photo courtesy of Kim Smith
Have you ever had a vivid dream and just knew upon waking that it was meant to be a book?
I have.
The problem with me was that as soon as I downed my first cup of coffee, I forgot some parts of the dream and by the time I was eating my cereal I wasn't even sure what the dream was about any more.
My very best advice to your success in writing a book from a dream is: WRITE IT DOWN. A lot of writers keep a journal by their bed and they write down the dream as soon as they wake. I have even heard from people who write it down in the dead of night while still mostly asleep just so they don't forget the important stuff.
I would like to see a show of hands amongst our readers as to who has written a book from a dream?
How about just a scene or two?
I truly believe that sometimes dreams are just the inspiration we need to get a start on a story. I have had some doozies believe me, and if I could just remember them, they would be best sellers, so be sure to write them down! Maybe in a subsequent post I will write a snippet of a dream here and you can see what goes on in my head. HAHA. Like the inside of a writer's head is a good place to visit! I am going to keep a dream journal this week and see what happens. Tune in next week for the results!
By the way, keeping a dream journal is easy. If you like to have specific details on keeping one, go out and Google dream journals and see what others have written. Just reading what others have done might inspire you to write a book!
4 comments:
Yes! I always think my dream has been too bizarre and nonsensical to turn into a story, but in the writing down you see the connections and possibilities.
Wagging Tales - Blog for Writers
Yes! Last night I had a strange one, and it was all about gathering boxes. Wonder what THAT means?!
Hey, Kim. Welcome back to our reopening here at MB4!!
My next book - For the Birds (coming in Nov. 2011) was completely inspired by a dream I had about a little red bird who was flying in a giant aviary in a hotel in the Adirondacks. I've never owned a bird, but Ruby was so sweet in my dream, sidling up to me on my shoulder and rubbing her head against me - how could I ignore THAT?
Looking forward to your next posts!
Kim, my wife has done that for years, but not just for dreams, for anything that comes to her in the middle of the night. She keeps a legal pad and pen on the nightstand and does exactly wht you suggest - writes it down so she won't forget.
On the other hand, I get most of my good plot ideas while daydreaming, usually in the middle of cutting the grass or pulling weeds or something mundane like that. I keep a steno book full of ideas that I refer back to, even if the ideas may not relate to what I'm writing at the time.
Welcome back, KS, I'm looking forward to a really good season here on MB4!
Post a Comment