When dreams are published on pages, can you say that it’s been, somehow, realized?
Have you ever had a dream that you thought would make a great movie/book?
Dreams are illusive images our subconscious conjures and shows us while the body is in stasis. Most people know this, and most remember their dreams as unrealistic thoughts.
When I read a book I really like, I research the author, the reason she wrote the story, where he/she came from, what they like, what they don’t, how many kids/pets they have, and anything else I can find about them. Basically, I turn into a stalker.
It never struck me as strange that some of those writers based their entire story on a dream they had (I.e., Twilight). After all, most of what I read is fantasy and fantasy is where you let the imagination fly.
But now that I’ve started to write, I wonder how this dream-turn-into-fiction works.
So I had a dream the other night. I remember, during that dream, telling myself this would make a great story. I remember waking in the middle of the night and thinking about that dream as a vague memory, something that happened so long ago, I could only recall glimpses. But in the morning, all I could remember was the part where I thought the dream would make a great story, nothing else. This actually happens with more frequency than I’d like.
A while back, I remember telling myself I should write down this dream – while I was still dreaming – so that I’d remember in the morning. The moment that thought crossed my mind, I was awake, and the dream was sailing away faster than I could grasp it.
In fact, ever since I started writing, all the dreams I do remember are nothing but rubbish, no non-sense stuff that would make the ‘mad tea party’ sound sane.
I do have my day dreams, and from those, I’ve gathered quite a lot of interesting thoughts, but the nightly ones… it makes me wonder if I’m the anomaly or if these other writers have a way of recording their dreams.
Do you remember all your dreams? Do you think they’re worth writing down?
Jina S. Bazzar 
I am sure I don’t remember all my dreams. I have had dreams that when embellished or reworked have become episodes and/or seed ideas for stories. I usually write the memorable ones down the first waking opportunity.
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sigh, you’re one of them.
I can never remember any part to embellish or build on later. For me, it’s like i never dreamed anything, though i know i did.
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I would guess that the number of dreams I remember is about 2% of my dreams and 10% of those affect stories.
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lucky you.
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When I was young I remembered most of my dreams. Now that I’m older I only remember dreams that include my parents and family members who have passed away. In those dreams my ancestors are trying to communicate with me.
Sometimes I do dream about friends, former colleagues and even people that I don’t know and have never met. There’s probably a message in those dreams also that I can’t always grasp.
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It must be nice to see family members who passed away in a dream. it’s probably like a second chance. I don’t know.
when i was young, i used to dream i could fly.
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Usually when I’m stressed I dream about my parents because they were my support system. I went to them for comfort and reassurance.
I had a lot of nightmares as a child. Even as a young woman I had night terrors which occasionally return when I’m stressed or in a toxic situation. So in some ways I’m glad that I don’t remember my dreams. However dreams are often signals of one’s deepest desires and fears. Messages.
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I find it very hard to remember dreams and I believe that is a very common experience. A book next to the bed is the best way to remember – write them down as soon as you wake.
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I have my laptop on the nightstand, the problem is that i don’t remember. it’s just a vague sense of something right there at the edge of my mind.
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I can never remember my dreams. Every now and then I will be able to remember one small little part of it but for the most part as soon as I wake up it’s gone.
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Exactly!
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That’s me to a T!
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I’m glad to hear i’m no anomaly.
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I have done some of my best writing in my dreams, but I had to put it on paper as soon as I woke up or else it would have been lost. Keith Richards claims to have written the Rolling Stones song Satisfaction while he was dreaming and I think that is how Paul McCartney wrote Yesterday. I wrote this post if you want to check it out:
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that’s totally relatable. loved that poem.
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My dreams are almost always about losing my purse, my way, my clothes–something like that. Lots of lost purses! It happens so often I now–in my dream–remind myself this isn’t real.
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oh, i dream about losing my way and my clothes too! and my id. It’s not often enough to remind myself it’s a dream though.
