Writing in your sleep...

folclor

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Whether it's stress or just that part of my brain not shutting off, I've had a few instances where I write while sleeping.

Over a year ago I left a note on my phone that read, "A mess of limbs." I wrote a whole paragraph the other night and it almost made sense! Does anyone else do this? If so, what's your best or most cryptic finding?
 

KBaum1608

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I do! It's a side effect of my Ambien. I write jokes at night for Twitter. I'll wake up and my Twitter account will be full of new ones that I don't remember writing. My favorite was:

"Fear does not exist in this dojo.
Pain does not exist in this dojo.
Lisa does not exist in this dojo.
She got a new job last week and classes don't mesh with her schedule."

I write a lot of jokes about karate (even when awake) and this is partially a quote from the Karate Kid. I had watched the trailer for the new Cobra Kai show right before bed.
 

The Germ

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My mind is blown by what is happening in this thread.

You really wake up to mysterious text written overnight? On your Twitter? I can barely be trusted to tweet responsibly when I'm awake!
 

Seaclusion

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My mind is blown by what is happening in this thread.

You really wake up to mysterious text written overnight? On your Twitter? I can barely be trusted to tweet responsibly when I'm awake!

There's a lot of famous people with that same tendency
 

KBaum1608

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I don't post them to Twitter, but I write them and then save them to my drafts while sleeping. Then in the morning, I'll check my drafts folder to see what's there and fix any typos and post them if they make me laugh. Sometimes they aren't funny or are just ideas. Last night's gems included one that just said "bologna republic" which is obviously a punchline that I thought of but couldn't form the joke. I'll workshop it a little and figure out how to flesh it out. A lot of the jokes that I write in my sleep are just as ridiculous as the ones I write when awake, though. They don't have any special qualities to them and are mostly "on brand" for weird Twitter, which is where my account firmly sits.
 

Woollybear

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'A mess of limbs' is a great image.

I'll find little plot holes in my sleep, usually realizing that a character can't make a particular statement in a late chapter because they weren't part of the conversation that it refers to from an earlier chapter. Sometimes three or four little things like that. The problem is remembering them the next day. I sometimes put a notebook by my bed but as soon as I take it to my work area the next day, I'm in trouble again. :)

I also use sleepy time to put myself in character heads and figure out what it is that they're really after in my story, and how they feel about everything.

Jogging is a good time to figure stuff out too. It's neat that our brains do these sorts of things.
 
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folclor

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I do! It's a side effect of my Ambien. I write jokes at night for Twitter. I'll wake up and my Twitter account will be full of new ones that I don't remember writing. My favorite was:

"Fear does not exist in this dojo.
Pain does not exist in this dojo.
Lisa does not exist in this dojo.
She got a new job last week and classes don't mesh with her schedule."

I write a lot of jokes about karate (even when awake) and this is partially a quote from the Karate Kid. I had watched the trailer for the new Cobra Kai show right before bed.
Haha, that's hilarious. Yeah, mine are always more serious, though I have woken up to find I've written messages to friends in my sleep u.u I really should log out of everything before I go to bed, even on my phone.

'A mess of limbs' is a great image.

I'll find little plot holes in my sleep, usually realizing that a character can't make a particular statement in a late chapter because they weren't part of the conversation that it refers to from an earlier chapter. Sometimes three or four little things like that. The problem is remembering them the next day. I sometimes put a notebook by my bed but as soon as I take it to my work area the next day, I'm in trouble again. :)

I also use sleepy time to put myself in character heads and figure out what it is that they're really after in my story, and how they feel about everything.

Jogging is a good time to figure stuff out too. It's neat that our brains do these sorts of things.
Thanks! And, yeah, I keep a notebook next to my bed. This morning I woke up to, "feathered men," and I've no idea what I meant by that, haha.
 

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LOL Feathered men and sequined ladies .... I see it, baby.
 

Crimson Thorns

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Nope. Never managed that one. Cool trick. I have awoken with full story ideas, though.
 

KBaum1608

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I've woken up with messages on my phone, too! When I was single, I even asked a man out in my sleep once. It didn't work out long term, but he did say yes to the date. I guess that's one way to build confidence.
 

Woollybear

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This reminds me - I have woken up on occasion, having written new songs. The first was about a robin.

Hello Mr. Robin, How the heck are you?
Hello Mr. Robin, Where'd you get that shoe?
Hello Mr. Robin, Where'd you get that suit?
Hello there, hello there, why are you so cute?

