Screenwriting : Sleep Writing by Karen Stark

I've had the exact same experience - I'll have a dream where I am watching a really great film, then wake up and realize that there is no such film and that I just had a great idea. But, it being the middle of the night, I fool myself into believing that I will A) remember it when I wake up at a normal time or B) go back to sleep hoping to pick up the film and flesh it out more. By the time I do wake up, I realize that I can barely recall the details other than it was a great idea, and that going back to sleep only brought back the umpteenth incarnation of the dream of being late for class AND not having my homework done (a boring rerun!).

One morning I was so excited by a dream that I ran downstairs and immediately typed up the outline. I had saved it! And it felt wonderful. Sadly, I had hard drive problems a short time later, and my techie friend, affectionately named "Wipe the Hard Drive Shawn", decided to.. you guessed it, wipe the hard drive clean... thereby erasing my detailed notes. I have pieced together the outline again, but where I originally had four great beats, I now can only remember three. Bottom line, I need to get a digital recorder and keep it on my night stand. Next time I wake up in the middle of the night, I can dictate right into the recorder and then in the morning I can listen back and see if the idea was that great to begin with.. and if so, get writing.

I wrote 2 minutes of a stand up copied from a gig I did in a dream.

Well at least I'm not alone. Why do I kid myself I have a good enough memory recall in these situations. Note pad it is! I've spent all day on one scene trying to recall it as it was, and the gaps that stop it working are the missing links. So frustrating. I think it's because my semiconscious mind can develop romantic scenes where as my time hardened gnarled shell of consciousness won't allow it.

Sometimes what I think is brilliant in the wee hours turns out to be a garbled mess of "huh?" in the morning. But sometimes it's still brilliant so it's always worth the effort of finding a pen and paper. (Sidenote: there are pens with a built-in flashlight in the tip so you don't have to turn on a light).

Christi Corbett what magic do you talk of. Pens with flashlights! runs to google.

Karen, it's the BEST! There's a bunch of different styles on Amazon, some with the light in the tip of the pen, some where the middle of the pen lights up just enough to break the darkness, and some even give off a red or blue glow instead of eye-squinting brightness. There's a bunch of styles, most under $10. Totally worth every penny.

Karen Stark cellphones have apps that record.

Yes! I often have very cinematic dreams that follow all the major beats with twists, reversals, etc. I just enjoy them and don't bother snapping out comfortable bliss in trying to record them, no matter how brilliant :^}

Having the same way no matter which day or night time. I record the most memorable scenes/ideas or notice those.

Yep. That happens. When I realize that such a download is happening, I force myself to recall it in the moment, imagining that I'm writing it out as I review. That works better, but not guaranteed. Last year I wrote an entire quasi-horror script from a disturbing dream I had one night.

Also, I find it's most effective to do a bit of an affirmation before falling asleep to petition that fecund place in the cosmos where dreams originate for recall of any and all dreams.

haha! yes, and the only times I've written them down they didn't really make sense or sound good once I was fully awake.

Just maddening when that happens... and it happens to all us writers every now and then, alas. The human mind has a wonderful subconscious way of storing ideas, though. Fingers crossed that you'll remember your Stellar Story Idea, Karen Stark!

I had a dream about Mads Mikkelsen once, which I was more than happy to not wake up from, but that's a whole different thing Steve Cleary

Apart from being a screenwriter, I've been a film journo for over two decades. I interviewed Mads here in Helsinki, when he was promoting Casino Royale in 2006. Amazing guy, who wore an orange-coloured (!) Adidas track suit and chain-smoked the whole time. Very affable and cordial. Not surprised at all that he's become such a huge international star. I assume that you've watched the Hannibal tv series, Karen Stark?

Don't all Scandinavians own shell suits? I know two and they both own them therefore my logic has a plausible mean average. Mads is a very talented actor. He was great in the Hannibal series although as a series itself I can't say the last one was satisfying for me. He's great in Polar and The Hunted. I'm actually half way through a screenplay about a Dane called wait for it... The Dane!

Well, Karen, you know who to inspire the curiosity of writers, don't you? Mads Mikkelsen? What did you have for dinner!?

Philip I'm not saying I'm easily led but I would eat a human if Mads cooked it

So it's true that you're a humanitarian.

We are all gods creatures are we not?

I did experience this on multiple occasions.

I remember having an idea in my sleep, couldn't remember it fully when I woke.

So I kept an audio recording device by my bed just in case I have another subconscious moment .

Few weeks later I did, I remember waking up and dictating to my audio recorder. That's how I started writing my latest book/movie "mask of Hades".

When it comes out, best thing planet earth would read/ see. Lol

Also my behavioral psychology friend says ,if you go to bed thinking about various ideas regarding a particular work you are currently doing, you are prone to having more ideas in your sleep. (Some epic some mehhhhh).

Ps:This hasn't been proven fact, but

Oh no this is not catching me again! I fell victim to it on so many occasions. I eventually learned my lesson lol I make sure if not on book, then I jot the ideas down in my phone as I get them. I'm not saying "oh I'll remember" anymore, because I've lost good ideas thinking my brain and I were on the same page and it would cooperate and store them safely for me lol

A.S. Templeton is the Moleskine vital or are other books available? Perhaps the mole is a muse. next?

Karen, moleskin is VITAL. I have one. I know other creatives who have them. They are small, often red, and in the drawers of writer's across the globe. Trust me on that one. Get you one.

I have them Cherie.

I don't know what a Mads Mikkelson is but I do know this: If you check out my Twitter feed you'll coincidentally see the interesting product of my latest sleep-writing experience. I'm @storbang :^} #ineedsomefollowers