It came to me in a dream

Honestly? Nothing. Really. I've never had a dream that led to or inspired a piece of work. I'm amazed when people say that this happens to them. My dreams are usually a bunch of useless mumbo-jumbo.

... same here. And I usually can't even remember my dreams. Kudos to those who can and who are able to make use of them, too.

It does happen to me, but very rare. Might happen more if my writing was going better. My dreams are mostly a bunch of anxieties.

My greatest envy is for Robert Louis Stevenson, who could not only dream entire book-length stories, but see them acted out in his head IN ORDER. Next day, just wrote them down. Talk about working in your sleep!

I must be weird. A significant portion of my stories and scenes come to me in dreams, both in my novels and short stories. For example, in my novel FORGOTTEN CHILDREN the heroine has a dream at a carousal. That was based on a dream I had. In a new short story that just got released last week called RIMFIRE, a major portion of the story was derived from dreams across different nights. Like I said, I'm weird (g).

My dreams indicate I might need psychological evaluation.

End of the world, 747s flying into houses, the moon splitting in half, ocean liners beaching and knocking over high-rises kind of shit.

I've gotten a few stories from dreams. "The Purple Bell Flower" was from a dream, yet to be published.

The thing about dreams is they're so disjointed that IMO you can't just write a dream. You have to make a usable plot of its elements.

I do wonder, however, if writers become so obsessed with their stories and craft that the way a story is formed seeps into their dreams. It hasn't happened to me but I wonder if others have experienced that sort of thing.

The Lonely One said:

The thing about dreams is they're so disjointed that IMO you can't just write a dream. You have to make a usable plot of its elements.

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I think this is true. I have very complex, detailed dreams that I am pretty good at remembering but they rarely make much sense.

I do use images or elements of dreams in my writing, usually as touchstones to build scenes around. My current WIP has plot point that was pulled from a dream image. (Nightmare image, rather: beautiful room full of books charred to a crisp.) I dream interesting locations sometimes, and I use them for settings or whatnot.

I am still trying to figure out something to write around the dream I had about wearing a gorgeous violet ball gown that was embroidered with living eyeballs. My subconscious is weird.

I agree, dream plots are a pile of nonsense usually. But I get a lot of interesting images from my dreams. Scenes and settings usually, that tend toward SF or fantasy imagery, or an interaction between two people. But plot I gotta work out when I'm awake. My current WIP is based on a dream: I went to see a play/musical spectacular that was totally amazing. The theater was like the reverse of a theater in the round, the audience in the center, and the stage a huge ring all the way around them. Um, and it was on a boat.

Last night I outlined a new fantasy novel based on a dream, sort of. I used to have recurring dreams, and this story would be about a guy having a similar series of dreams, and not being able to figure out if they are real or real-ish or not.

The other day I watched a very unsatisfying season finale (Breaking Bad). I was upset that they hadn't revealed more about WTF is going on. That night I dreamed a continuation of the episode, with a full conclusion. It was satisfying, until I woke up and realized it made no sense whatsoever in regards to the plot of the actual show...

An MC in my first novel is someone I've been visualizing in dreams and out for quite some time. One day I just decided to write about him. By that time, we were family. Funny how the mind prepares you for what's to come.

My dreams don't usually stand out, but occasionally they become excellent short story material. A story I published earlier this year was actually because of a dream I'd had probably 15 years ago. I had a dream earlier this year that spelled out another short story to the letter (I jumped out of bed at 5 AM and turned on the computer quick! ). So dreams can be helpful to me on occasions, but not very often.

I don't write fantasy but I get alot of good ideas for suspense right after I go to bed. I can usually work out a scene or start a conversation while I relax. Hey it works for me

I've only ever been able to remember a single dream and it was actually a nightmare I had when I was very young. Even now I remember bits and pieces of it, but on the whole even that memory has faded.

Sometimes I wish I could remember, but then I think of that nightmare and decide I'm probably better off without the ability.

I get ideas from my dreams. Usually the ideas are actually sequels to whatever plot is rolling around in my head at the time, so I assume that's some mixture between my subconscious and conscious thought. :shrug:

Occastionally I get dream up entirely new stories, and those are the ones I really love.