October Theme: Dreaming Inspiration, by Lucy Jones

I got my inspiration for The Nightmare Factory from a dream I had a few years ago. There was a brother and a sister who were trapped in this terrible place, a sort of factory which collected fear, and they were trying to escape from these dark shadowy creatures. It was so clear that when I woke up, I logged straight onto my computer and wrote a synopsis for it. Of course, the book has changed a lot since then, but it was that initial dream that gave me the basic idea for the plot.

Inspiration can come at the most random times and from the strangest of places. The other day I had a great idea for a book title - by misreading the print on a t-shirt whilst shopping.

But mostly I dream my ideas. They come to me in that strange moment between consciousness and non-consciousness just before I fall asleep. So now when I'm stuck for an idea, or I’m having a problem with a plot hole, I'll mull it over for a while and then take a power nap. And strangely enough - It usually seems to work!

I've always had really vivid dreams and nightmares. Usually they're complete rubbish and would make terrible stories, but occasionally I dream of something great. I keep a notepad and pen by my bed now, just in case I wake up in the middle of the night and don't want to forget the details.

I've heard of a few other authors getting their ideas from dreams, so I think it’s quite a common thing. What about you guys, have you ever dreamt of something that you think would make a cool book?

One more thing. Before I go, I wanted to share a link with you. A funny but interesting video by Jackson Pearce on stealing inspiration:

http://http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG7cAV4dIB4

Comments

  1. Have you read Robert Olen Butler's book FROM WHERE YOU DREAM? He encourages his students to write in that Inbetweenland, just the way you do.

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  2. Hi Irene, no I havn't, but I'm certainly going to! In fact, I've just looked it up and ordered it. Sounds interesting. Thanks for that!

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  3. I envy you your inspirational dreams! A few times I've had ideas come to me in the middle of the night and I've jotted them down the way you're supposed to, and they turn out to be ridiculous. Maybe I'm supposed to be a surrealist writer???

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  4. Lol Tracy :) My dreams are usually pretty ridiculous too. Often I end up taking just one or two elements from them, and then I keep building on them until they actually make sense as a plot. Unlike the nightmare factory, which almost came to me complete.

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