The warm tingly fuzzies...

Éclairer · Feb 28, 2007

...do you ever wake up with the warm fuzzies, but can't remember what you dreamt? Instead, you're just left with an overwhelming emotional reaction to a person, a place?

And do you dream about your books and characters? Do you get the disorganized warm fuzzies when you think of the places and people you write about? That dream quality emotion, that poignant yearning that exists almost nowhere else, because almost everywhere else it has tangible focus?

And are our places and characters our attempt to give tangible focus to our meandering emotions, or do we create the places and characters so we can feel the yearning?

Do you ever feel that way about other people's places, other people's characters?

Penguin Queen · Feb 28, 2007

Éclairer said:
And do you dream about your books and characters? Do you get the disorganized warm fuzzies when you think of the places and people you write about? That dream quality emotion, that poignant yearning that exists almost nowhere else, because almost everywhere else it has tangible focus?

I dont think Ive ever dreamed about any of my stories or characters, but when the writing goes well, or when a new story starts, it certainly gives me a tingling warm feeling... rather like being in love, actually. (Dare I say ... better? :tongue

)
I'm madly in love with a particular house somewhere in Patagonia at the moment, it's grabbed me and I have to write something about it. It's not letting me go until Ive produced the whole rough outline, and then stays with me on and off, when the writing is going well. Sometimes I think it's the best feeling in the world.

Éclairer · Feb 28, 2007

Penguin Queen said:
I'm madly in love with a particular house somewhere in Patagonia at the moment, it's grabbed me and I have to write something about it. It's not letting me go until Ive produced the whole rough outline, and then stays with me on and off, when the writing is going well. Sometimes I think it's the best feeling in the world.

I'm glad I'm not the only one. I understand entirely what you mean about being grabbed. There's a bit of riverside and a pair of yellow gumboots that follow me around from my childhood, the memory of puddles and playing pirates with my dad.

And I do think sometimes it is the best feeling in the world.

Penguin Queen · Feb 28, 2007

It's given me an idea for a great YA novel, & for the first time, something non-autobiographical, which also feels great. I'm growing out of my own stories into telling ones that are all shiny and new. :tongue

I think thats how stories start for lots of people -- not always places. I remember reading somewhere that Agatha Christie said she sat on the bus one day & heard two poeple talk out of the corner of her ear, and one of them said. "But why didnt they ask Evans?" and it catapulted her into thinking up a whole book around it.

Love those yellow boots by the river, and pirates. Definitely sounds like the seed of a story.

travelgal · Feb 28, 2007

Éclairer said:
...do you ever wake up with the warm fuzzies, but can't remember what you dreamt? Instead, you're just left with an overwhelming emotional reaction to a person, a place?

And do you dream about your books and characters? Do you get the disorganized warm fuzzies when you think of the places and people you write about? That dream quality emotion, that poignant yearning that exists almost nowhere else, because almost everywhere else it has tangible focus?

And are our places and characters our attempt to give tangible focus to our meandering emotions, or do we create the places and characters so we can feel the yearning?

Do you ever feel that way about other people's places, other people's characters?

1. Yep. It's frustrating when I can't remember.

2. Yep. I've concocted scenes from dream fragments.

3. A bit of both, methinks. there comes a point when you're aware enough to control the outcome of the dream, more or less.

4. Yep. I've read stuff and thought, wow, wish I thought about that; and I've had a dream or two about them.

ChaosTitan · Feb 28, 2007

I don't think I've ever woken up with warm fuzzies (unless you count my cat sleeping by my side as a warm fuzzy). I've woken up in a sweat from nightmares, and I've woken up startled by my alarm clock.

I do dream about my characters. Not often, but usually when I am first starting a project, or heavily into editing the project. If it's on my mind, it'll end up in my dream (kind of how watching a rerun of Heroes yesterday put Peter Petrelli into my dream).

Layla Nahar · Feb 28, 2007

Curious you should ask this. That's exactly what happened to me this morning. Usually I can remember my dream upon waking - it may slip away within 5 minutes if I don't write it down, but today all I got was the fuzzies - warm, but fuzzy.

nice question. thoughtful question

Mae · Feb 28, 2007

Penguin Queen said:
I'm madly in love with a particular house somewhere in Patagonia at the moment, it's grabbed me and I have to write something about it,,,,. Sometimes I think it's the best feeling in the world.

This sounds like a feeling many of us get.

Driving in the dark one night 4 or 5 years ago, I spotted a large plywood board lying at the side of a paved country road. It was only partially covered with a dusting of snow, and looked as if it had been moved recently....

The image won't let me go. I have jump started a few spookyish stories with it, but none have fit it just right.... yet.

Azure Skye · Feb 28, 2007

Éclairer said:
...do you ever wake up with the warm fuzzies, but can't remember what you dreamt? Instead, you're just left with an overwhelming emotional reaction to a person, a place?

