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Writing mostly surfaces from the subconcious, and dreams are our window to our subconcious. Some of the most wonderful ideas can strike you just as you begin to wake up, ideas not necessarily practical, but with undeniable potential to develop into a story.

From the cusp of sleep and awakening it is possible to pull out skeins that can become anything you want it to, a poem, a flash story, a short story, a novella…. the sky is the limit.

notebook

I always keep a pencil and notebook handy beside my bed, and on mornings I wake up from a memorable, yet already half-forgotten dream, I make a few notes. That is where I get most of my imagery from, even sometimes for some of my most everyday articles. I was checking the internet for people who write dream journals, and I found an interesting one that reminded me of so many things about my own dreams.

Turning dreams into reality can work out even in the most literal sense.

To write a story, look for one in your dreams.

Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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6 Comments

  • Raven Whyte says:

    I have had dreams I felt worh creating tales from, but I very seldom seem to find the right words to give them justice. I write down the details I remember, and the ending that would make sense, and play with them, sometimes.

  • I don’t write my dreams down but I find if I tell them to someone, I won’t forget them. I tend to remember dreams with specific numbers (like dates or dollar amounts) or dreams with strong emotions. And, of course, the dreams where someone has died. I thought it was impossible to dream of your own death but recently I did and became a ghost. After this dream I woke up crying.

  • Meka says:

    I commented earlier today on my About page how Love Mekanism came from a dream. Then I just woke up from an unusual afternoon nap. I don’t remember having any “appropriate” dreams since then until just now, and I am thinking how I wish I were a talented enough artist to draw design what I saw or write out what I remember of it. Maybe this nudge is enough to try. Thank you 🙂

  • damyantig says:

    Thanks for dropping in spesbar, I am glad you have a similar habit, not nerdy at all, just intelligent :))

  • spesbar says:

    Hi!Funny that I have the same habit as you..keeping a pen and notebook by the bed. For me, when I dream I dreamt of words floating around like clouds and I try picking them up one by one making them into meaningful sentences. Sounds nerdy. *Ack*