In ancient times, the world had a very different view of dreams than the one we currently share. It has been reported by historians that reverence for the world of dreams dates all the way back to the ancient Sumerians. In the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia, dreams were regarded as guidance and used to chart events and solve problems. In the modern era, we’re taught to think of our nightly escapades as random imaginings, or the processing of our daily experiences. While those explanations may have some truth to them, one thing is ubiquitous – we choose not to pay attention to our dreams. Whether you think dreams are guidance from the subconscious; a magical world of fancy; or even just coincidental nonsense; science has given us proof that dreams can be just as useful as they are mysterious. Today, we’re going to explore the tip of the lucid dreaming iceberg as I explain how lucid dreaming can be an invaluable writing tool.
Lucid dreaming, also known as Oneironautics [ah-nayr-o-not-iks], is the practice of traveling consciously through your dreams. Inside our dreams, we’re offered the opportunity to explore a world that our mind alone creates. Masters of lucid dreaming are able to create and experience sumptuous and breath-taking worlds of fantasy. Anything you can imagine is possible inside your mind, and once you’re able to make full use of your lucid dreaming skills, you can experience any conceivable dream as vividly as if it was reality. You may already have some ideas as to how you might like to use an incredible power like universal manipulation, and I encourage you to explore your dreams in any way that feels right to you. However, if you are a writer like me, this sort of ability becomes a tool for creativity, exploration of the mind and psyche, and a method for personal discovery that goes far beyond mere curiosity. Many people believe lucid dreaming is something that is beyond their grasp, an un-attainable goal that they’re better off forgetting. But lucid dreaming is a concept and practice that is older than recorded history, and some researchers would suggest that lucid dreaming is our natural state. That modern culture has forgotten something that once came so easily to us all. Many cultures, including the Ancient Greeks and the Ancient Egyptians, believed that dreams were the gateway to the Spirit World. They believed that there was a world beside ours, one that we could only access through the act of dreaming. The Egyptians described dreaming with the word ‘resut’ which meant ‘to come awake’, and they knew that to enter the world of dreams was to become awakened to new realms of possibility. They knew that they could receive guidance and answers to questions far beyond their own understanding, if only they could harness the power of the Dream World. The world has been aware of the practice of Oneironautics since the dawn of time. This leads many people, including myself, to believe that lucid dreaming is a behavior coded inside of our DNA. As you can see, the capacity to master Oneironautics rests inside every person’s mind, all we need to do is awaken ourselves to the possibility. I believe very deeply that lucid dreaming can offer each individual an opportunity to become more awakened, empowered, and alive. Any person can lucid dream, as long as they have the intention, the will, and the courage to do so. As someone who has recently begun my lucid dreaming journey, every day I find more ways in which this practice can help me mentally and physically. As a writer, anything that offers me the chance to unlock my hidden creative potential, and allow me to more vividly experience my creations, is a gold mine in my mind. This specific subject is the one on which I want to focus for right now. If lucid dreaming is a gateway to a world where we can experience anything we can imagine, then can you imagine being brought face to face with the characters of your novel? To be able to speak to them, travel with them, experience them in a way that is deeper than any daydream could hope to be. The benefits of this practice go even farther down the rabbit hole when you consider the psychological ramifications of exploring dreams. Perhaps you experience frequent writer’s block, or your vision of a character is a hazy diamond in the rough. Lucid dreaming is an excellent way to unlock the secrets of your subconscious mind, and release information that is hidden or has been locked away. If we can use our dreams to dig deeper into our minds than we have access to during waking hours, we could potentially uncover a treasury of ideas and details to be used in creating more in-depth and refined work than ever before. So far, on my journey, I have only managed to induce lucid dreaming a few times. But because of these experiences, I can vouch first hand for the fact that our dreaming world can be experienced as vividly and realistically as reality. The touch, taste, sound, sight sensations are as clear and effective as any waking world experience. These experiences can even feel so intensely real that you may forget to question the reality of the situation at all. Now imagine you were able to step into your dreams and ask to speak to your main protagonist character. Imagine you could ask them any question, converse about any topic, or explore their whole body with your eyes, or your hands, creating an image of them that is so clear upon waking, you feel you’ve truly met them. This is a priceless tool in the art of storytelling. It allows