Yes and it always leaves me feeling empty.

scarletpeaches · Feb 28, 2007

I've been a lucid dreamer for as long as I can remember and I dream in colour. Sometimes I wake up with a fuzzy feeling, other times with a feeling of loss, as if I was talking to someone in the dream and now because I've woken up, I'll never see them again.

Weird.

But I've had a few story ideas from dreams like that. I don't dream about characters I've already written about, but I sometimes get situations and characters from dreams. Loose ideas, but ideas nonetheless.

Éclairer · Feb 28, 2007

Azura Skye said:
Yes and it always leaves me feeling empty.

I can relate. I hate when that happens; that's usually when I start writing. To fill the void.

Éclairer · Feb 28, 2007

Penguin Queen said:
It's given me an idea for a great YA novel, & for the first time, something non-autobiographical, which also feels great. I'm growing out of my own stories into telling ones that are all shiny and new.

Ideas are good. I'd ask you what your idea is, but being of a paranoid bent, I usually don't inquire after people's little preciouses, lest the preciouses become stolen. I know what you mean about the non-autobiographical thing, though the best drama I've ever written was about my friendship with a drug dealer in high school... I'm currently writing about some teenagers in a boarding/prep school. Which is fun. People behave differently when they have lots of money and no parental supervision.

AnnieColleen · Feb 28, 2007

Penguin Queen said:
I remember reading somewhere that Agatha Christie said she sat on the bus one day & heard two poeple talk out of the corner of her ear, and one of them said. "But why didnt they ask Evans?" and it catapulted her into thinking up a whole book around it.

The Boomerang Clue. That's the line that sets off the mystery & the refrain that drives the whole book. Tha's cool about how it got started!

I'm not generally a lucid dreamer, except in the early mornings, and then it's more random weirdness than emotions. I woke up once recently with a story in my head -- something about mermaids -- but then couldn't remember what I thought was going to make it so great and original, so never wrote it down.

Éclairer said:
And are our places and characters our attempt to give tangible focus to our meandering emotions

Yes! Plenty of times I know what feeling I associate with a story, but getting it past that static picture & into an actual plot is my downfall.

alaskamatt17 · Feb 28, 2007

I've dreamed about my characters and stories. The dreams are always better than the books. I guess it's just a matter of being there, living out the story, as opposed to the vicarious experience of reading it. Even the bad situations leave me with memories I can enjoy, if only for the vividness of that fictional moment.

Cassiopeia · Feb 28, 2007

scarletpeaches said:
I've been a lucid dreamer for as long as I can remember and I dream in colour. Sometimes I wake up with a fuzzy feeling, other times with a feeling of loss, as if I was talking to someone in the dream and now because I've woken up, I'll never see them again.

Weird.

But I've had a few story ideas from dreams like that. I don't dream about characters I've already written about, but I sometimes get situations and characters from dreams. Loose ideas, but ideas nonetheless.

When you say "lucid dreamer" what do you mean? I know there are some that talk about it in psychic terms so I was just wondering.

Cassiopeia · Feb 28, 2007

Éclairer said:
...do you ever wake up with the warm fuzzies, but can't remember what you dreamt? Instead, you're just left with an overwhelming emotional reaction to a person, a place?

And do you dream about your books and characters? Do you get the disorganized warm fuzzies when you think of the places and people you write about? That dream quality emotion, that poignant yearning that exists almost nowhere else, because almost everywhere else it has tangible focus?

And are our places and characters our attempt to give tangible focus to our meandering emotions, or do we create the places and characters so we can feel the yearning?

Do you ever feel that way about other people's places, other people's characters?

I always remember what I have dreamt about upon waking however often times it fades within the hour of being up. I have yet to dream about anything I have written or my characters. There is a state just between sleep and waking however, that I have seen and heard a great many things that leave me wandering through my day as if I have visited another place. The only writer I have ever felt knew that feeling was Diana Gabaldon in her Outlander Series.

Mr. Funktastic · Feb 28, 2007

Hrm... I got the idea for my current WIP from just a sliver of a dream I had, but I haven't had any others since.

I often wake up with that warm fuzzy, and I try to grab onto it, but it almost always leaves me. I'm thinking I need to get some dream bear-trap or something. Or a lasso.

scarletpeaches · Feb 28, 2007

Casiopeia said:
When you say "lucid dreamer" what do you mean? I know there are some that talk about it in psychic terms so I was just wondering.

I take it to mean...well, you know that feeling you get when you're self-aware in your dream? That "Oh. I'm dreaming," feeling, and usually you wake up as soon as you realise?

Well when I'm asleep, I'm self-aware but I can stay in the dream for quite a while and sometimes influence how the dream goes, make choices, try to do things, without waking. SOMETIMES but not often I can get back into the same dream; that's rare though.

I remember once I dreamed I was lying in bed and someone jumped out at me from the other side of the room and I said, "You're dreaming. It's not real, wake up." So I did, or so I thought. The same thing happened again. I dreamed I woke up, but I was still in the dream (does that make sense???) and the guy was holding me down on the bed with his hands round my throat, choking me, and just as I blacked out in the dream, I woke up for real this time. Turns out I had my own arm flung over my throat and I was choking myself! It's what I call a 'double dream' - I don't know if there's a proper name for it.