There were three verses. :)
 

KBaum1608

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This reminds me - I have woken up on occasion, having written new songs. The first was about a robin.

Hello Mr. Robin, How the heck are you?
Hello Mr. Robin, Where'd you get that shoe?
Hello Mr. Robin, Where'd you get that suit?
Hello there, hello there, why are you so cute?

There were three verses. :)

This is adorable haha.
 

Lou3232

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I do! It's a side effect of my Ambien. I write jokes at night for Twitter. I'll wake up and my Twitter account will be full of new ones that I don't remember writing. My favorite was:

"Fear does not exist in this dojo.
Pain does not exist in this dojo.
Lisa does not exist in this dojo.
She got a new job last week and classes don't mesh with her schedule."

I write a lot of jokes about karate (even when awake) and this is partially a quote from the Karate Kid. I had watched the trailer for the new Cobra Kai show right before bed.

This totally amazed me! Glad it's just jokes you're writing in your sleep. You don't belong to any true confessions type websites, do you, LOL.
 

Lou3232

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Whether it's stress or just that part of my brain not shutting off, I've had a few instances where I write while sleeping.

Over a year ago I left a note on my phone that read, "A mess of limbs." I wrote a whole paragraph the other night and it almost made sense! Does anyone else do this? If so, what's your best or most cryptic finding?

Good grief - not another one! What's up with you people? I'm much too lazy to write in my sleep, let alone have sex dreams, LOL.
 

folclor

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I've woken up with messages on my phone, too! When I was single, I even asked a man out in my sleep once. It didn't work out long term, but he did say yes to the date. I guess that's one way to build confidence.
Oh my gosh! That's amazing! The only messages I've sent in my sleep to other people are things like, "Do you wanna game Saturday?" Or, "What do you think of [insert movie here]?"

This reminds me - I have woken up on occasion, having written new songs. The first was about a robin.

Hello Mr. Robin, How the heck are you?
Hello Mr. Robin, Where'd you get that shoe?
Hello Mr. Robin, Where'd you get that suit?
Hello there, hello there, why are you so cute?

There were three verses. :)
That's great!
 

Ink-Pen-Paper

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Whether it's stress or just that part of my brain not shutting off, I've had a few instances where I write while sleeping.

Over a year ago I left a note on my phone that read, "A mess of limbs." I wrote a whole paragraph the other night and it almost made sense! Does anyone else do this? If so, what's your best or most cryptic finding?

Occasionally I will wake up and write down a few things. But nothing like when I was a programmer. Back then I would wake up and write sections of code that my brain had been working on. This is common enough that many programmers have a note pad and pencil by their beds for the very reason that moving an inch could mean forgetting a line of code.
 

DarbyC

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I used to write in my sleep a lot! and yes, it was a side effect of ambien. I had to hide my laptop every evening so I would NOT post inappropriate things on Facebook. (I prefer to post inappropriate things with full knowledge of what I am doing, ha!)
DarbyC
 

FlameMaster5

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Wow... I never knew there was that many people who will write in their sleep! D:
Like, I've seen a friend play video games while actually asleep, but... Never seen someone write while asleep.

That's some serious subconscious talent. ;]
Sign me up! lol ^^
 

George Trigiris

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I don't, but some good ideas hit me when I go to bed.

I keep a notepad handy on my nightstand, just in case.
 

Norman Mjadwesch

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I was a programmer. Back then I would wake up and write sections of code that my brain had been working on. This is common enough that many programmers have a note pad and pencil by their beds for the very reason that moving an inch could mean forgetting a line of code.

Same. A few years ago I wrote part of an algorithm in my sleep and when I woke up it worked without any further modification. I actually felt like I had cheated because no discipline went into the process. Talk about working in your sleep!

This has happened a few times with other things as well, including sorting out some plot issues in my last novel. Well, actually it was more like the entire novel, scene by scene, all in one night. It took longer to write it, though...

Although I am crap with creating music, I did once dream of a really cool tune that my brother could use in his band. Unfortunately, I didn't know what any of the notes were, or how to write them on a sheet, so it came to nothing. It was a pretty catchy tune, though.

Another time that everything did not go to plan was when I woke up with a premonition of the final score in a football game. I was so convinced that I was going to win a pile of cash that I opened a betting account, only to realise that the game had already been played and I had heard it being broadcast on the radio while I was asleep. LOL & FML.
 
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