Inside a Writer's Mind

Inside a Writer's Mind
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” -- Oscar Wilde

Friday 4 May 2012

Writing Dreams Anyone?

I just finished reading a really interesting post by Peggy Eddleman on her blog Will Write for Cookies about dreams, titled Z-is-for-ZZZZ-benefits .


It got me thinking about my dream habits and I posted a comment in response which turned into something of a treatise on my dreams.


Here it is:


I rarely remember all of my dreams. But sometimes after I wake, part of the dream stays with me. Usually as an image or a feeling.
My dreams definitely influence my writing. Often after I've finished working on something I'll read it through and think: Where did that come from?

The answer, I believe, is that our stories (or at least elements of them) come from the same place as our dreams: our subconscious or deeper conscious. And through our writing we tap into this, thereby releasing and revealing deeply held feelings, fears or desires, we’re not consciously aware of. Spooky hey? But healthy too, I think.

I keep scraps of paper and a pen next to my bed so I can jot down anything I’m struck by in my sleep. (Hopefully nothing that will leave a bruise.) When I’m working on a novel I get some of my best inspiration and ideas for plot and character development this way.

I read somewhere that life is a dream within a dream, maybe that’s why our dreams resonate so much.

Now I’m off to bed. (-;


ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz   END


2 comments:

  1. Though my dreams usually aren't the kind to influence my writing (weird, really weird ones)I do share the same thoughts when I look at what I've written and wonder where it all came from. Did all those thoughts and characters and events really come from inside my head? Amazing!

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    1. It's amazing what goes on deep inside our minds and how writing can somehow access it. I've heard a number of writers ask the same question. Thanks for commenting Karen.

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