Sleep and Creativity

I'm going to get a little personal this week, though I think it'll focus on something a lot of writers can relate to; sleep and creativity. For the past year, I've had trouble sleeping at night. No matter when I go to bed, I always seem to wake up two or more times a night and stay awake anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour and a half. Having that happen once or twice is one thing, but dealing with it every single night tends to wear a person down. When my doctor checked the stats on my CPAP machine, it registered I was getting maybe about 4-6 hours of sleep a night with all the waking up. 

You can probably imagine what the lack of sleep has done to me: 

• Exhaustion

• Irritability

• Trouble staying awake

• Depression

• Worse Anxiety

• Memory issues

And so on and so forth. Not exactly fun things to deal with when you're trying to write/publish a book. 

I've worked with some people to get my sleep under control, but it wasn't until I met a cognitive behavior specialist that I started to actually notice some changes. For the first two weeks I met with her, she asked me to track my sleep. I was shocked when I realized it looked like a checkerboard. I might get a couple hours of sleep before waking up, but for the most part, my night was "asleep, awake, asleep, awake, asleep." Worse, when I would wake up in the middle of the night, I usually went to food for the comfort, which just doesn't help with weight loss and staying healthy. 

My sleep doctor describes it as maintenance insomnia. I can usually fall asleep within about 5 minutes. Heck, I've fallen asleep standing up before! But staying asleep, yeah, that doesn't happen much for me. All the sleep I had started to get by using a CPAP machine just went out the window and left me a miserable mess. Frankly, I think the lack of sleep is what led to my emotional episodes in February of this year. 

After tracking my sleep, my doctor told me that my circadian rhythm is off kilter. Her solution? Condensed sleep. Okay, so what does that mean? Basically, her idea was to focus on forcing me to get quality sleep over quantity. She wanted to retrain my brain to understand what it was to be "sleepy" and to be so tired that I would just sleep through the night. She had a few other stipulations as well: 

• No caffeine after 2pm

• Sleep for 6 hours from 1:30am-7:30am

• No naps

• No resting in your bed

• No phone in your bedroom before sleep

Our plan was to do it for two weeks before I saw her again, mostly because she said I would hate her by the second week. I thought she was kidding.

She wasn't. 

It's officially been two weeks, and except for two nights when I accidentally fell asleep a little early on the couch, I've followed the rules closely. Each night I've gone to sleep and stayed in bed. Anxiety remained quiet. My hunger ebbed. All I wanted, all I craved was sleep! And by the second week, oh yeah, I hated her. I still might throw a shoe at her when I see her on Wednesday. I never thought fighting to stay awake until 1:30 am would be so hard. It has some benefits. I get more downtime for myself. I caught up on shows and finally watched Good Omens. 

But the costs more than outweigh the benefits. I'm exhausted all the time. I'm grumpy, depressed, stressed, and a complete bundle of emotions. And for those of you who know me well, I don't like not having control of my emotions. I've actually started to cry because I was so tired and so angry that I couldn't just nap. Even know as I type this, I can feel my eyes getting heavy and my body just begging me to go to sleep. 

I will say this, the practice has really made me appreciate sleep a lot more. Our plan on Wednesday, I believe, is to add time onto my sleep schedule so I'm getting closer to 7 hours. I personally think I function best on about 7 1/2 - 8 hours, but even that hasn't been enough when I'm trying to recover from many sleepless nights. 

By now you're probably asking, but Erin, what does this have to do with creativity? 

Everything. 

For some people, staying up late or lack of sleep can create a drive to write. For me, my muses have basically shut themselves off and my characters are giving me the cold shoulder. I have this extra time at night, but the idea of putting a single word on paper is almost unbearable. Thinking hurts. Trying to be creative is too exhausting. It takes all my energy just to stay awake. How I managed to edit and publish a book last year is beyond me. 

Though it would probably explain the emotional roller coaster ride I felt during the process. 

I want my creativity back. I want to be able to curl up at night when I'm sleepy and know that I can rest through the night and rise with enough energy to create my worlds. Sleep is so important. Like, I didn't realize how important until I went through the past two weeks. And I know, 6 hours may not sound bad, but for me, I need more sleep. Technically, you can function on 5 hours of sleep a night for an extended period, but that doesn't mean that your creativity will work. Take care of your mind and bodies. Give them the rest they both so desperately need and crave. I'm hoping once I add on the hours, my passion for writing will resume. and I'll get out of the very tired writer's block clouding my mind. 

Valley West Mall Book Signing!

Wow, what an incredible weekend! I spent June 29th and 30th over at Valley West Mall in Des Moines, IA for a two-day book signing event presented by Indie Author Book Expo. Organized by Jenn Thompson, this event brought around 40 authors/creators together to sell books, make connections, and meet the good people of Des Moines. Despite an art festival, and the abysmal heat rolling through Iowa, the expo still brought 1,100 shoppers. Between author tables, live music, interviews, and a poetry reading, people definitely had a lot to see. 

This was my first time selling at a two-day event, and I was beyond nervous before I went. Author Alexandra Penn and I made the trip together, which sadly will be our last big show for sometime as she's getting ready to move to school in Scotland. We made the most of it though, including hilarious road-trip conversations, dancing to the YMCA and other fun songs at the mall, and just sharing time being authors and friends rather than Directors. It was a nice reprieve. 

One of the best parts of the event was getting to catch up with both familiar and new faces. Brian K Morris and I haven't seen one another since I.O.W.A. last year, and I can't tell you how great it was to get a big hug from him. He's been a mentor to me practically since we met, and I've embodied his ideology of "rising tide" when it comes to working with other authors. If we all work together, we rise together. Frankly, I'm shocked and disappointed in myself that we didn't get a picture together! 