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Those dreams that I remember–I’m always searching for something, walking along winding roads or scrambling up/down inclines. I also keep a dream diary, so during the night (I’m up a lot), I make note.
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i forget most of my dreams while i’m still waking up, or just switching dreams. i know i have them, i remember the silly ones too… and the nightmares, of course, i don’t forget those either. though sometimes i do wake with a fast heartbeat for no apparent reason.
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I go through times I can remember every detail in a dream (and write it in my journal) and times where I am certain I don’t dream. But also, when I am awake, I think something and wonder did I dream it.
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I get the deja vou moments, and wonder if they were dreams or just something that i may have once thought about.
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Oh yes, I am one of those people who remember most of their dreams! And I love talking about them with my best friends or my partner- now theyre all exhausted from listening to my fanstastical dreams all the time, so they just roll their eyes and say, not again! But I had never thought of writing them down as stories before! Now, that’s a good idea 😉
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Maybe you should try. you never know what’ll pen out from it. Start as short stories and embellish them up. I’d like to read what you come up with.
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Ok I will! But I can’t promise to write all that I dream of, some of them are really steamy rofl
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I certainly chuck bits of dreams into my writing. Short stories get most of them.
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what kind of genre are they?
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Various. The ones that get the dreams tend to be a little weirder than the others…
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the ones i remember are weird too, mostly things that make no sense.
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I generally remember my dreams – they tend to be wildly creative and entertaining. Wish I could be like that in my waking life!
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oh? is any of your writing based on a dream you had?
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The book I’m writing now partially developed from a scene in one of my dreams. It was so vivid!
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oh, that must be wonderful. I’m kind of jealous.
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I remember dreams which are lucid. Last night I started writing a new story and whole night I dreamt of the story and their characters. But when I woke up all gone leaving few scenes in my memory.
I think it’s the will power , if u command ur mind to remember the dream then it would. 😊
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My mind is on the reverse psychology path, if i tell it to remember, it’ll promptly forget. now, on the other hand, can talk about nightmares i had when i was just a kid.
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An interesting musing, Jina. I have great ideas in my dreams, but if I wait until morning to jot them down, they’re completely gone…forever.So, I keep a notebook by my bed. I don’t even turn on the light… I just scribble in the dark while half asleep, enough so that they’ll trigger the memory in the morning. It’s the only thing that works for me. A pain, but worth it. Happy Writing, my friend.
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I tried that, but the moment i tell myself i should write it down, i wake up and can’t remember the dream. I can feel the memory, the dream, right there at the edge of my mind, but the harder i try to remember, the more it fades. And then i’m awake in the middle of the night, with nothing to write and nothing to do.
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Oh no. Being awake in the middle of the night sounds worse.
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Mary Shelley based Frankenstein on a dream as I recall. One way to get a nightmare out your system I guess.
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I didn’t know that.
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That happens to me all the time! And the dreams that I actually do remember are way too bizarre for print haha. 🙂
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I’m glad to hear that. I’m beginning to feel like an exception.
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Hi Jina,
this is very interesting post. I am sure that happens to all people all the time. Just try to ask your subconscious before your bed time to give you one great story and I am sure that you you she will give you an answer.One great writer made his career on this way 🙂
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I’ve read about a few writers who got best sellers out there – also based on a dream. Alas, my subconscious must not like me much because it refuses to comply.
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You should work on it Jina. Try to meditate , it helps
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Ah, meditation. By the time i drag myself to bed, I’m already half asleep. Most often than not, i don’t remember lying down.
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For me, It’s really hard to remember the Night Dreams. Even I can’t remember the bits of it……..As soon as my eyes open in the morning, there’s nothing in my brain about the last night dream. 😁😁😁….
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Exactly! except, of course, for the nightmares.
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I can’t remember even them I think….🤔🤔😁😁😁…
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As I get older, I find it harder to remember dreams. When I was younger, extremely emotional dreams would stick with me all day, and that wasn’t necessarily a good thing. I’ve only had one dream in my life that was coherent enough for me to consider using as the basis of a story. Hope your dreams are more fulfilling!