us to extract every minute detail of information needed in order to create the clearest and most concise written words possible. You can use this skill, in the style mentioned above, to meet and discuss interesting topics with your characters. Or, once you’re skilled enough, you could create the fictional world, or even the real world settings, that occur in your novels and explore them in your dreams. This method would allow you to explore so many details; homes, forests, parks, shopping malls; as if you were seeing these things in your “real” waking life. There are many benefits of lucid dreaming, and writers have access to even more benefits than most. We are lucky enough to have whole worlds locked up inside of our minds, just waiting to be explored. So go explore; taste, touch and smell your world; because when you awake, it’s time to use those sensations, and put your world to paper in the most concrete and detailed way you could imagine. The things I have mentioned today are not the only benefits to lucid dreaming; they are not even the only benefits to writers. There are many other experiences, revelations, and topics to explore while lucid dreaming and I plan to record and share as many as I can while I practice to become an expert in Oneironautics. Below are some links to the basics of lucid dreaming that you can use to get yourself started at home. And I invite you to check back here for updates, articles and conversations regarding lucid dreaming, and how you as a writer can take full advantage of this amazing opportunity. Come along with me as we go on an expedition into the deep subconscious of the mind and unlock the mysteries and answers that are every writer’s dream. What is lucid dreaming: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_dream How to begin lucid dreaming: http://www.lucidipedia.com/lucid-dreaming-techniques/
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Hey, Blog Lovers! August was a crazy month, and not everything that happened was good – in fact most of it wasn’t so great – but the things that were great still really stood out to me last month. The reason for that is probably my tendency to forget about things I love and rediscover them later. Last month I rediscovered my love for a number of different faves, and even got acquainted with a few brand new things as well. Let’s jump into the list. -GAMES--Oblivion-Last month I fell back in love with an old Bethesda fave; of course I am talking about Oblivion. This game has been a part of my life for many years, and it helped to foster a deep love of Bethesda’s open world games. I’m so happy to be back to playing Oblivion; when you’re exploring quests new and old, it’s like getting together with an old friend. You know what they’re about and you can’t wait to feel the old feels you felt when you guys first started hanging out. That’s how I felt playing Oblivion this month, and it has been a blast exploring Cyrodiil again. -Soul Calibur 4-Since August was a month for catching up with old friends, Soul Calibur 4 could not be left out of the reunion. It’s been much too long since I sat down and had a good old fashioned friendly duel over this classic title, and I forgot how much I loved it. From the beloved characters to that nostalgic feeling of instinctively knowing how to play the game, SC4 was one of my favorite games last month. -Authors--John Joseph Adams- There aren’t a lot of people who can put together a horror anthology quite like John Joseph Adams. I’ve read a few of the books he’s edited before, and take it from me, he knows a good short story when he reads one. His anthologies are filled with a wide variety of authors and writing styles, with something to please everyone. My favorites are The Living Dead Anthology and the Wastelands Anthology, both of which I recommend to anyone who enjoys many different styles of writing, and wants to experience a range of horror stories to suit their mood. -The Vampire Chronicles by: Anne Rice- The first time I read a novel by Anne Rice, the books were a little bit difficult for me to get into. After giving myself some time with the books, even though I found them difficult to get through, they eventually became easier to read. Before reading these books, around the age of 16, I wasn’t very interested in literary titles and I didn’t find them exciting. It was hard for me to wade through the big chunks of text that Anne Rice lays down on the page, and reading it was a little exhausting. As time went on, I started to grow more interested in the psychological and artistic aspect of literary fiction. It became clear to me that there were many different layers and details in her work for specific reasons, and I began to appreciate that deeper reasoning in a more defined way. This eventually began to influence my own writing and my appreciation of the craft as well; it helped me to grow into a writer with some insight into characterization and the importance of setting the scene. I attribute a lot of what I love about literary fiction to my reading of Anne Rice novels, and I’m grateful to have found a way to use that reading experience to feed my own crafting skill. -Movies & Television--Pulp Fiction-It’s very difficult for me to pick a favorite movie because I love movies a stupid amount. But when it comes to making a list, Pulp Fiction always finds its way to the top. If someone forced me to make a choice, this is the movie I would choose. Why? It has everything a good movie needs; a star studded cast, amazing