Monday, December 20, 2010

Nightmares

Do you ever have nightmares that you wake up and swear are real?  Dream horrible things that you just can't shake for days?

 


I do.  Especially when Super Spawn is away.  (Which doesn't help my anxiety level there.)

I have these vivid, horrific dreams where my worst fears are realized.  I'll wake in a panic, soaked in sweat, my heart racing.

And what's the first thing I do?  Run for a pen.  lol

Those feelings, that terror, is so overwhelming and so real I always feel like I've got to get it on paper.  I'll need it one day when I'm trying to evoke these feelings in my stories, when my characters are experiencing these events.

I don't like to be scared.  I'm sure not many of you do either.  We'd all much rather live a blissful life full of rainbows and sunshine and kittens.  Truth is though, life happens.  Bad things happen.  And we have to take inspiration from where we can.

Nightmares fuel my inspiration for writing the hard things, and Super Spawn fuels the good.  What about you?  Where do you find those emotions to write the hard stuff?

6 comments:

Susan said...

Wow...I'm impressed! When I have nightmares, I always try to think about something else. Otherwise I can't go back to sleep!

As for finding the emotions to write hard stuff, I use real life events... Rather than a nightmare, when something terrifying happens (and usually comes to nothing), I instantly latch onto the feeling and try to analyze it!

My parents and I almost got in a really bad car accident last week, and that fear -- WOW! I won't forget it... You know how time slows? Well, while time was moving super slow and we were all watching this accident about to happen to us, I sat there and dissected how awful and helpless I felt!!

LTM said...

That picture is FREAKY!!!

Not sure where I find it. There have been "experiences" in my past that were painful, and I remember those emotions. I guess from there.

It's The Method. ;p

Merry Christmas! <3

Holly Hill said...

I do the same thing with real life stuff too, Susan!

My nightmares only got so vivid after having Super Spawn, and they seem so real. It's always involving realistic or almost realistic scenarios with people I know and love. After I have one of these, I don't want to go back to sleep. I'm up. lol Thankfully I don't have them often.

Pam Harris said...

Such a cool post! I get inspired from my dreams, too--especially the nightmare. I sometimes have a difficult time creating tension, so if something can spook me enough to wake me up, I'm taking notes! :)

KatOwens: Insect Collector said...

Susan, it is way too easy to imagine bad things happening when you have kids. I think it's a survival technique-- or at least I try to tell myself that-- if I can think a few steps ahead, and imagine what could go wrong, and prevent it, then that's a good thing. It does lead to some scary imaginings, though.

Holly Hill said...

Oh, Kat, I thought I was the only one who did that! I'm forever dreaming up worst-case scenarios for whatever situation we're in and then trying to solve them. It's scary to think about, but calming at the same time.