I Dream of Genies

Dreams.

Much has been written about them, but they're still this magical, little-understood miracle in our lives. They can be deeply disturbing, simply shocking, or absolutely blissful. Sometimes they don't make a lick of sense. Other times, we get our stories from them, carefully crafted by someone other than our own conscious minds.

This is how Twilight was born.

I've read of other authors who use their dreams exclusively in writing their fiction. They've even learned to manipulate their dreams, follow different story lines, back up and start again when it veers off in the 'wrong' direction.

As for me, I am not in control of my dreams. Occasionally I have one that's too disturbing to continue and I wake up with a horrified gasp, slightly less dramatic than in the movies.

But most of all, I notice a spike in storylines in my dreams when I haven't written anything new in a while and my mind really wants me to start imagining again.

In the past month alone, I've dreamed of time travel, whodunit murder mystery on a cruise ship, a love triangle involving a seemingly ordinary girl and two brothers, animals that foretell the future in an ominously human voice, and explosions of major landmarks.

I find myself in the shower afterward trying to weave these separate points into one cohesive story. It's enough to make me laugh out loud at my own subconscious. Some elements shouldn't be combined into a single story, and the attempt is nothing short of hilarious.

You probably won't be reading my "Dr. Who meets Agatha Christie with talking animals" for young adult readers any time soon. But it's opened up my imagination a bit to contemplate the idea. And I never would have dreamed of combining those elements... if I hadn't dreamed them first.

What role do your dreams play in your writing life? 

What Writers' Husbands Understand

1. When I say, "Just give me ten-twenty minutes. I'll be right in," it really means, "I'll be writing for the next several hours because I can't fight the muse and I'll probably need you to drag me to bed at some point."

2. When I say, "I just got feedback from my critique partners," he hears, "You know that movie we were going to watch tonight? Umm, can we postpone it for an hour so I can read what my critique partners thought about that last chapter?"

3. When I say, "I feel so close to the end. I just want to work on it until I can type THE END," he knows he'll come out later and find me playing The Sims3.

4. When I say, "One more round of revisions, and I think I'll be set," he knows I really mean, "I'm down to the last five rounds of revisions, but I may decide to rewrite it completely at the end of the month."

5. When I say, "I'm gonna start querying next week," he hears, "Buckle up, Buster!" and gets ready to join me on yet another writerly roller-coaster.

Here's a shout out to all the spouses of writers out there who continue to be supportive (for the most part) and help us maintain balance when we're crazy. And especially thanks to my husband, without whom I wouldn't even be giving my writing a shot. 

Thanks, Bill, for all the weekends you let me sleep in because you knew I had a writing hangover. Our kids appreciate it, too. :)

We all have our muses, but who are the people in your life who balance that out and keep you grounded in the joys of reality? Feel free to give them a shout-out in the comments!