Dreams and Life
Finally well again; I've been recording the thoughts that I sorted out from while I was sick. Fever dreams are always interesting. I remember reading a wonderful article by Neil Gaiman entitled Where do you get your ideas? in which I was amused to find that he is not someone who gains inspiration from dreams. (Amused, because he is the author of Sandman fame.)
- "...want to know if I get them from my dreams. (Answer: no. Dream logic isn't story logic. Transcribe a dream, and you'll see. Or better yet, tell someone an important dream - 'Well, I was in this house that was also my old school, and there was this nurse and she was really an old witch and then she went away but there was a leaf and I couldn't look at it and I knew if I touched it then something dreadful would happen...' - and watch their eyes glaze over."
Back to the topic at hand...I am definitely one of those people that receives inspiration in my dreams. Not in a verbatim sense; I could imagine! Just as Mr. Gaiman say's, it would make no bloody sense outside my own head. However, I have a number of characters that were central in dreams and occasionally places. For instance I had a dream a bit back that entirely took place on the grounds of a beautiful temple complex and I loved it so much I decided that it would be nice to use it in my novels somewhere. (Incidentally, this dream also contained one of those characters I mentioned above.)
Though, interestingly enough, I have never made a main character from a dream character. They're all more minor entries to the story, though some are personal favorites.
Of course, I have always been tied heavily to dreams. Illusions of the sleeping and the waking mind! I was a notorious day dreamer when I was in school. I think I spent an inordinate amount of my childhood "somewhere else." Though, to be honest, I've no idea how it would actually compare over to others. I still enjoy the occasional daydream, but get far less time available for such things. Of course, I harness and utilize my creativity much more now.
And certainly I find my creations much more palatable the more experiences I have. I love the fact that everything that happens, everything that I do, or take in becomes a part of the reservoir I draw on for my writing. I don't think there is anything else out there that has the potential of utilizing every experience you've ever had.
I'm also happy to say that my mother visited today to help me get the house back to a semblance of order after being sick. Which was not only helpful, but very nice. One has a tendency to take those who are around constantly for granted, but as my parents now live in a separate state visits have become rarer. (And it's always nice to have company during blah projects.) And I find that I think better when the house is in order and there aren't dirty dishes in the sink. Any parent can also tell you that it is hard enough to get an entire large and complex thought out with very young children about. They often require one to drop things rather instantaneously. So sometimes I'll pick a notebook back up two days later and I stare down at an unfinished sentence blankly. Further "sometimes" I will remember the rest of the thought and jot it down. Sadly(?) though I occasionally cannot jog my memory at all. Though I comfort myself by assuming that I must not have liked the idea that much if I can't recall it.
At this point I'm popping off to work on some more things and hopefully get a bite to eat.