Dream your words onto the page

Writer John Gardner once described novels as “vivid, continuous dreams.”

I like it when my dreams inspire my writing. But, lately, I’ve been overly busy with our business and having more work-related dreams. This week we had website issues that I struggled with and, last night, my hubby and I were discussing the website before going to sleep.

I ended up dreaming about websites all night. I tossed and turned, my subconscious mind trying to solve the problem, and woke up with some great insights this morning–albeit a bit tired.

Other nights, I usually read before going to bed–the favorite part of my day–so often my dreams will stem from what I’ve just read. When I read The Art of Racing in the Rain: A Novelby Garth Stein I kept dreaming that we bought a new puppy that wrecked our living room furniture. When I read White Oleanderby Janet Fitch one night I dreamed I was an orphan living in the wilderness.

When I woke this morning after a night of dreaming about our website, I realized that I needed to get back to reading excerpts of my own writing before I drift off to sleep. So, this week, when I’m done reading a few pages of Jonathan Evison’s West of Here, the novel I’m currently reading, I’ll read the latest chapter in my manuscript. Then I’ll fall asleep thinking about what comes next in my story. I’ll try this plan for a week and report back on how it went.

To see how I might then write what I dream about, read Carly’s post “Write from your white-hot center – your dream state.“