Writing in my head instead of sleeping

I’ve had a few nights recently where I’ve laid in bed thinking about my books instead of sleeping. I know a lot of people suggest keeping a note book by the bed for just such an occasion but I’ve never felt a need to do so. If the thoughts are really good, and especially if they are about a current book I’m working on, then I have no trouble remembering.

The first night it happened I found myself thinking about “My Life As Death” and some of the interactions the main character had with secondary characters. The scenes were good, the interactions felt natural and everything moved the story forward so I had no idea why my mind was focused on them. But as I laid there, I realized that the secondary character was going to have a bigger part to play in the story a little later on. It was exciting to know a little of what was to come, but with that figured out I was able to sleep.

During the next night of sleeplessness I found myself thinking about the same book and the same secondary character so I was a little upset. I’d already spent some sleepless time dealing with them and I thought I had it all figured out so I didn’t want to spend more time thinking about them and not sleeping. But then my thoughts drifted to their back story. I’d hinted about their history a little, and dropped a few details to add some depth to their character, but I didn’t expect it to have a major influence on the overall plot. Then somehow, those little details that I’d sprinkled into the beginning of the story, began to make even more sense to the overall plot. I saw not only what was going to happen to this secondary character, but also why. And it all tied back to some of the earliest words I’d written about them even though I hadn’t planned it at all. Those details, which I’d considered to be a throw away character description, turned out to be part of one of the biggest twists I’ve written. I loved it and I loved the character even more because of it. Too bad they have to die.