writing, directing and cinematography, and a cameo by the director himself. Quentin Tarantino will always be one of my favorite directors, because he possesses a brilliant and dark mind where treasures are certainly buried. I don’t think anyone else could have produced such a cinematic wild ride the way that Tarantino did with Pulp Fiction. I will always give this movie a 10/10 and anyone who hasn’t seen this film needs to go out and change that immediately. -Stranger Things-Everyone loves Stranger Things right now, and it is extremely easy to see why. Not only is Stranger Things legitimately frightening – which is difficult to do in this society where everyone is exposed to so much horror media – it is well written and well-cast too. As someone who is a fan of 80’s media and references, I was totally into the whole vibe. Aside from the awesome 80’s horror vibe that immediately pulled me into this experience head first, this series had a million other things going for it. It is well produced, well directed, well written, and the casting for the group of children that star in this film is like the work of a miracle. They all act flawlessly in this production, and their grasp of the mature content, and the skills needed to act that content out, was excellent to watch. It’s impossible not to become an instant fan of each one of these kids, because they’re going to be huge stars if their performances in Stranger Things are any indication. If you’ve been holding off on this series because you’re afraid to give in to all the hype, toss that hipster, outsider vibe out the window for just one hour and take a look at the first episode. If you’re not immediately hooked, I’ll eat my words, because I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying this show. August Playlist
So this has been a list of the different media I was loving in the month of August. What kind of nerdy stuff did you love last month? Let me know in the comments below. I hope you had an awesome month and that your September will be even better. Follow me on social media for notifications when I post new blogs, videos and updates.
As always, read on, Readers. Bye for now! Today’s Top Tips will be focusing on the art of character creation and development. Characters are the heart of any story, and the stronger the heart, the stronger the body, so we writers need to make sure we keep our characters in shape. There are many different ways to develop characters, and writers – as the free spirited and creative souls we are – tend to find our own way when it comes to rules and guidelines. But one of the best ways to develop your craft, whatever craft that may be, is to learn from many different people, and collect habits you like, so you can use them to your advantage. Today I’m going to list a few of my writing habits and guidelines so that you can collect the ones that work for you and use them to improve your own characters and story worlds. Here are my top tips for character creation: - Five -One of the most useful ideas that I put to use in character creation is the use of music to paint a more concrete image of a character in my head. Music has a profound effect on the way the listener feels and the images that are invoked inside their mind’s eye. A dark, slow ballad is going to invoke a much different feeling than a bright, energetic pop song. These emotional qualities affect the selection of music listeners that gravitate toward each song. Of course, there are people who listen to varying types of music, enjoying wide varieties of songs and artists, regardless of genre and sound. However, in most cases, the songs a person decides to listen to on a daily basis are impacted by their mood; which is why selecting music you think your character would listen to will help you to create an in-depth vision of their personality and moods. - Four -My process of character creation involves a lot of visualization because I am a very visual person. I find it very helpful to have a complete picture inside my head of my character’s appearance, way of dress, manner of movements, facial expressions, and anything that can help create a three dimensional image of them. One of the things that helps me to achieve this image is pictures; pictures of people who resemble my character and their mannerisms, pictures of clothing they would wear, pictures of homes they might like to live in; because as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, and having pictures can help to fill in fuzzy or missing details about your character. - Three -Another helpful bit of character creation theory that can really help to create dimensional characters is recording facts about their personality, lifestyle, appearance, history, habits, and all details of their personal lives. Something that can help you with this process – which can get lengthy, especially when it comes to main characters – is a character sheet. A character sheet is a table that is laid out with questions about your character that you can fill in to create a template for their personality. This can include as little or as much information as you deem necessary, but the more detailed it is the more effective it will be. (Here is a link to a detailed character sheet that I have been using for my own character creation, it has been invaluable. [Link]) Beside that, there is also the idea of creating 5 – 10 Character Facts to Expand On. I like to list these facts at the end of my character sheet, as a place to put all the facts together and create concrete