I don’t know if other writers of fiction have a similar experience, but I tend to have very detailed, very complex dreams. Generally I chalk it up to an extremely active imagination, without which there would be no fiction.
Everyone here, especially during the A to Z Challenge, is creative in some way…does this happen to people with creativity in a different direction? Do some of you writers never dream at all?
What strikes me about dreams is no matter how solid they feel, how firmly rooted in that reality I am while I sleep, when I wake up, it all flutters away to nothing.
Fleeting.
Entire networks of people, established relationships, neighborhoods, tasks, vanish with the opening of an eye. Well, two eyes.
But you get the idea.
Fleeting has wistfulness built right into it; it’s a monument to impermanence. That which was all-encompassing is, in the breath between seconds, gone.
Fleeting.
Sometimes it surprises me, when it all melts away, and here I am, still me, and those people never existed at all. Like characters I didn’t have to create, I didn’t have to shape or round.
Though my characters kind of do that themselves too, so it might be a bit of a theme with me. What do I know, I just live here.
Still, there’s something so engaging in it, tantalizing when nothing but snippets remain.
Fleeting.
Check out my full-length novels:
Aunty Ida’s Full-Service Mental Institution (by Invitation Only)
Aunty Ida’s Holey Amazing Sleeping Preparation (Not Doctor Recommended)
The Great Paradox and the Innies and Outies of Time Management.
And download Better Living Through GRAVY and Other Oddities, it’s free!
A Bit to Read 
There is nothing more annoying than having a great thought when dreaming, or for me, when I’m out running, and then when you sit to write it down, it’s gone! 🙂
https://iainkellywriting.com/2018/04/06/f-is-for-famagusta-cyprus/
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YES!! And I have those great ideas and even though it’s happened a million times before I think I’ll remember it and of course I never do.
Maybe you can do a voice memo while running?!
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I’m usually too out of breath LOL 🙂
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Dream worlds are interesting. Sometimes you want to stay forever and never wake up, other times you wake up shuddering with relief, glad that you are no longer trapped. But the same thing always happens, they vanish with the bright morning sun. Fleeting wisps, soon forgotten. Excellent post.
https://katseaholm.wordpress.com/2018/04/06/f-is-for-feelings/
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Thanks! Yes, exactly that, all of it. I’ve definitely had some recently I was very relieved to leave; this morning, I was more along the lines of confused, but so go mornings!
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I didn’t have any dream recall for years, something to do with a deficiency in one of the B vitamins. But it’s back now. When I’m pantsing, there’s no dreaming of my stories. But not that I’m planning, I’m dreaming about the story … in fact it’s now part of my process. It’s most odd.
A-Zing this year at:
FictionCanBeFun
Normally found at:
DebsDespatches
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That’s really interesting on the B vitamins…maybe I should take a supplement and then not have to make anything up…let my subconscious do the work!
That’s a really cool part of your process, I think!
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I believe it’s B6 only. I actually cannot take a B complex as it send me totally loopy (hormonally speaking). But do look in to it, especially to see whether you can simply boost it through your diet. Could have an interesting impact 😉
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Ergh! That should read NOW that I’m planning, of course …
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I figured! 🙂 A lot of typing this month makes for a lot of typos! I’m making all kinds too.
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“…it’s a monument to impermanence…” I wonder f that’s actually a tool for the imagination — a teaser, so to speak.
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I definitely think it is, I think that our minds sometimes do their best work when we’re not in charge!
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Now THAT’S a scary thought! I’ve been with my mind when I wasn’t in charge! LOL
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I would hate to have my dreams analyzed. They are always so stupid. Sometimes I wake myself up laughing because even in my sleep I know it’s stupid. Who could think such stuff when wide awake?
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So true! Though I do think it’s fantastic when we can amuse ourselves with what our minds come up with…those are sometimes the best!
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My dreams would never make good stories except the ones that slip away. Just as you said.
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I’ve had few with a plot. But sometimes there are little ideas that can be helpful, I think. Or as Ally said, the mood can be inspirational.
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Details in my dreams are fleeting, but the feeling I have after the dream remains. I use that feeling as a writing prompt– or not.
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It’s interesting how that mood stays more than the details. Although sometimes when you get a flash of the details, it can really be a “Huh?” moment. Those can be useful too.
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Oh how I love this! We can change too but often people and things leave us untouched like a dream. (But then again sometimes a dream can bring a serious revelation)
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Thanks so much! Isn’t it remarkable? Something so impermanent can feel so lasting.
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