all know how long that can take, right? And when you have a toddler that desperately wants their ketchup, and a one month old crying in the other room because for some reason they've turned Anti-Bassinet, it stands to reason that a little nitro dropped in the squeeze bottle wouldn't hurt..

Well.. that's all fine and dandy. IF you remember to close all the lids properly. Ahem. Needless to say, my self-pride was deflated a little after a session with Simple Green and a half a roll of paper towels.

Anyways..

I've noticed that when I'm dealing with my son.. Bouncing him, rocking him or feeding him, my mind tends to wander to my novel. Sad to say I still haven't finished the first draft on the first chapter.. uhm.. page. I'm not sure I have ever gotten a block so early on. I know what I want to write, I just don't know how to put the words on paper so to speak, and this leads to frustration which intensifies my block. It's a vicious circle.

The past few nights I've found that when the kids are sleeping, I get a nearly irresistible urge to write. The problem is.. I've had to cut myself back, as I know I haven't gotten enough sleep with the kids having colds here lately, and if I start writing.. I wont stop till far into the morning. And with us moving erm.. TOMORROW? It's been a bit stressful and hectic. Thankfully it'll all be over in a few days and I can get back to a somewhat normal schedule. So I just deal with the craving.. my eyes wide open and my mind wandering over what could help my main character (whom will be unnamed for the moment) along past the first page.. okay.. uh.. paragraph. YES, I have a storyboard and some wavering semblance of a plot. I just haven't managed to get Brutis' keyboard and my fingers to work together yet.

Is it strange to name your computer? And not just name it, but christen it with a clearly stereotypical aggressive title..?

I sent a sample of some work to a 'news' site which reminds me strangely of the Onion Movie and was given the 'go-ahead' to submit work to them freelance whereas I would get compensation per comment left on my work. Seems a bit strange, but really it makes a bit of sense for them. If they don't get anyone looking at something, there is no point in spending money on it. I'll wait to see if any of my work even gets posted on the site before linking to it.. Less pressure on me. :)

Well.. My house's state of a wreck is calling- Boxes piled everywhere, an empty fridge, and my daughter's toys strewn all about the house.. Hmmm..