Dream Journal

This lesson tells you how to remember your dreams and how to use a dream journal to defeat writer's block.

Dream Journal

            The most important journal you can keep is a dream journal. If you don’t remember your dreams, you will after you keep a journal. There are several tricks to remembering your dreams if you don’t already. Some are obviously recommended. One is not (you’ll have to guess which one that is)

• Drink a full glass of water before bed. In the middle of the night, you will likely wake in the middle of a dream sequence from your physical need. This interruption will allow you to remember the dream. Some people complain that all they dream about is trying to find a toilet. Either way, you’ve remembered a dream!
• Tell yourself you will remember your dream. If you sleep for the recommended 6.5 hours or more, you have five dreams every night. If you tell yourself and convince yourself that you will remember your dream, you will remember at least one in the morning.
• Keep your mind focused before you fall asleep. Try to keep one idea in your head. Think about a news story you heard this morning. Think about your significant other. Dream about future kids if you don’t have any. Think about what color you want to paint your bedroom if you’re really desperate. Just try to keep it focused and don’t stress. You might remember a dream about this subject when you wake up.
• Stress yourself out as hard as you can when you’re awake. Really traumatize yourself. What would it be like to have the light in your bathroom swing into your shower when you’re occupying it? Did you leave the stove on? You have to be scared enough to remember it in your sleep. If you’re not suffering heart palpations, you’re not stressed enough.

Remember: When you wake up, never look out the window. Your memories of the dream will fly right out the window.

No matter how tired you may be, you have to write the dream down in your journal. The dream will quickly fade. The sands are seeping through your fingers. Write write write! Don’t worry about complete sentences. Dialogue is often the hardest to remember, so you might want to start with that.

Keep your journal near your bed with a working pen marking the next blank page. In the moments you waste looking for the journal, you will lose memories.

Your dreams can sometimes inspire you to write. Even the characters your mind creates can be used. Many best-selling authors say that their characters were created in their subconsciousness; their prime method of communication is through dreams.

Take note of reoccurring themes. Is there a particular dreamscape that you seem to return to often? Under what genre would you categorize your dreams? Are you dreams gloomy, scary, light-hearted or adventurous? These can be used to help spin a story.

Comments

FocusedAmnesia

Posted 13 Years Ago I'll have to tr a dream journal. I can never remember my dreams.

Violet Rose

Posted 13 Years Ago MadeMan99: An English teacher told me.

MadeMan99

Posted 13 Years Ago "Remember: When you wake up, never look out the window. Your memories of the dream will fly right out the window." - Where did you get this???

Louisa.Warren.

Posted 14 Years Ago :P I will make sure i don't look out the window Thank you for reminding me about my dream journal

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