"Fate is by far the greatest mystery of all."
~Deanna Raybourn,
Silent in the Grave
I have mentioned, from time to time, on my blog that I have had some trouble with sleeping. Well, actually it's not sleeping that gives me the trouble, it's getting to sleep that is difficult for me to do. Insomnia has plagued me, to varying degrees, most of my life. I have taken sleep hygiene courses, which had been very beneficial, but I still find myself from time to time right back in the old habit of counting invisible sheep, or purses, or republicans. It's difficult to know what I might choose to count, it just depends on my day, and how unable I am to reach any sort of sleep state.
Along with diabetes and hypertension, I believe that insomnia should be made a recognized physical disease, that comes complete with a special handicapped placard and a service cat. Not being able to sleep, effects most every area of your life. Job, personal relationships, online blogging duties and I began to contemplate the other night, as I starred at the ceiling at 3:00 am, about how many other folks with sleeping difficulties will be on the roads at 6:00 am? But all considering that did, was keep me awake for another 4 hours! Not the way to go! LOL.
So, while the old methods of curbing insomnia all run a bit dry after a while, I have been toying around with an all new approach. Lately, I have been choosing a photo from either my archives, or perhaps from a new file, and write an opening paragraph of a fictional story based around the object or scene in the photo I choose. Mysteries. Comedies, Dramas, Soap Operas, any genre works, as it's all up to your imagination to figure out the details. I like doing one paragraph because I try to describe it as thoroughly. Lots and lots of VERBIAGE.
A Mystery On Lombard
An Insomniac Mystery
Gretchen was in San Francisco for two weeks, and in that time she was determined to see as many of the touristy sights and sounds as she could fit into her schedule. During the day it was all power meetings, and presentations, but the late afternoon and evening belonged to her, and she wasn't going to miss anything. Her employer had given her a liberal expense account, so she took full advantage of the car service for her transportation around the city, but made up for it by not ordering the room service. As the driver of her town car drove up to the top of Lombard st, she could see the gorgeous San Francisco bay, and Coit Tower in front of her. 'I would like to get out and do some photography of the area, before we continue down Lombard Hans,' she told her driver." Then Gretchen stepped out of the backseat of the car, and grabbed her larger of two camera bags, and small tripod. As she positioned herself against the tall black wrought iron fencing at the corner of Lombard and Hyde, she noticed a key, connected to a old fashioned type plastic key fob, laying in the small hedge on the other side of the fence. Room #402. But there wasn't a hotel name on the blue plastic fob. 'It couldn't be from one of the more upscale hotels,' she thought to herself, since the invention of the key card they haven't used that kind of a key in years. Curious. Who could have left it there? And why?
It was a MYSTERY ON LOMBARD STREET!
LOL.
Okay, not exactly Stephen King, or Mary Higgins Clark, but when applied to a sleepless night, it's at least a start!
Okay, your turn. Would you like to play along with the Insomniac Mysteries?
Don't worry about spelling, grammar or punctuation. Obviously, I didn't, but only because on those nights when sleep alludes me, and I begin to count sheep, or write a mystery, I almost never use commas, semi-colons, or periods. I do use Ellipses however, because it's necessary for dramatic pause.
LOL
It's fun, lets not over think it.
" Every solution to every problem is simple. It's the distance between the two where the mystery lies."
~Derek Landy,
Skulduggery Pleasant
:)
Go for it. Write a paragraph in the comment thread, in any genre you care to, I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
~Me :)