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Thank you, for you as well. I read once that the deeper you sleep, the easier it is to remember. I’m a light sleeper, so this may be true.
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I have ridiculously vivid dreams, and I’ve had dreams that were pretty much movies (I wasn’t even in them!) that I have written down as ideas. I can actually start a dream, wake up for some reason in the middle, and go back to sleep to continue the dream…. It’s all very strange. Probably why I’m tired all the time. Ha ha! Even my subconscious is too loud and obnoxious! 😂😂
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ha! Nicole, you’re hilarious!
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No, it’s really hard, even though we are told to have a notebook by our bed the memories of out dreams fade so quickly and often can’t be put into words. It has only happened to me once, when I was twenty, that a vivid dream made me decide to write my first novel. Of course I had to go to work that morning, but I remember starting to write that weekend. Recently I found the notebook in the loft, amazed it has survived moves acros the world etc. My handwriting was neat, the pages flowed without many mistakes, but there were not many pages and I felt no desire to finish it!
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yes, that’s exactly how i feel. i have never really benefited from a dream but i remember once waking up in the middle of the night with a nice phrase. i posted the phrase here, but it’s not anything to ase a book upon. Maybe one day you’ll bet motivated enough to finish that book. i’ve seen a lot of writers who save unfinished works, only to pick it up later and polish them up.
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the kid sent it before i was ready to send. I’m not sure how many spelling mistakes went in there so, sorry about that. what i mean is that someday you may get enough motivated to finish it. if not , it’s still a fond memory.
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I have some pretty vivid dreams. I don’t always remember them upon waking, but some I do and if they stick with me, and I keep thinking about them, I write them down. Sometimes, I won’t remember a dream until later in the day I experience deja vu, and I realize I’m reminded of something that happened in my dream, then it all comes back. I do have a story I’m thinking of writing that is based on a dream, but I’m not sure how to keep the dream-like quality while fleshing it out into a full story.
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I don’t want to say i used to remember the ‘story quality’ dreams i used to have before i started writing, but i know when i was younger, i could remember them better than now.
I’d like to tell you how to write your dreams and keep on their dream like aspect, but i don’t know how. If i were you, i’d write it down the way i remember, then start working on it. Remember that the more you work on it, the better it gets.Once there’s nothing else to fix, put it aside for at least a couple weeks, then pick it up again. You’ll know how a reader will see it then.
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Those are great suggestions – definitely going to work on that story. Thank you!
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You’re welcome.
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I occasionally have dreams where I remember every detail of what went on. To the point where I don’t have to write them down because they were so memorable, but I’ll write them down anyway just in case I end up forgetting them. But for me, that’s not an every day occurance, just something that seems to happen every once in awhile. There were also times when I was in college that I’d apparently talk in my sleep. The only reason I know is because my roommate told me. But we also had a suitemate who would sleepwalk occasionally too.
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Ha, if i could only talk in my dreams… all i’d need is a recorder!
Thanks for the visit and have a nice day.
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The thing is though I don’t know I’m doing that so I honestly don’t know if trying to record myself in my sleep would work or not.
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imagine it does, only for you to realize later you’re speaking another language? my mom says she dreams a lot she is speaking some strange language .
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Oh, really? That would be kinda cool.
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Dreams are supposed to reflect your sub-conscious, those thoughts that you are either not aware of due to providence or don’t want to admit because they conflict with your conscious. What may seem absurd to the writer may be relatable to the reader and vice versa. I dream of crocs btw. so dont take me seriously.
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haha!
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Great piece, I’ve been having dreams since I can remember, I’ve even had some occasions where I’ve had the same dream a few times (so weird). I’ve only started writing them down recently in the hope they make them more vivid.
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Oh yeah, the concurring dreams – though they’re kind of spooky, so more like a nightmare.
Thanks for reading and for the visit, James.
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Love this
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thanks.
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