Sweet Dreams Are Made of This
Dream Journals for Writers
Don’t you hate it when people insist on telling you their dreams? I’ll admit I am often guilty of this but mostly it is my husband who has to hear them. And my readers.
What?
Yes, it’s true—I impose my dreams on my readers a lot, but they have no idea it’s happening.
For example, if you read my Sabina Kane series, the character of Stryx the owl came from a dream where I was a vampire who hunted other vampires and had a sidekick owl.
I’ve been keeping a dream journal since 2007. I say “journal” but really it’s a long text file on my laptop. I don’t write down every dream I have, but if I have a particularly odd or symbol-laden dream I try to get down all the details the next day.
Keeping a running dream journal is interesting for a lot of reasons. First, it gives me a record of my subconscious and what it’s grappling with over a long period of time. Certain symbols and situations come up over and over. Others feature for a little bit and then drop away as issues are resolved.
Second, I dream in story. It’s not uncommon for me to dream that I’m writing. In one vivid example, the words I was writing showed up as on the wall in red ink as the story played out. Sometimes I remember what story I was writing and sometimes I just recall snippets. It’s happened that when I’m working on a novel, I’ll dream about it and figure out a problem. This is more likely if I say to myself before I fall asleep that I need an answer about it. It doesn’t always work, but when it does it’s pretty amazing.
Third, you learn stuff about yourself. Are you more stressed than you realized? Maybe that dream about losing all your teeth is a sign. Do you have recurring dreams? I regularly dream about houses, for example. Pay attention to these running themes and try to understand why they keep cropping up. See, I’m a firm believer that to grow as a writer you need to grow as a person. Understanding your specific shit and learning how to work around it can only benefit your writing and your life. Sometimes I even have dreams where writers I admire give me life advice. It’s like getting free therapy from yourself.
Fourth, actively paying attention to your dreams makes them easier to remember. Which means you’ll have more material with which to work. It’s a positive feedback loop for your imagination.
Now, this practice isn’t going to work for everyone. Some people stopped reading the minute I mentioned “dream journaling” because it’s woo woo. That’s fine. Woo woo works for some people but not for others. But for those of us for whom it works, try this.
Leave a notebook and pen by your bed. When you wake up, try to get down what you remember. If you’re like me, it may take a couple of hours and some coffee for your conscious mind to remember details. This is why I created a file on my laptop. When the memory comes to me, I can just jot it down.
Do you mine your dreams for writing ideas? Do you keep a dream journal? Do you think this is all a bunch of silliness? Let’s talk about it!
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