Yesterday was kind of a revealing day; an “ah-ha” moment carried my thoughts away to more interesting places, some of which I do not care to write about, here. But, then there are some thoughts that led me to sharing this post, which at the time of writing it, may not seem related to my little “ah-ha” moment yesterday.
Nonetheless, her goes: I was sitting in a room with seven others. Each of us were asking questions from our host, and teacher, about whatever we wanted pertaining to Transactional Analysis, and Gestalt to find some more clarity. Now, a friend sitting across the table inquired about dream analysis, and this is where it got interesting.
The professor inquired if anyone had any dreams that any of us would like to share, and have analyzed. Now, I am in the habit of writing my dreams down as soon as I wake up. Just to get back to them sometime, and read them back to myself. And thus, I volunteered with one that I had back in December 2016. To me, this dream, it was a hilarious, and a weird one at that. But, after going through the dream analysis session, it was more of a revelation of sorts.
Why Are We Talking About My Dream, And Dream Analysis Here?
Still with me? Good. The part that led to this share, and post, is essentially related to the process of dream analysis itself. I was asked to become each of the characters within my own dream, and repeat the entirety of whatever it was that I could remember that happened in the dream. And so, I did.
After coming back home, I couldn’t help but think about, and relate this exercise to the exercise of writing fiction or some other creative writing genre that puts you into different situations, and circumstances to be able to relate to your own writ. The exercise of dream analysis, and writing fiction, is mostly the same. That’s how I remembered watching Neil Gaiman answering some really great questions hilariously, back in November 2016, during NaNoWriMo.
Creative Writing Inspiration From The Award Winning Author Neil Gaiman
There’s something about creative writing that I find captivating. It’s akin to day dreaming, but with words. It’s akin to putting yourself into the shoes of your thoughts, ideas or characters, and then write from their point of view or from some third person’s point of view, who’s been privy to these fictitious events. And, while writing from within those fictitious shoes, you begin to empathize, and relate to them. That’s what I love about creative writing, and writing fiction. It’s an outlet of sorts, just like dreaming, and day dreaming.
Don’t take my word for it. Instead, listen to Neil Gaiman dispensing some great advice on writing. If you have sometime today, and love writing, then this video is a definite watch.
Creative Writing Lessons: Bestselling, award winning author Neil Gaiman on writing
