I have a gift of remembering my dreams. Quite often they make great beginnings for stories. For example two nights ago I dreamed about a whale who was reincarnated from a man who was assassinated. The whale was living in a tank that was filthy. He was alone and ill. He told me he was communicating with me telepathically seeking help. If it truly was a telepathic dream there is no way I could find or help this whale but it triggered a story. I find myself developing the character of who he was before he was assassinated. Was he held in captivity as a human? Then I find myself developing who he is as a whale. Deciding was he born in captivity or was he caught in the wild? I think the character who telepathically picks up on his plight must live near him. Should I make the person a member of an organization similar to PETA?
This is not the first time a dream inspired me nor will it be the last. Sometimes I think I live for, my stories. My advice to anyone who is suffering from writers block. Try to remember your dreams, keep a dream journal, or record it on a IPod or computer. The more you make an effort to wake up and record your dreams the more you remember them.
If I were to look at the symbology of my dream; I would have to say the dream is telling me that my illness has isolated me. The air in Duluth has smelled toxic lately because I live near a paper mill. Just like the whales tank was toxic. When I was a child I was nick named Gayle the whale. I have yet to figure out what the part of the dream about the assassination and reincarnation was saying unless it meant that with the move an old part of my life is being slain and that I am going through a major change. I do think our dreams do try to tell us things about ourselves as well as they can inspire.
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