It's amazing what I will think of at 5 am.
The house is quiet, dark and still, but my mind is like a computer spitting out 1s and 0s in a series of misfired, disjointed sequences. Random thoughts flit by, cruising at a pleasant speed, allowing me to grab any one freely, examine it, turn it around and solve its disparate Rubik's Cube, then letting it float back up into the ether where it's quickly replaced by another. Sometimes the thoughts are meaningless and inconsequential; others are heavy hitting, in your face subjects that are way too big to even think of solving. Really, it doesn't matter what the thoughts are, it's that my brain thinks, hey, this is a good time to spout off and send crap tons of information her way.
In another perspective, I've come up with some pretty good story ideas during this time, if I can manage to shovel away the heavy psychological compost. Or if I'm already working on something, and maybe I'm stuck or in a place where I need some more creativity, some more answers, this magical time can also supply me with these.
But where do they come from? Why don't they bombard me during the daytime when I'm fully awake and able to handle the barrage?
I have a theory.
It's because of the Thought Monster.
Don't know what that is? Well, I will tell you.
It's a large invisible creature that tiptoes (Why does it tiptoe if you can't see it, I don't know. Monsters need manners, too.) into our homes and looks to see if anyone is awake. If it finds everyone sleeping, it simply goes away to look at your neighbors (Perv). But if someone is awake, it unstraps a sack from its massive body, takes one large and clawed hand and reaches down deep, taking out strings of words that dangle over its palm, threatening to spill out onto the floor, then dumps them on our head where they are instantly soaked up. Next the fucker smiles through black, filthy teeth because it knows what it has bestowed upon us. Sleepless, thought filled, pre-dawn mornings.
That's what I like to think about the whole process. Monsters soothe me. Don't judge.
I know I'm not alone in this. I've talked to other people who complain about the same thing. During my latest thought fest, I decided to try and figure out the culprit and that's what I came up with.
Don't like my Thought Monster? Add your own ideas below, if you dare.