He brought with him Teresa Dunn who is building her writing career even as we speak! I have to say, the expo is a great place to learn the ins and outs of selling books and to meet amazing authors who can offer tips about anything from how to get published to how to set up your signing table. Ashley Lovell and I spent plenty of time discussing ideas for table displays and brainstorming what would catch someone's eye. I can't wait to see what her table looks like when her next book comes out! Cassandra DenHartog (come see her at I.O.W.A 2019!) decided to add a little friend to my table who is now fondly named #Skelebird. He and #Yorick the skull will be making appearances and shenanigans at future signings, I'm sure.

Other familiar faces included the incredible Kristine Plum, a fellow urban/paranormal fantasy writer (Alex and I weren't the only ones bopping along to music).  Satish Jayaraj went around teaching authors how to create origami dragons, which are featured in his book. He's actually hosting a book launch event on July 20th in Cedar Rapids, IA, so you should check him out and show your support! Tabetha Waite stopped by for a picture. She's a great historical romance author I've featured in my website interviews. 

As always, I made a lot of great connections with the authors, but I also met some incredible readers. Most of the people who stopped by my table were very generous and interested in The Purple Door District. My favorite experience, though, was meeting two lovely young women who just couldn't hold back their love for reading. They not only got the book, they proudly displayed PDD art and Bianca's necklace. Seeing their excitement is what encourages me to keep writing, because I see myself in them when I was younger, eagerly searching for my next favorite book. I truly hope they enjoy it and they use it to fuel their own creativity. 

All-in-all, it was a great event, and I can't thank Jenn Thompson enough for all the hard work she put into IABE. As someone who is currently trying to plan an author signing, I know just how much goes into preparing something like this. It's no easy job, and it takes a very caring and hard-working soul to do what she does. Check out her blog to see more fun pictures from the event! 

With that, this very tired writer will bid you ado. Keep your eye out for more pictures from future events, as well as what trouble Skelebird gets himself into. 

As a reminder, The Purple Door District is in the running for a reader's choice award. I still need 50 nominations by 7/13 to move on to the next round, so if you have a moment, please submit your vote here. 

Happy reading! 

Musical Musings

There's nothing better than curling up on the couch with your novel and a good song to set the mood. While not everyone likes to write with music, there are plenty of us who need that additional inspiration to guide us through our craft. I'm one of those people who can listen to the same song on repeat for hours on end because it elicits a certain emotion that keeps me going. 

Music has always been important in my life. When I was a kid, I remember listening to the Little Mermaid soundtrack. I could tell my mom what was happening based on the music. And I'm not talking about the songs with lyrics. I mean the instrumental pieces. I played the clarinet in middle school. My dad introduced me to the world of opera and operetta (still love it that Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street was the first operetta I attended). I also loved musicals like Cats, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Sound of Music, Rent, etc. I learned how music can tell a story, not just in the lyrics, but with the instruments alone. 

As I got older, I started creating my own stories to the music. I'd pick a song like Vivaldi's "Winter" and I'd sit back, close my eyes, and try to imagine a story that was happening through the music. Characters sprang to life. Icy forests caught in a snowy storm. Snow fairies darting through tree branches and bushes. It wasn't just music to me; it became an entire world. 

So I started collecting songs that did several things for my writing; created the world, represented my characters, and quieted my mind. I made playlists that were 40 songs long because they all reminded me of my characters or world in some way. Right now, Naomi Scott's "Speechless" from the new Aladdin movie is my song of choice. The lyrics remind me of one of my characters who survived an abusive relationship and came out stronger than ever. Some of the lyrics like "I will take these broken wings / and watch me burn across the sky" make me think of my character who literally has a phoenix living inside of her. 

So what can you do to help you get into the creative mood using music? 

Character Playlists: Find music that reminds you of characters. I pick out lyrical songs for most of these because the words invoke feelings about the characters and what they've gone through in their lives. I used to create separate playlists per book, but sometimes when I don't know what to write, I just put them all on shuffle and see which character speaks to me the most. 

World-building Playlists: I mostly choose instrumental music for these, but having lyrical songs that represent your story's time frame or world can be just as useful. James Horner's "Avatar" and Howard Shore's "Lord of the Rings" soundtracks are definitely ones I use for my fantasy/medieval stories. On the flip side, I might use pop music or gothic rock (thank you Within Temptation and Evanescence) for my urban fantasy world because it just fits the setting and the characters. Play around. See what catches your attention. 

Mood Playlist:  I also create playlists that have nothing to do with my characters or worlds. These are generally songs that I know won't distract me from writing and will actually sooth me if I'm stressed out. Some easy choices are meditation soundtracks with water, music, and soothing chimes or bells. Another day, I might replay the "Night King" from the Game of Thrones' season 8 soundtrack 15 times. Right now, I'm listening to "Lord of the Rings Music & Ambiance." Most of my mood music is a mix between gentle or sad. It's rare, but sometimes I'll have louder, head banging music. Again, it depends on the mood. But this might help you get into the groove of writing. Turn on your playlist, settle into a comfortable spot, and get writing! 

There are also fun programs out there where you can create your own ambiance.  Check out Ambient Mixer. Maybe you want to spend an afternoon in the Gryffindor common room or explore Rivendell. Perhaps Loki's quarters are much more to your liking. You can listen to premade background music or make your own. 

Everyone has their own tastes in music and their own ways to get into the writing mood. What do you do? Do you have favorite songs that inspire you? How do you find them? Feel free to post below.

Happy writing and listening!