Writing Dreams

Contrary to what the title may suggest, this entry is not going to be about my dreams for writing (i.e., getting published, being able to live off it, etc...), but about...well...writing dreams. Having a dream so vivid and real and amazing one night and being unable to resist the urge to write it down.  That is what this is about.

I'm not going to go into specifics about the dream I had Monday night because 1) I don't want anyone to steal the idea and 2) it's just too long and intricate and epic. Heheh. The easiest way I've found to describe it to someone is "It's about faeries, war, and the end of the world." Unfortunately, I didn't get to see how the dream ended, so I have no idea what happened. It was close, though. If I weren't such a good student (at this time in the semester, at least) I would have given into the urge to stay home and sleep all day, if only to see how everything ended. No matter how many times I woke up, the dream picked up immediately where it left off.  It's been a long time since that happened.

But how does one go about writing their dreams down on paper? I know that there are people who keep "dream diaries" and write down entires immediately upon waking so they don't forget what they dreamed, but that's something different than what I'm going for. How can I possibly manage to portray the characters and story that played out in my mind over a 9 hour period in a way that won't kill it?

Pulse started off as a dream, back when Crowley was still straight and genetic engineering was running rampant. Granted, it has changed a lot  since Crowley came to me in dream form, but that's how it all started. If it weren't for the dream I had of a girl meeting a bad ass demon hunter back in 2006, my baby and the rest of the characters I've come to love would have never been created. The idea for Just Like Heroin also came to me in a dream last spring, just when I needed something to write for my Fiction Writing class. And now, just as I was ready and willing to start Tyler's story, my unconsciousness decided to take over again. The characters refuse to leave me alone. I want to draw them and write them and think about them all the time. They're going to drive me insane!!!!

Have any of you ever had dreams so vivid/realistic/breath-taking that you had the urge to, at least, write down the specifics you remember upon waking? Has a dream ever lingered in your mind for 2 days or more?  What did you do to make it go away? Or did you embrace the inspiration you received from you dream and take the time to write and/or draw it out?

Outside of my random ramblings, I hope that you all are well! Staying healthy and warm are the most important things this time of year. Anyone else ready for spring to get here already?!

Much love!