Dreams & Writing

Richard Falken · Post by **Richard Falken** » 18 Sep 2013, 17:49

I have not developed a novel from a dream, but I have had dreams after finishing the novel.

It is nice to dream you have the same powers of a wizard of one of your books, and you walk through the dark forest throwing firewall against the evil gnomes who want to enslave mankind

Ibanezakame · Post by **Ibanezakame** » 08 Oct 2013, 11:25

yes, I know people who have done that, but me personally, no.

jcheiser · Post by **jcheiser** » 04 Dec 2013, 23:28

All the time! I have a dream journal, in which I record the dreams as they were, and then I also have a section in that journal for keeping track of how those dreams inspired stories that I could use for writing ideas.

Nathrad Sheare · Post by **Nathrad Sheare** » 18 Dec 2013, 04:05

Heck yeah, I've had dreams that inspired stories... and poems! I got some of my best ideas from my dreams! Sleep is so boring without dreams, isn't it, even if dreamless sleep is supposedly the healthiest kind. I've never slept so deeply as not to have dreamed...

Madcap Syzygii · Post by **Madcap Syzygii** » 19 Dec 2013, 07:18

WHO HASN'T?! Hmm...I guess I could name a few people...but that's not the point here...I have totally done this! Sometimes I have awakened out of my sleep and wrote things down RIGHT AWAY so as not to forget them. A good story can come from anywhere, and once it's there, you grab it and run with it! Isn't that what Stephanie Meyer did with Twilight?? Just saying....

Nathrad Sheare · Post by **Nathrad Sheare** » 19 Dec 2013, 07:28

It's so truuuuuuuuuuuuuuue... Dreams are helpful more than anything sometimes. I don't understand writer's block... The sources of inspiration are unlimited in their number!

ferfie5 · Post by **ferfie5** » 19 Jan 2014, 17:40

Ever heard the expression: "I could write a book?" Well this is very much true for me. I have had so many things happen in my life I have always wanted to put it to paper. But... Every time I try I just cannot organize myself enough to do it. I love to read, I would love nothing more than to be a writer.

Dream Catcher · Post by **Dream Catcher** » 24 Jan 2014, 05:16

Only a few ideas here and there, nothing really that I can go on

WriterBLAlley · Post by **WriterBLAlley** » 11 Apr 2014, 12:39

I had a dream which laid out the entire ending for a novel. It was so detailed I woke up having been moved by the idea, and immediately wrote it down. It was so powerful, I am anxious to get started on it.

My first novel came from an old roadside attraction in Arizona. Just a spark, but it quickly grew into the main concept.

My second novel inspiration? I can't remember.

moderntimes · Post by **moderntimes** » 11 Apr 2014, 20:13

I've always had incredibly detailed dreams. I dream in color and w. Dolby sound, too, ha ha.

My dreams are so complex that they're like movies. For example, one time I was at the baseball game, before the game and I was in the promenade area. I could hear the PA system playing that silly electric organ music, smell the popcorn and other foods from the service court, and I had hundreds and hundreds of "extras" cast, just like real life. People of all ages and size and nationality, just like you'd see at a ballgame, passing around me, up the escalators, kids and families and couples and whomever. Amazing detail and clarity.

I often cast real actors in my dreams. Sometimes they're the actor and we're pals, sometimes the actor is playing a role in my dream as a character. I've used Bruce Willis the most, which is a good choice, whether he's the person Bruce Willis or he's playing a role.

But have I used my dreams as a template for a story? A few times, mostly horror stories. And I've had some doozy dreams and written some very scary short stories based on their premise.

My principal writings these days, however, are my mystery novels, 2 published and the 3rd in progress. They're a series of private detective novels and I've yet to have a dream based on them. Why, I dunno.

MatthewAlexander · Post by **MatthewAlexander** » 25 Apr 2014, 21:17

I have a lot of drems that make me go, hey, I should write that down, but I often find that my writing takes away from everything that was good about the dream! Everything sounds better in dreamland. Also, making a plot, even for a short story, out of my dreams is often a struggle for me. More often than not, when I write based on dream I'm trying to capture not the dream itself, but the feelings that came from it. And that is hard.

sammi8764 · Post by **sammi8764** » 23 May 2014, 22:18

Yes. One time I had a whole, complete dream with beginning, middle, and end, so I wrote a short story out of it. I love dreaming stories. They always tend to be the most interesting, and I remember them months or even years later.

GeonnaMarie · Post by **GeonnaMarie** » 26 May 2014, 20:36

I've had a couple dreams that have turned into some of the works that I am the most proud of. I keep a journal by my bed just in case. A couple of times I didn't bother writing it down immediately and completely forgot what happened.

ALRyder · Post by **ALRyder** » 28 May 2014, 00:05

moderntimes wrote:I've always had incredibly detailed dreams. I dream in color and w. Dolby sound, too, ha ha.

My dreams are so complex that they're like movies.

This sounds a lot like most of my dreams. I don't ever recall having a dream in black and white, and was actually surprised when I found out that was the apparent norm. You are also very lucky, because according to studies (oh how fun is that to say) men don't normally remember their dreams as well as women. Apparently they dream just as much, but somewhere between sleep and wakefulness they forget. I think that would be so unfortunate, considering the amazing dreams I've had.

I have a friend who gets so frustrated every time I tell her another one of my dreams. She writes as well, and inspiration doesn't come so easily. Though admittedly most people probably wouldn't want my dreams. I write a lot of horror, so a good portion of the dreams I get inspiration from would be considered nightmares.

My most recent dream had to do with me unhinging my jaw and eating someone from the waist up. Obviously not the real me, but a dream version of me. And this, my friend, is why we become writers.

CrescentMoon · Post by **CrescentMoon** » 01 Jun 2014, 18:31

This doesn't really apply to me. I usually don't remember any of my dreams and the dreams that I do remember are really bland or weird. I don't think I could find inspiration from my dreams.