ideas that I can build from when writing my manuscript. These can be facts about their personal beliefs, daily habits, hobbies, interests, career path, or any facts that you feel are important pieces of character information. Example Tip: “Ron was a practicing Christian for many years, going to church every Sunday and saying his prayers every single night since he was old enough to learn the words. But recently Ron has lapsed in his faith of the lord due to the loss of his wife and child in a tragic accident. He is on a mission to restore his faith and find peace with the Lord so he can start a process of healing from this terrible loss.” Example Tip: “Moira loves to play the guitar and she is an incredibly talented musician. Last year she was offered a place in a very prestigious arts University, but was forced to turn it down. She thinks about this missed opportunity every day as she waits tables and pines for her lost potential.” These facts can also be expanded and detailed as much as you deem necessary for the character you’re creating and their use within your story. But the more you detail and expand on their personal story – and the more characters that you expand on in this way – the less work you might have to attend to in revision if you discover that your supporting cast has become a little cardboard. - Two -The most important thing about creating characters that feel real is to remember how real people, not idealized people, behave. Real humans often have many good traits that make them likeable and that make you want to spend time with them. But you will never encounter someone who is 100% perfect, and even if a perfect person did exist, it would be infuriating to try and spend time with them. They would be so perfect it wouldn’t seem real, and you’d likely find yourself annoyed that they never make a mistake or have relatable experiences. So the conclusion we come to is that perfect human beings are neither likeable nor do they exist. This means that to create characters that are relatable, likeable, or real, we need to create characters that have flaws. The people who are the most impactful in reality are the people who have overcome adversity and been forever changed. We need to create characters that do the same thing - or at least try to do that, even if they do not succeed. This isn’t to say that every character must be sweet and likeable in order for us to want to spend time with them, but they do need to hold the attention of the reader for a reason. They need to have qualities that make the reader inclined to follow them, they need to make the reader curious about their story and the lessons their experiences have to offer. The best way to do that is to create characters that are flawed and human, and that embody something that other people find fascinating. It’s important to remember these things, especially when creating main characters, if you’re interested in creating characters that feel real when you’re reading them. - One -Research is an important part of every storyteller’s journey toward expelling all the stories they have inside. One of the best research investments you can make on this journey is research that assists you in creating characters. Character creation is so vital when you’re telling a story, because the characters are conduits for your reader’s emotion. Without characters that effectively extract relatable emotion from your readers, you run the risk of the story falling flat for most people. One way to make a character relatable is to make them realistic. A great way to do that is to research the existing facts about human behavior, international customs, different lifestyles, and anything else that can add more layers of depth to your knowledge of human beings. The more knowledge you have about other people, different ways of thinking, different cultures and religions, spiritual beliefs, etc. The more effectively you can demonstrate different kinds of characters within your writing. Never underestimate the impact research has on creating a multi-dimensional story, because the more detail you can add to your world and your creations, the more effective it will be to your audience. Character Creation Exercise: Create 3 – 5 characters of random and varying origin. Create each one as if you mean to use them in a main character story arc and detail and flesh them out until you love the character you’ve created. Don’t concern yourself with what story you plan to place them in, just create the characters you love best with no restrictions. I challenge you to use some or all of the tips listed in this article; and if you use them, let me know how it worked for you and what you made of it. As a writer, you know what works best for you when it comes to learning and creating, sometimes you just need to be reminded. Hopefully you found something here that was useful to you and reminded you of something you already knew about your writing process. The most important part of writing is that you love your story and your characters, and that you enjoy spending time with them. If you enjoy it, chances are someone else out there will enjoy it too, so keep on writing what you love and putting your heart into your words.
Don’t forget to comment down below any tips you have on creating multi-dimensional characters that feel as real to others as they do to you. And as always – write on, Writers. Tru~xoxoxo |
What?Blog posts, articles, reviews, lists and more. When?
July 2019
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