Dreaming Ideas to Write About

Dreaming, by Hulis Mavruk

My last post—based on Ruth Epel’s book, Writers and Dreaming—gave examples of how some writers find their writing influenced by their dreams.

I occasionally have dreams connect to my writing. Recently, I woke up from a vivid dream about a  trio of adolescents who tried to snatch my laptop.  The dream made me reflect on what was going on in my writing life at the moment. Another dream provided a character that  became the basis for a short story. But for me, harvesting usable bits from dreams has been  very much hit and miss.

Is it possible to remember most of our dreams and use them? I checked a number of websites for suggestions about how to remember dreams and work with them. The following information is common.

Do you have any advice for remembering dreams? For using them in your life as a writer? Have you had any unusual experience in drawing on dreams when writing?

Preparing to dream and remember

• Keep paper and pencils or pens by your bed.
• Relax before going to sleep. Some people read or listen to music. Others prefer a warm bath and burning calming essential oils.  Avoid TV,  computer work, and stimulants immediately before bedtime.
• According to dream-worker Richard Wilkerson, you can create a habit of recalling your dreams by recalling your day. Before going to bed, review your day in reverse: first getting into bed, then your evening activities—then all the way back to when you woke up that morning.
• Direct your unconscious to remember your dreams by giving it a message: ‘I will wake up and will completely remember my dreams.’ Jill Gregory suggests strengthening this message with a physical trigger, such as pressing your thumb against a different finger for each word of your suggestion.

Remembering  dream-work

• When you wake up, try not to move. Relax your body and keep your mind in a near-dreamlike state.
• Remind yourself that you want to remember your dream.
• Can’t remember your dreams? Prime your unconscious by writing something each morning when you wake up. It may be one sentence, such as  ‘I do not recall any dream  this morning’. Or  try a  longer piece, focussing on what you would have liked to have dreamed.
• Dreams can disappear quickly so do not try to remember every detail  before recording them. How can you capture a dream?
  • Jot down the first thing you remember as doing so may help you recall more.
  • Quickly list the ‘bones’ of your dream—the main images, movements, people, emotions—and then search for more details.
  • First record  the end of your  dream, then recall the earlier parts.
  • When recording your dream, ask yourself questions as prompts: Where was I? What was I doing? Who was with me?

Harvesting what you dream

• Reflecting on elements in a dream may help you link to what’s going on in your life or your fiction. Most of the sites I looked at considered dream guidebooks useless. You are the only person who can interpret your dreams in terms of the context of your aspirations,  feelings and experiences. 
• Dream-work can be enjoyable and insightful, but do not let dreams take over your life. Jennifer Pierce commented that dream-work is ’seductive’ and it is easy to ‘get lost’ in your dreams.
• A dream may deliver a whole plot, some narrative elements, or a dominant  image. Play with these, either by incorporating them into whatever you are writing at  the moment or by creating a new work based on your dream.
• If you weave dream ‘stuff’ into your writing, consider your readers. Material may be clear to you because you understand the emotional effects of your dream. But in order not to lose your readers, put aside this ‘dream logic’ and focus on using ’story logic’.

Major source: http://www.selfhelpmagazine.com/article/remember-dreams

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