I had to get up, put all the lights on and have a cuppa before going back to bed! And check in all the cupboards and in all the nooks and crannies so I could feel safe!

Penguin Queen · Feb 28, 2007

Mr. Funktastic said:
I often wake up with that warm fuzzy, and I try to grab onto it, but it almost always leaves me. I'm thinking I need to get some dream bear-trap or something. Or a lasso.

Dreamcatcher?

lfraser · Feb 28, 2007

There was a time when I was able to control what happened in my dreams, but only when I dreamt about flying. I somehow managed to overcome that sluggish, deperately hopless dream flight and consciously 'taught' myself to fly faster and higher. It was glorious.

Alas, I haven't had any flying dreams for a decade or more. I don't know where they went, and I miss them.

PeeDee · Feb 28, 2007

My stories rarely follow me into dreams, but dreams sometimes follow me back out as a story.

...

I had a dream, a week or so ago, where I was in my used bookstore (which is located inside an indoor mall) and I was closing up. I locked everything up, closed the gate and my wife and I left.

As we walked down the hallway, we came across two cute little pudgy boys. I distinctly remember one was wearing a red t-shirt with Pika-chu on it. They were maybe five years old, at the oldest.

They were hunched over a security guard's body, with a pool of blood spreading away from it. I distinctly remember they looked at me with bloody-smeared faces and bright blue eyes.

The one in the red pika-chu shirt held out a handful of meat and said, "Try the bread."

Nightmares don't wake me up. But the next morning, I remembered that one. I think it's probably part of a story, I just haven't figured out the rest of the details yet.

Éclairer · Feb 28, 2007

PeeDee said:
As we walked down the hallway, we came across two cute little pudgy boys. They were hunched over a security guard's body, with a pool of blood spreading away from it. I distinctly remember they looked at me with bloody-smeared faces and bright blue eyes.

Sounds a little spooky. Reminds me of an art piece I did once for school; I'd found a picture of a cougar kitten, so young she still had blue eyes. She was ripping the meat from some dead creature, and had blood smeared all in her whiskers. The color contrast was incredible.

Thankfully I have fairly pleasant dreams. I used to get a lot of nightmares. Now if something tries to terrorize me in my dream world, I kick its arse.

Cassiopeia · Feb 28, 2007

scarletpeaches said:
I take it to mean...well, you know that feeling you get when you're self-aware in your dream? That "Oh. I'm dreaming," feeling, and usually you wake up as soon as you realise?

Well when I'm asleep, I'm self-aware but I can stay in the dream for quite a while and sometimes influence how the dream goes, make choices, try to do things, without waking. SOMETIMES but not often I can get back into the same dream; that's rare though.

I remember once I dreamed I was lying in bed and someone jumped out at me from the other side of the room and I said, "You're dreaming. It's not real, wake up." So I did, or so I thought. The same thing happened again. I dreamed I woke up, but I was still in the dream (does that make sense???) and the guy was holding me down on the bed with his hands round my throat, choking me, and just as I blacked out in the dream, I woke up for real this time. Turns out I had my own arm flung over my throat and I was choking myself! It's what I call a 'double dream' - I don't know if there's a proper name for it.

I had to get up, put all the lights on and have a cuppa before going back to bed! And check in all the cupboards and in all the nooks and crannies so I could feel safe!

Yes what you are describing is lucid dreaming when a person takes control over the dream. There are further methods for lucid dreaming that includes vision seeking.

scarletpeaches · Feb 28, 2007

Like astral projection-type stuff?

The double-dream spooked me. That was proper Freddie Krueger stuff.

Why I can't dream about handsome men more often I don't know...perhaps you dream about what scares you most, who knows?

Cassiopeia · Feb 28, 2007

PeeDee said:
My stories rarely follow me into dreams, but dreams sometimes follow me back out as a story.

...

I had a dream, a week or so ago, where I was in my used bookstore (which is located inside an indoor mall) and I was closing up. I locked everything up, closed the gate and my wife and I left.

As we walked down the hallway, we came across two cute little pudgy boys. I distinctly remember one was wearing a red t-shirt with Pika-chu on it. They were maybe five years old, at the oldest.

They were hunched over a security guard's body, with a pool of blood spreading away from it. I distinctly remember they looked at me with bloody-smeared faces and bright blue eyes.

The one in the red pika-chu shirt held out a handful of meat and said, "Try the bread."

Nightmares don't wake me up. But the next morning, I remembered that one. I think it's probably part of a story, I just haven't figured out the rest of the details yet.

That would freak me out. *shivers*

The warm tingly fuzzies...

Break the rules.

Break the rules.

Around

Seashell Seller

this is me - is that you?

Huh?

Invisible Writer

Otherwise Occupied

Otherwise Occupied

The name says it all.

Break the rules.

Bored and Frantic

Where's my tea, please...?

Otherwise Occupied

Otherwise Occupied