I’m big on letting my subconscious mind do a lot of the work of creating a story. This part of our mind always seems a little out of reach. It’s full of the most amazing things–think of your dreams. You couldn’t brainstorm the remarkable events in your dreams if you tried. So, I’m always coming up with ways to get in better touch with that part of my mind that is filled with ideas and solutions. One of the ways I do this is the Creative Nap. Thomas Edison had a unique way of taking the Creative Nap. He would relax in a comfortable chair while holding a bunch of ball bearings in his hands. On the floor on either side of the chair, he’d place tin pie pans. He’d allow himself to drift off. As he fell asleep, his hands would relax, releasing the ball bearings and waking himself up. Then he’d focus on whatever ideas he had during that brief “twilight sleep” between being fully awake and totally asleep.I can’t bring myself to do the ball bearing thing. I want the nap itself too much. But when I’m puzzling over a character’s motivation or what might happen in a scene, I frequently lie down with a pad and pen and focus on the problem at hand. I write whatever comes to me before I drift off. It works! Try it. Plus, I have a nifty little pad I keep by my bedside for middle of the night brilliance. It has a pen that writes upside down so you don’t have to sit up, and a little light that prevents me from waking John. It’s an essential, even tax-deductible (yay!), necessity for any writer. (No, i don’t sell them. Just do a search on “pad” “bedside” “pen” and “light”.) 
 Diane