The stories of dreams

I go through phases of having a million ideas for stories I want to write down, and not a single thought for what I could possibly be writing. I think most people in any profession would know that sentiment to some extent, so I don't think I need to elaborate too much on that. For the purpose of this discussion, suffice to say that, for me, these phases are a lot like how I dream. And that's a lot more relevant to my writing than it probably sounds.

I don't dream a whole lot. I can have multiple dreams in one night, vivid dreams of both amazing events and terrifying horrors. It's probably a side effect of being a writer. Or maybe being a writer is a side effect of that? Who knows. Point is, when my imagination wants to, it can make some pretty insane and incredible things. But I don't have dreams all that often. I can have a week or two of dream after dream, and then go months without anything but black while I sleep.

In a way, I'm ok with that. Some of the dreams I have are absolutely terrifying. My whole life, I have experienced nightmares that leave me feeling ice cold when I wake up, heart pounding, eyes wide and unsure of where I am or what I should be doing. I have no idea why I have these nightmares. I don't know where they come from, but they have given me fears that I legitimately never had before I dreamed of them.

But I have good dreams, too. I've had some amazing dreams. Dreams of achieving goals I have a thousand fold, dreams of being able to do things no human ever could. I have had dreams that, when I wake up, make me feel more alive, and like I can accomplish things that I never previously thought possible.

And when I have those dreams, I try to write them down. I would say that at least, if not more than half of my story ideas come from dreams. Some of my favorites stories, too. Some of which I've even written down on this blog. One that comes to mind is Wings. That was a dream I had many years ago, and has sat with me for a long time. I never really wrote it down until now, though, at least not as an actual attempt at a story. Not because I didn't want to, but because I wasn't sure that I could do my dream justice.

I wouldn't say that Wings was one of my best works I've done on here. But it was certainly one of my favorites. And it's one that, with more time and refining, I could easily see myself making a full book out of.

In many ways, writing for me is like dreaming. It's not easy to make myself do it every day. Some times it comes out pretty terribly, but sometimes it feels amazing. It comes from places that sometimes I don't fully understand, and yet it is there like it couldn't possibly be anywhere else. I guess it's fitting that writing is my dream.