We’ve all been there. You wake up in the morning after an
incredible dream and think; that would make a good book. And with that thought,
the memory of the dream disappears.But seriously. Can something you dream become a basis for book? If
you believe Dean Martin’s character in the 1955 movie ‘Artist and Models’ then
yes it can. In the movie, Dean is a comic book author who’s flat mate Jerry
Lewis has nightmares that he narrates in his sleep. Dean notes down the
narration, and turns them into the narrative for his comic books, and then poor
old Jerry has to illustrate them, unknowingly living his nightmares twice. And
of course in true tinsel town style the comics are a runaway success!
Of course, that’s Hollywood; glossy and perfect. In reality dreams
are a scrambled mess, our subconscious trying to make sense of our lives and
keeping us sane. However, sometimes I believe dreams can provide the
inspiration for something that can be turned into a promising narrative. The concept for the current book I’m working
on, ‘The Alchemist and the Bone Factory’ came from a dream. It was one of those
rare dreams which tells a story (no jumping into thin air and flying, no teeth
dropping out, oh how Freud and Jung would be disappointed!) When I woke up, I
bolted out of bed, ignored the children’s whines for breakfast, and ransacked
the house until I found a working pen and noted it all down.
Mad you may be saying. Well maybe, but once the concept was in my
brain, my conscious mind started to modify it, twist it, embellish it, and improve
it. I began to see the start of a plot and beginnings of narrative. Then it was
down to business; Plotting, researching, and writing, and who would guess, it
is actually shaping up to be something quite good.
So, my verdict; Can a dream make a good narrative for a novel? I
think yes, in the same way an idea can be nurtured into a sound concept for a
book. However it will need work – a lot of it, but it can produce something
very different to a concept that comes from you conscious mind. Think like the
surrealist artist Dali, he was shunned by his surrealist peers for not painting
authentic dream subconscious images, but improving them and constructing dream
inspired ideas, to create aesthetically pleasing pieces. That’s exactly what a
writer has to do when using a dream as a narrative, use it as inspiration and
improve it, make it something really good. After all, how many other surrealist
painters can you name?
If my argument has not swung you, then here is a list of four
famous books that were inspired by dreams in alphabetical order…
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson - who dreamt the
story, woke up and transcribed the scenes from the dreams, finishing the first
draft in 3 days!
Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley – Who dreamt the concept at Lord
Bryon’s estate in Switzerland and then, with encouragement from her husband, wrote
the book.
Misery, by Stephen King - Dreamt the concept whilst in an
aeroplane, then not wanting to forget the details sat at the airport and
started to write the novel.
Twilight, by Stephanie Meyers - first conceived the concept for the
twilight saga on the 2nd June 2003 after a dream. No matter what
your opinion on the twilight series, it is nothing if not successful.
