writing in bed

Sometimes a good idea comes to me just as I’m falling asleep. Usually I don’t have anything to write on except my mobile phone which isn’t ideal. The idea can get too truncated and in the morning I wonder what it means. So now, as Nanowrimo looms nearer, I’ve taken to taking a notebook with me to bed, and just writing any old thing in it. Last night I did this for half an hour and no sudden idea for my nano novel appeared until after I’d turned off the light, got comfortable and warm enough and was really dozy. Then PING. A solution to a nitty gritty problem with my loose idea. Rather than get up to switch the light on I used a maglite and wrote a page of details that I’d be able to use. This is allowed in nanowrimo. You can write notes but not the actual text until Nov 1st. I’m sure some people cheat an awful lot, but I believe in entering into the spirit of the thing properly or not at all.
However, I’m still not sure whether my MC will be male or female, I don’t have a name for them, or a location.
Strangely, I never get the urge to write anything on waking. All I’m interested in is getting a cup of tea, and waking up properly before I have to get the family organised and off to school.
Tea and coffee this year are decaff. I know caffeine is supposed to be good for short term memory but last year I drank so much coffee I was like zebeddee from the magic roundabout. BOING. I went cold turkey with my favourite beverages this spring. Being tanked up on coffee and tea all day isn’t conducive to a good night’s sleep and if you need the day to write, then you should sleep properly. I’m going to rely heavily on bananas and oily fish on toast this november. But not at the same time.