Dreams & Writing

[anomalocaris]

I have vivid dreams, often with recurring, adventurous themes, but since I primarily work in nonfiction, I haven't based anything on them. Do people really dream in black and white? That must so weird. I wonder if people who dream in B&W have more lucid dreams than others -- seems like you'd always be aware it was a dream. because of the lack of colors.

[Katherine E Wall]

I have had dreams which are cinematic in nature, including a musical score. They are quite enjoyable to experience, but I have never used them for inspiration. I tend to have too many ideas as it is, so I guess my dream time is just complete relaxation time.

[Vimtuous]

I have some pretty crazy dreams and have for sure used them as inspiration for writing. I have story like dreams a lot of the time where there is character and action and conflict so they can be used as prompts at least. A lot of times though after realizing what I dreamed about doesn't make any sense to anyone but me, I'll kind of throw the idea out. Like in my dream the other night where I was on a mission to find a giant penis balloon for some reason.

[haprima]

I've tried to use dreams as inspiration in writing before, but the events themselves tend to be so far-fetched and nonsensical that it's usually more the setting or the emotion that I end up trying to convey than anything else. At the very least, they serve as inspiration to try out different situations for characters to act in. Otherwise, I don't think it'd make sense to try and have someone progress through a department store that has lockers on the ceiling that lead to other locations.

[Aki]

I have a few short stories that were actual dreams of mine, which were both Adventurous and Fantasy-like. But its a bit hard to write when you have bad memory...heh...

[SidnayC]

YES!!!!!!!!!! The novel I am writing now is based on a dream I had about it. When I woke up from the dream I was crying. I had even known I'd been dreaming. It took me a couple of days to realize that this dream wasn't just accidental. It had a purpose in my life. Now my novel is the best novel I have ever written and I thank God so much for that dream!

[alex_]

One of my dreams was about my life, my personal life. And although not initially but dreaming about my life, kind of inspired me to write about my own life.

[thenameisZelda]

Oh goodness yes. I have several dreams that I plan on expanding. I tend to have very strange dreams that make for very good short stories. Plus my dream recall rate is impressive. I remember dreams I had up to 6 years ago. Which is when I started making a note that I wanted to be able to recall my dreams. Slowly over time it's only become easier.

[Ncuffee21]

I have a collection of stories written down from dream that I would like to turn into books.

[bethdearie]

I often have such vivid dreams that I must share through writing. I am currently working on a story I had a dream about a couple years ago. It is my first work outside of fan fiction.

[Johntherobert]

Never had a dream I could detail, but I do like journaling.

[zoikes319]

I am lucky enough (Or unlucky enough?) to have lucid dreams where it is such an intense experience that it feels like my mind is writing the movie itself. I keep a notebook and a computer file of my dreams so I can quickly find something that will intrigue me to write. Almost all of my stories are based on dreams.

[sbcarlisle]

I'm unfortunate in that I don't often remember my dreams, but I have had a few that have inspired me to write. Many of my writer friends have stated that they are heavily influenced by their dreams.

[NYpeaches]

Cheeky if your dreams aren't adventurous while you're asleep have you ever tried day dreaming? I like to people watch and usually it turns into extravagant stories about those people's lives.

[Alison97]

My current novel's (47,00 words--I'm almost done ) isn't entirely based on a dream, so much as it is on trying to explain that dream. I had this dream with this really weird scene that just didn't make sense, so I wrote a whole book trying to explain why those two people would be in that crazy situation.