A-Z Blog Challenge: S is for Seeking Stories in Sleep by AJ Joseph

It's that time again!!!  Unwritten and some 1000 other blogs participated last year, and this year looks to be even bigger! Just like last year, I've opened up the blog to host 26 fabulous writers, with each day of the challenge representing the letters of the alphabet from A-Z. I've asked each writer to focus on something that is personal to them, so we can learn more about each other. 

Please check out some of the other blogs in the challenge here: 

A-Z BLOG CHALLENGE 2013

S is for...Seeking Stories in Sleep 

by AJ Joseph

Many places and situations inspire the stories I write.

I could be in my car, stuck in a dreadful traffic jam, wishing I could teleport to my destination and a Sci-Fi story about the gross misuse of teleportation in the very distant future would emerge.

Or I could be in my garden wrenching out the weeds while swatting away pesky mosquitoes that somehow sensed the second I stepped outside my house and proceeded to converge, and a story about mosquitoes taking over my town would come into being.

But my best story ideas come to me when I’m on the verge of sleep or, when I’m drifting out from sleep.

Words would glide through my brain as I dozed off. It could be an amazingly insightful conversation between two friends. Or it could be a description of a character that I would’ve loved to have gotten to know better.  

When this happens, I’d debate if I should get up and write them down and risk not being able to go back to sleep (I’m a chronic insomniac).

Or just go back to sleep and hope that my not-so amazing memory would prove me wrong and I’d remember the words in the morning.

'Winter Dreaming' by Josephine Wall

Naturally, sleep would always win. And I’d never remember those amazing lines that could’ve been in an amazing story that I would’ve written.

As the sleep versus memory battle continued to wage on, and stories slipped through my fingers, I decided enough was enough.

That was the start of me bringing stationeries to bed.

Hence, my bed is littered with a journal, sticky and non-sticky note pads, pencils and pens in various colours (because I get bored writing with the same coloured ink).

Now, when awesome words makes its appearance known to me when I’ve turned out the lights and ready to depart to dreamland or when I’m reaching for consciousness in the morning light, I’m ready.

I’ve got pen and paper in hand (actually, under my pillow) ready to snag those words before they flit away. Gone are the days (and nights) of stories escaping me.

Sleep, bring on the stories.    

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AJ is a bookaholic, semi-insomniac, unsuccessful recovering java-holic and most importantly, an aspiring writer. She's been in and out of writing almost all her life, trying to fit it in between work and travels. She's recently decided to give writing her all and is in the process of re-structuring her life around her first love - words. She blogs atwordsfromsonobe.wordpress.com.