The Squeak in the Bed

This is just the passing-on of some wisdom I've learned in 43 years: It's worthwhile to keep a pad, notebook, or, in my case, PDA (Palm Treo) close to your bed. Some of the best ideas come at night.

I love the time when I'm just waking and my mind drifts between dreams and daytime. Something about the freedom, unshackled from the "processing" that we do the rest of the day, allows me to be at my most creative. I often work out a plot line in a story I'm writing, or I work out a solution to...