The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round...

I found myself unable to sleep late last night, or early this morning, depending on how you look at it. My imagination siphoned itself onto my Word document until finally my mind was quiet. But there was peace because my mind wasn't empty (haha, yes, go ahead and insert your joke here). Instead, with the scenes that have been going round and round and round inside my head finally out and "on paper", its as though there's now this massive, blank canvas ready and waiting for more good stuff. Sleep made itself surprisingly more elusive as new plot points began to weave their way through my imagination.

Alas, though I near the end of my manuscript, I met with another writer-friend who just finished with my first three chapters. Holy macaroni do I still have work to do! But it's all good. December is the worst month for querying agents, so this gives me another month and a half (probably all the way through til February) to polish and get it as close to perfect for submission. Which then becomes extra exciting because I have an agent I met in April at the Emerald Coast Writer's Conference who wants the first three chapters when it's finished! (I stroke her business card every time I see it in my wallet!)

Not really off topic, but I just read "The Dead Tossed Waves" by Carrie Ryan (which I enjoyed). The first chapter shows the very exciting possibility of Gabry finally developing a romantic relationship with her long-time-crush, Catcher. Only to end up (sort of...there's a 3rd book still to come) with a completely different boy. Which gives me great hope that readers won't be turned off by my major plot twist 2/3 of the way through the book.

What do you do when your story won't let you sleep? Do you fight it and toss and turn (like I did for two nights)? Or do you throw off the covers, grab your pad and pen, laptop, whatever, and throw it up all over your canvas to finally expel it from your mind and find momentary peace?