I've been asleep for an hour, cosily snuggled under sheet and blanket, and then BAM! I'm awake.
I have learned there is no point in tossing and turning or punching the pillow. My brain has slipped into over-drive and I must ride out the storm.
First thing is to make a cup of tea. This may sound strange - caffeine and all that - but it works for me. Then I tackle a cryptic crossword - preferably the Telegraph Toughie - until my eyelids droop.
But sometimes it is the creative urge that won't let me sleep.
Last night I lay in the dark for half an hour with a story going round in my head. It was a fantastic story, a sure-fire prize-winner, so good that I was afraid to wake up properly and break the thread.
Eventually I reached for the light switch and my glasses, grabbed my notebook and pen and wrote with frantic speed to grab my dream story before it faded.
Write a 300 word story in 350 words, then cut off the last 50 so that MC's confession at the end is chopped off. This will add tension.
Yeah - right - glad I woke up to write that.
