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| Kirk, lookin' Writer-Chic! |
Hi, Kirk here again. I'm beginning to enjoy this taste of a writer's life. How do you like my new look?
Today I
want to find out if any of you have the same problem as me—no more normal
bedtimes.
I don’t know about the rest
of you, but I like a rhythm to life, a schedule. It’s the sort of thing my
engineering brain craves. But once my wife began writing, schedules became a
thing of the past.
Wait, that’s not exactly
true.
Normal schedules became a
thing of the past.
For instance, when the boys
were little, we needed to find a way for Edie to carve out some uninterrupted
writing time. If you’ve ever had small children in the house, you can imagine
how difficult this was. But we put our heads together and came up with a plan.
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| Sometimes the best ideas can still come back to bite you! |
A plan that’s come back to
bite me big time.
In the evenings, we’d get
the boys tucked in and spend some quality couple time. We’d go to bed like
normal human beings, around ten o’clock. And after I’d drifted off to sleep,
Edie would get back up and spend the next four or five hours writing. Then, in
the morning I’d be responsible for getting the boys up and ready for school.
This gave her time to write, and time to make up for the sleep she lost. It was an arrangement we could all live with.
It also began a habit in her
that I haven’t been able to break, even though the kids are grown and gone.
Some of her best writing
time coincides directly with bedtime—my
bedtime.
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| Drastic measures necessary for sleep! |
But I'd love the opportunity to give up my earplugs and beauty mask....
So I'm curious, how do other writers deal with ideas that insist on making themselves known at bedtime?
I keep my iPhone by my bed. When I have an idea or a passage will come to me, I enter it in the notes application, which is synced to my laptop. I don't even have to turn on the light, although I usually have to reach for my glasses. Ideas always come to me either at bedtime or during those middle of the night restless times.
ReplyDeleteAshley, I do that too. But I'm not as successful with it. I can't seem to manage those little buttons when I'm half asleep! Thanks for stopping by, Blessings, E
DeleteI'm the same as Ashley, although if it's a particularly gripping idea that just won't leave me alone ill carefully open up the iPad and type away in bed. With the brightness turned down there isn't enough light to wake the sleeping man.
ReplyDeleteRhiannon, I have better luck with my iPad. Thanks so much for taking time to comment! Blessings, E
DeleteKirk, I'm sorry to say, you've described me...once again! There have been several nights where an idea for a devotion will come to me, and I have to get up to write it down. I may not post it at that time, but I want to have it written down in case I forget it. Besides, Edie says there's a devotion in everything, and she's right! Love you, Edie!
ReplyDeleteThere is a devotion in everything, isn't there, Jamie! thanks so much for stopping by, Love you, E
DeleteHow do you sync your iPhone notes to your computer? I'll have to Google that one. Since I live alone I suppose I could just get up and turn the computer on...
ReplyDeletePat, I sync my iPhone to my computer weekly and I have it set to since my notes, too. You can set it up in your sync pane. Thanks so much for taking time to stop by! Blessings, E
DeleteKirk, I love your posts! I definitely see myself and the truth of what Gary has to put up with. Poor guys. :-)
ReplyDeleteI know, they are so sweet to encourage and support us! Thanks for stopping by, Blessings, E
DeleteI guess I'm blessed with a husband who sleeps through just about anything. I don't have a smart phone so it's the trusty notepad and pencil for me. Even if I did keep the laptop nearby, my husband wouldn't hear the keys clacking. He has slept through the blaring security alarm before! :0
ReplyDeleteSally, it's funny how God seems to pair couples up. In our marriage, I'm the one who can sleep through anything! Thanks so much for taking time to comment, Blessings, E
DeleteThis is hysterical and he's a good sport. Fun to read, thanks.
ReplyDeleteDee, He really is a good sport. Although I may have actually created a monster. I don't know if I'm ready to share the writing life totally! Thanks for stopping by, Blessings, E
DeleteI have always kept a journal by my bed, but lately this has been a fruitless endeavor. My normal bedtime is between 2-3 a.m. anyway lately. I am studying till at least that time. As a student, I won't schedule a class before 11 a.m. Some days, more often than not, I struggle to even make it to school before 11 a.m. Since I no longer have a husband, it isn't as much of a problem of keeping someone awake, though it has forced me to train my four year old to sleep in her own room. Poor thing wouldn't sleep at all if she had kept bunking with me. But the iPhone idea, what a concept.... I have been known to text in my sleep. It seems like the next best thing. Thanks for the ideas ladies. Blessings, Laurie
ReplyDeleteLaurie, the iPhone has made so much of life convenient, hasn't it? I think we're all just a tad bit spoiled. I know I am. Thanks so much for stopping by, Blessings, E
DeleteThat's funny. Our schedules are different. I fade at 10 - out completely (except for middle of the night ideas and prayers) but my hubby stays up until 12. I get up at 6am and he doesn't get up until 8am. I have 2 hours per day of uninterrupted time with God - awesome really. And that's where I get my ideas - from my time with God.
ReplyDeleteBlessings,
Janis
Kirk, I think I need to sign up my husband for your posts. He needs a support group.
ReplyDeleteOne night he said, "Who are you emailing at this time of night? Like anyone else is up." Within minutes, my writer friend responded, so I got my husband out of bed to prove it to him. Yep, he needs a support group. :)
Kim, I just read your comment to Kirk, his response, "I feel his pain!"
ReplyDelete