A Writer Writes, Always?

I am getting to the point I am ashamed to write a post. No, I did not work on my novel today. I am tired and am going to bed. I think part of the problem is that I am not getting enough sleep. My mind is sluggish. Ideas are not popping into my head as often. And when they do, I have neglected to bring my pad and paper. The positive today? Let's see . . . I got some books out for school--recommended reading for a class I hope to get. I think I shall read one of those for inspiration as I lay down to sleep. My recommendation to myself and all writers: kick the coffee and instead get at least 7 hours sleep. If necessary take cat naps about 20-30 minutes. No more than 40 minutes, because then you have reached too deep a sleep, too many dream tigers.

Perhaps I should explain. As a child I took out an audio tape from the library on controlling one's dreams. The tape was of poor quality, so the female psychologist's voice was rendered even creepier by the wavering in audio quality. Anyway, she was speaking about becoming aware that one is in a dream, then taking control. She said this one statement that has stuck in my head for over 15 years. It refers to someone dreaming about a tiger: "I am in a dream state and you are a dream tiger, so instead of you chasing me, let's sit down and have a chat." So, too many dream tigers and you are in too deep a sleep. If you snooze past 40 minutes and wake up without a full night's sleep, you're likely to be groggier than when you laid your head on the pillow, which is what I plan to do right now.