Last week, I had a scary dream. Not even a little unusual, I know. But when I woke up, the memory of the dream had sparked an idea for a short story. Now don’t get excited – I’m not saying you should rush to your desk and write all your dreams as stories. Dreams rarely translate to well-constructed stories, because they’re subjective. Much of what we see in dreams is personally symbolic instead of generally so. Not to mention the plots of dreams don’t follow logical patterns.
I do think it’s a good idea to write your dreams down whenever you remember them. And from that, you can mine writing prompts. The story I’m writing only kept one important aspect of the dream that inspired it, but that’s okay. The rest wasn’t necessary. It’s similar to digging up a dinosaur and brushing away the surrounding soil. I’m going to list a few of my recent dream plots, and I challenge you to see what ideas they bring to mind for you. Ready?
- The light bulbs are speaking in a language I don’t understand, but it’s vital that I translate their words before the sun comes up.
- I’m in an airport, and I’m hungry. I’ve found a restaurant that sells dumplings, so I buy a boxful and go to my gate. While I’m waiting for boarding to begin, a passing flight attendant asks where I bought the dumplings. When I tell her, she says that restaurant doesn’t exist.
- I have to cross a bridge over a high gorge. Everyone in my party is on the other side yelling at me to hurry. The bridge is wobbly and the drop is making me nauseous.
- My dog won’t let me enter my house. It’s growling and pulling at my pants leg. But I have groceries that might melt if I don’t take them inside.
- Daisies have sprouted all over my front lawn and they smell like strawberries.
If you feel like sharing what stories you might make out of ne of these, or if you have a great dream prompt you want to tell us about, please do. I’d love to hear it.
Sweet dreams!