Does This Happen To Any Of You?

[Golden_Nebulas]

Picture this:
You’re going through your day, not being able to write more than 200 words for something you really REALLY want to write/draw. The day is over, and you can finally lay in bed and get some rest. But, oh no, your brain decides that now is the time to create a whole story scenario that would be AMAZING if you could get up and write all of it down. Now, you have to decide between getting up and staying up the entire night, or going to sleep with the chance that you might forget half of your amazing idea, but you get enough sleep to function tomorrow.
Am I the only one who does this, or does someone else relate to my constant struggle?

[DokiDokiTsuna]

I hate to say it, but I usually go with Option A: stay up all night, if necessary. ^^; I'm a night person; I do a lot of my best creative work around 2AM, and getting a decent job on the night shift was one of the best things that ever happened to me, because now I can do that without repercussions.

Although usually, when it comes to just * ideas * I can write down a quick reminder/prompt and come back to it later. Most of my story ideas are absolute garbage when I first come up with them, no matter how excited I am...it takes at least a day or two in the oven for them to mature into something good. And when I've finally worked out all the bugs and the narrative has taken shape in my head, THAT'S when I spend 10 hours at my keyboard writing it all down. ^^;

[Golden_Nebulas]

I do my best creative work 10 PM to 3 AM, but I have to sleep for at least 3 hours so I don't pass out in the middle of something important! XD
When I write down my ideas, I'll say "one more sentence", then "one more paragraph", theeen "one page". After that, it'll be 5 O'Clock in the morning, ten to 15 pages in, and I'm running off of an energy drink mixed with tea.

[VibrantFox]

this is me but ideas come even more sporadically so sometimes its in the middle of work, on the commute or at like 4am in the midst of some insomnia fuled fugue so if im able i jot it down in the notepad i carry everywhere or put it into a note on my phone otherwise its settling with maybe forgetting some details or hoping inspiration strikes again later on

[Stargazer31]

Sometimes I wake up at like 2am with what I think is a great idea, so I write it down, and go back to sleep.
When I check in the morning, it's something stupid like "JoJo au where an evil robot turns people into fridges."

[BLTX]

Guess I'm not the only one. Yes, like many of the others here, I do my best work at night, typically between 1 - 4 AM. I ALWAYS keep my laptop, and or phone next to me, and it tends to keep me all night. Usually, not getting to sleep until about 5, or even 6, when the sun has come up.

[TheLemmaLlama]

I don't have it as bad as most people here; if I'm pulling teeth trying to write/draw something then that something tends not to be "something you really REALLY want to write/draw" (at that moment). And my late night ideas tend to be short and probably takes me anywhere between 30 seconds to 3 hours to write down at the very most. (Maybe it's because I write in bed with no energy drinks and only the light from my laptop, so I get drowsy more readily?)

[Legendofgenii]

3am for me. I’ll switch the computer back on.

[LackofCoffee]

All the time!!

It's either when I'm going to bed, or when I'm driving, or while I'm at work. I have pulled over while driving in order to write the thought down. You have to take inspiration whenever it hits.

[CommissarTarkin]

Well, I wrote up the premise to a whole fictional universe at about 3 a.m. after being sick with COVID in December 2020, so I can't say it didn't happen to me.

[RedLenai]

Well, whenever I have that kind of ideas, I try to write them down in a notepad or the notes app in my phone, mostly to remember the key aspects and so, I'll remember the rest later. Then I go to sleep

[Lady_T_Musings]

The notes app on my phone is heaven sent so If I get lightning-struck inspo I just roll over and type it out with my thumbs and pick it up in the am or later on for a more detailed write-out :3.

[powerplantanimations]

I'd write it down on my phone. Like a small prompt. For example, I come up with an epic battle that's so descriptive.

I just make a bullet point list and write small details on doc.

And then I go to sleep.

[sams_cartoon_shack]

Ideas seem to come more naturally for me when I'm not actively focusing on thinking up a new idea in front of the laptop screen.

[RobertBMarks]

The ENTIRE plot for the third Re:Apotheosis book wrote itself this way.

Let's just say I do a lot of adding line items to story outlines very late at night...

[TheLemmaLlama]

All the time!!

It's either when I'm going to bed, or when I'm driving, or while I'm at work. I have pulled over while driving in order to write the thought down. You have to take inspiration whenever it hits.

I'm showing this comment to my mom the next time she asked me if I'm ever going to learn to drive

Well, whenever I have that kind of ideas, I try to write them down in a notepad or the notes app in my phone, mostly to remember the key aspects and so, I'll remember the rest later. Then I go to sleep

The notes app on my phone is heaven sent so If I get lightning-struck inspo I just roll over and type it out with my thumbs and pick it up in the am or later on for a more detailed write-out :3.

I'd write it down on my phone. Like a small prompt. For example, I come up with an epic battle that's so descriptive.

I just make a bullet point list and write small details on doc.

And then I go to sleep.

Okay, but have you ever has a whole-ass scene flood into your head where the wording and everything is perfect and you're worried you're never going to find words that fit so well if you don't get it all down immediately? :'D

[powerplantanimations]

I think in fragments.

[RedLenai]

Well... my memory will be pretty fresh the next morning, so for me, writing down the key aspects in a notepad that I have besides my bed or in my phone to later remember is enough for me to remember the whole sequence.

Sometimes you can't have both the cake and the bread, so it'll depend on what you choose and the responsabilities of the next day. Still, I won't consider anything done within the last hours of the day + exhaustation "perfect" since I consider that the brain is tired enough to not properly see flaws or other aspects.

[SomethingVerySilly]

I feel like I could change the world if I had the same levels of inspiration during the day that I have at night.

Then again, the last note I put in my phone is:

"Motorcycles acting like dogs, excited to see each other etc."

So it's probably for the best that it's restricted to night times...

But yeah as others have said, you need a way to get your thoughts down there and then, even if it's in note form - my phone is perfect for that.

[TheLemmaLlama]

Sometimes you can't have both the cake and the bread, so it'll depend on what you choose and the responsabilities of the next day. Still, I won't consider anything done within the last hours of the day + exhaustation "perfect" since I consider that the brain is tired enough to not properly see flaws or other aspects.

True; I guess the thing is my exhausted brain thinks it's perfection and refuses to go to sleep until I write it down because it fears losing what it just came up with I admit when I look over it the day after, it's usually far from perfection XD