Would you ever write sleep deprived?

[ueonts]

I often find that writing in a "bad mental state", whether that be tiredness, hunger, or anything else, often leads to diminishing returns as your creativity is just seriously lessened.

I just began an experimental sleep schedule in which you only sleep for about 4.5 hours each night. I find that right now I feel fine and can write fine, but as it goes on my judgement will definitely lessen until I get fully adapted. Do you ever write in states like this, or do you find that it would not be worth it because your mind is just in a place where you can't think clearly?

[HGohwell]

My sleep schedule is a bit complicated because I work shifts that can go from day to night in a matter of days, so I often find myself having to push through when tired to try and swap. And it's a bit of a mixed blessing. On the one hand, a bit like writing after some alcohol, I find myself a lot more likely to just write in the flow of things. No thinking, just writing. On the other hand, that naturally means it's an absolute mess when it comes to looking at it the next day and I have to try and make sense of it.

[darthmongoose]

Having had to make pages to keep my schedule up during a nightmare house move where I had a couple of nights in a row of maybe 4 hours sleep tops, I can say I can do it, but do not recommend doing it and would be happy to never have to do it again.

When I did pages last week with a banging headache due to a head cold, I managed to get them done, but then noticed later, I'd done a character's eyes the wrong colour and not even noticed til I after uploaded it. Those are the kinds of little errors that slip through when you're exhausted, plus just generally sloppy inking and colouring, or on the writing style, the writing tends to be a bit uninspired or rambly.

Better to get some rest and make sure you're in good condition if you can!

[feuersichel]

Heh, jup that ballmer peak works wonders xD

As a hobbyist, I'm having the luxury to work on my stuff when I feel like it. But I also had the situation, when I reeeealy wanted to finish a chapter and just pushed through. In the end I had to fixen up things I messed up because my mind and body just wanted to be over with it.

[TheSingularitySeed]

Not that extreme, but yes
My creativity likes to sneak in just before bed.

I don't recommend it tho. My work is definitely better when I'm alert.
I'm just more motivated when I'm sleepy.

Edit: And long-term it'll probably do more harm than good. Sleep is very important!

[NickRowler]

I mean being sleep deprived (insomnia), depressed, stressed out, and skipping meals is just what I deal with daily. It’s not really anything I think people should force on themselves if they want to be more creative.

You need to be careful about limiting sleep. It can mess up your body clock and you end up crashing. It may increase irritability and stress. It can cause eye strain and other eye issues like twitching. In worse case scenarios, it can cause hallucinations.

Hallucinations are not as fun as Hollywood makes them out to be, trust me.

[Kuma]

Yes. If I need to write for work I don't care about my state. Because its work.

[MK_Wizard]

I used to, but I stopped upon realizing that it was counter productive. Now, I only write with a clear head and I make sure my health is in a good place.

[GumshoeComix]

I have done that before but I don't think would ever do that again now that my sleep schedule is fairly normal and healthy. I've learned when to put down the pencil and go to bed and take breaks.

[MelancholicOtaku]

Could I write while sleep deprived ,yeah sure but would I, most definitely not,I’m not able to focus and my energy levels and emotions will be low and not in a healthy state. If I’m not recharged and somewhat well rested then I can’t write.

[AmazementComics]

YES.

It’s. Not. Advised.

[Headypigeon4180]

I never write without sleep, It's hard enough sometimes when i'm full rested xD

[PoquitoBird]

Most of the time, the best dialogue or lines come when I’m in bed or asleep. I have a notebook or my phone with a Google Doc link next to my bed and I immediately write it down because I know that I’m going to forget it as soon as I wake up.

[TAMAnnoying]

I would and I have. Not going to make it sound like a good thing because it's not but if you ever do it in a fit of inspiration or a need to stay awake for whatever reason it can be a good thing to go back to look at later.

It's usually a jumbled mess of nonsense but sometimes if you get lucky you can grab some gems out of the trash fire that was your mind at 5 in the morning

Mostly a thing I did in collage, (somehow 4 hours of sleep was super chill) I'm far too old to do it now tho I think I would consider "sleep deprived" at my age to be "only getting 6 hours of sleep instead of 8" (I'm not that old but boy do I feel that old sometimes)

[KevinReijnders]

That's the secret cap, I'm always sleep deprived.

[Lensing]

People need a different amount of sleep. 6 hours is perfect for me. I can´t sleep longer, I still function
with less hours or no sleep at all because I got used to it.

I don´t recommend experimenting with it too much

[Innocynce]

I have written in that state MANY times. And it turns oooooooot liikkkkkkee thiiiiiisssssssssss... In themorning..

I be like "What the!?" And have a hard time editing what I've done. What I just showed you was the "light" version: misplaced words, horribly misspelled words, and my being too unconscious to battle the autocorrect's "autocorrecting" words into a nonsensical mess is what happened on the norm...

[SpookyLocker]

ironically some of my best ideas come to me at 3am when I can't sleep

[SpookyLocker]

Hallucinations help with creative writing JK Everyone should get 8 hours and write when they're fully awake

[conventurecomics]

That is when I make a pot of java and start drawing/writing.