I noticed something the other night, and not for the first time either, and it made me wonder how many other writers out there experience the same thing: I'm a brilliant writer in my subconscious!
When I'm in the middle of writing new chapters for my books, I tend to fall asleep at night thinking about the upcoming chapters. While hovering on the edge of sleep, I often see the chapters unfold much like watching a movie, and it just amazes me how great the dialogue is. I know that as I'm 'watching' the chapters I find myself thinking, 'Wow, this is going to be an amazing chapter!'.
The problem is that this doesn't translate well into real life! These episodes always occur when I'm nearly asleep, so I can't force myself to wake up and immediately write down what I just experienced. Instead, I wake up the next day and a much vaguer version of the chapter ends up being written. They are never bad, but they lack the magic that was there the night before, especially when it comes to dialogue. The dialogue is so amazing and witty and funny just before I fall asleep...and so pedestrian when I type it out the next day.
So, does this happen to you? And what is wrong with me that I can see a brilliant writer is buried inside of me but I'm incapable of drawing him out while fully conscious?
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11 hours ago
There's nothing wrong with you. You ARE a brilliant writer. And you're not incapable, you're shy. Things always look different in the day than when they do at night. The next time you're sitting in your chair writing -- close the shades, put out the lights, and pretend it's night. See what happens. you get a different kind of mindset.
ReplyDeleteyes, it's kind of weird, but it works for me.
You're too kind, Anne. I do think I'm a pretty good writer, but the qualitative difference between what I come up with in that twilight before sleep and when I am fully awake is astonishing. I also think my dialogue tends to be too workmanlike, rather than the sparkling stuff I come up with just before falling asleep.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that what's happening is what happens to a lot of people: their ideas on the edge of sleep aren't as perfect as they think. Instead, what you're probably getting is the feeling of a solution that makes perfect sense, but only in the way that things make sense in that dream state. Neil Gaiman has written and spoken several times about the problems of writing down dreams, because dreams don't make sense. At best, the dream is connecting directly to an emotional state, whereas in the real world, we don't get that luxury.
ReplyDeleteStu, I imagine you are mainly right. But what I have experienced is that I actually do remember enough of what went on to write the broad strokes of the chapter from what I semi-dreamed. It's just that the explicit details of the dialogue are missing when I wake up. Perhaps you are right, but I'm not sure, because when I am having these thoughts before falling asleep, I really get a sense of the dialogue being quite good...much better than what I manage when I'm awake.
ReplyDeleteI watch my stories unfold like movies and yeah, once I write it down, it's never as good.
ReplyDeleteI'm exactly the same. Sometimes I find myself daydreaming too, watching that same film unfold when I should be working...lol
ReplyDeleteI've got the same problem/curse/issue. Most of the scenes in my fantasy series are the results of late night flashes that seem more cinematic than literary. Trying to translate those images to text is a rough go, particularly when you know exactly what **you** saw and read it into the words you typed. Ensuring the reader gets an inkling of your intention is the hardest hurdle.
ReplyDeleteSo true! I want one of those dream recorders like in Final Fantasy: Spirits Within.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right, Joseph!
ReplyDelete