Crazy Inspiration... Dream Memiors of a Wild Dreamer

[Matthew Knaub]

Is it just me, or do other aspiring authors get the craziest ideas for their work from out of dreams? And I'd love to hear the story of at least one established author...

Cause the way I see it, there are wonderful benifits from being a fantastic dreamer... for instance, in many cases, I have and will work on out of this world sci-fi fantasy, not so much from my imagination, but rather, as actual experiences, despite being unreal, still vividly remembered memiors.

There is a feel to things. Everything has a feeling. We call the ones that can be loosely identified as emotions. The benifits of dream memior... I remember how the essence of different worlds feels. And also how individual aliens, a.i. tech, spiritual beings, and life (mind/intelligence/drive) not as we know it, are different.

Though, relating to the concept of feeling, if i am successful at writing fiction, I don't want to be known just for plot and character... if something don't make ya' feel, it ain't art, and if it ain't art, it ain't good writing.

I'm bout to start a masters degree program for creative writing for film and television...

The worlds just gotta see... dreamer to destiny... Ya' feel me?

[Allison McClish]

I completely agree. Dreams are very useful. Just the other day my friend, who writes in the same world as I do, although neither of us are published yet, had a dream which spawned a completely new storyline for our characters. It gave us a completely new dimension to write in, based off of one simple act that was different than the original.

Dreaming is like writing while you're asleep.

[Margaret Compeau]

Not sure if you are talking sleep dreams or day dreams, but I had a sleep dream about my writing a while ago. I don't think it is crazy. About 2 weeks ago I had a dream about a book I am currently working on. I had a dream that I met a man who was going to change my writing career for the better. Ironically he turned out to be Fabio and ended up dating my sister. In my dream he had landed me an interview for a news station. Well, I saw myself sitting in the chair and being interviewed. Then everything went fuzzy and all I could hear were my own thoughts. In my dream I had created a chapter idea list for every chapter that I had been stuck on in my waking life. Plus, I had created a starting questionaire list for a priest (part of my research.) The odd thing is, because of my dream my writers block is gone and my book is more organized, I gained better insight to where I want to go with it, and came up with new and better ideas for the book. It is a hundred times better than before I had the dream. So I guess you could say I worked while I slept. lol

[David Messick]

Dream journals are good things to keep. That looney idea that comes to you at 3 am and there never a working pen or any paper...been there? And this sounds twisted, but keep a pen and paper in the bathroom, one never knows. Dreams are also a wonderful way to work out a problem with scenario or situation. If you go to sleep thinking about any snag you may have in your writing, the subconscious can de-frag for you, seriously.
Matthew, wonderful statement about art and feeling! Too true.
Allison, I agree with you too, well said; writing in one's sleep!

[Robert Clohesy]

The annoying thing is that I know I have had dreams, and they might have been interesting, but I very rarely remember anything that happened in them.

[Aspring Writer MKII]

Matthew, Steven King most of his books came from dreams ... if that helps.

To answer your question. Yes. Sometimes I write about some wild dreams that I had. Problem is I don't think people want to read a story about me being a commander on a star ship, giving marching orders to invade a planet, being betrayed by my superiors, and then finding out my superiors are enemy spies, and then when the fires die out and blood is washed away; I REALLY don't think people want read about me getting it on with the hot chick from that planet where all the women are really flexible.

But write from your dreams no matter how wild. If you want that is.

If the waterfalls are a deep purple, and the sky is orange, and the breeze smells of chocolate chip cookies then so be it ... a little odd ... but you were there. The Trick is getting me to believe you where there.

One last thing; you may want to look into lucid dreaming. Many a great people used that technique to help them out.