IWSG Blog Post - Dreams and Ideas

The awesome co-hosts for the July 5 posting of the IWSG are PJ Colando, Kim Lajevardi, Gwen Gardner, Pat Garcia, and Natalie Aguirre!

July 5 question - 99% of my story ideas come from dreams. Where do yours predominantly come from?

​My dreams don't usually make sense. The ones that do make sense aren't the ones I'd want to write about. Example: Last night, I dreamed about someone who's been hostile to me for years. Let's call her Sarah. Since I can't escape this woman in real life, naturally my brain plunged me into a world where Sarah moved into my guest bedroom. She followed me through my house, criticizing my parenting, clothing, eating habits, you name it. I did not wake up refreshed.

The dreams I would want to write about are inspiring because of how they make me feel, not because of the story details. I want to capture the suspense of a chase scene, but I don't want to write about my second grade teacher hunting me through the school while hurling razor-sharp no. 2 pencils. I want to capture the contentment of a hug from a lost loved one, but I don't want to write about my long-dead grandma turning up alive and well. (It was all a big miscommunication with the hospital. The Alzheimer's is gone, and she's still the same age. Also, my dog Bo is in the corner napping. At forty years old, he needs his rest.) 

My story ideas usually come from movies. When a film has potential but doesn't go where I want, I lie awake stripping it down to the studs and renovating it into my dream book. I revisit it every night, making sure the foundation is solid, decorating every room, and filling it with a new cast of characters. If only I could make myself dream about that!