The Journal

The Journal

Journal Keeping for the Creative Writer

Working With Dreams For Creativity

    Alot of people keep journals to record their dreams in, which can be a fun, creative, and inspirational practice.

For writers though, dreams work overtime as not only entertaining inspirations but as foundations for the working of many projects.

Any writer that seems to have gone dry can quench their artistic thirst by taking a cue from their nightly mini-movies: the ideas that can come from dreams are literally endless!

This is not a new concept. Many writers have delved deeply into their dreams for creative inspiration. Mary Shelly wrote the story of Frankenstein after a dream she had!

   There are many ways of working with dreams to help our ideas flow. Alot of people, upon waking, have vivid memories of their dreams and are left with many ideas to work with - this is probably the simplest method of dream work for writers.

To begin a dream journal, get a notebook (I find coil notebooks to be most convenient) and keep it at your bedside along with something to write with.

Upon waking - whether that be in the middle of the night, or in the morning - immediately grab your notebook and pen and begin describing your dream. Include as much detail as you can, including emotions, ideas, and thoughts that come to your head.

Interpret your dream if you wish. Sketch images from your dream in the notebook. Hold nothing back, and be careful not to wait too long after waking to record your dreams, as the details tend to get fuzzier as more time passes.

Everything you record will serve to be some of the most invaluable inspiration you've ever had available, refer to it often.

   But what about those people who have a hard time remembering their dreams? Alot of people can rarely recall details of what they've dreamt - but they can still greatly benefit.

If you wake up with nothing more than a sensation or feeling, work with it. Let your creativity tap into that sensation and see how original and vivid your writing becomes.

One exercise you can do to increase your tendency to remember dreams is to tell yourself, every night at bedtime, that you are going to remember your dreams when you wake-up.

It may sound silly, but it works!

Pay attention to your dreams - the creativity of your writing will be the better for it.