Perchance to Dream

You wake up in the middle of the night, cold and shaking. What’s going on here?

You have just awakened from a dream, in this case a scary one. Did you know that most people have up to five different dreams per night. Some dreams last only a few seconds while others last up to twenty minutes, and they tend to get longer the more hours you are asleep.

Dreams have been seen as a connection to the unconscious. They range from normal and ordinary to overly surreal and bizarre. Dreams can have varying natures, such as frightening, magical, or adventurous. The events in dreams are generally outside the control of the dreamer, and can at times make a creative thought occur to the person or give a sense of inspiration.

Dreams are oftentimes where I get the inspiration for my fantasy short stories. Where else but my wildly vivid subconscious could I create far away worlds and situations?

Fellow witers, do you remember your dreams? Are they at the core of your stories? Inquiring minds want to know.

Where Do You Get Creative Inspiration?

At every book signing, one of the questions I can always count on being asked is: "Where do you get the idea for your books?".

My books, much to my publisher's chagrin, do not follow the current popular trends. If they did, I would no doubt be a more successful author. Instead, I follow my heart. My characters all have a basis in reality. Some are even modeled after friends (names have been changed to protect the innocent, she says with a smile and a wink).

I also find inspiration for characters and situations in the news. The short story that recently ran on my website was about a man who worked on oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Currently, I am writing a story about a soldier on leave in Paris.

Inspiration can come from anywhere, if you let it. Anything from a song to a movie to the weather can be the spark for a story. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein during a cold and dreary summer in Switzerland. Had the weather been better, would we have had one of the greatest monster in literature?

Imagination is also a contributor to creative inspiration. Without imagination, Jules Verne would not have pioneered the science fiction genre, and without science fiction would man have dreamed of going into space or exploring the oceans?

Over the years, there has been a mellowing toward certain characters as well. Anne Rice took the feared vampire and turned him into a tragic romantic figure. Stephanie Meyers took it a step further and made her character Edward Cullen a sex symbol.

So, my fellow writers, think for a moment. Where do you get the inspiration for your books? Share your thoughts here; inquiring minds want to know.

A Day at the Bookstore

As I wander through the bookstore, I see many different types of readers. Everyone is unique, but they do fall into categories. Below is a brief description of some of the people I've seen.

• Seekers – those looking for a specific book. These include students of all kinds and those who heard about a book (TV, radio, magazine, friend) and want THAT book.
• Grazers – those who love bookstores but don’t really ever plan to buy a book. They wander the aisles and just gaze at the shelves and displays, occasionally picking up a book to read the cover and then go back to wandering.
• Browsers – those who don’t need a specific book, but are content to roam through the aisles of the genre or topic they are looking through, i.e. sci-fi, romance, self-help.
• Campers – those who come into the book store, set up shop and stay there. This includes students who think the book store is their personal library, the homeless, those who set up their drinks, food and laptops and don’t move all day.
• Clueless – those with little to no specific information about the book they are looking for and frazzle the nerves of the clerks. "I don't remember the name of the book or the author, but I think the cover is red. Do you have that one?"
• Independents – those shoppers who would rather use a computer terminal than talk to a bookseller.

When I go into a bookstore, I try to be as prepared as possible, armed with as much information about the book or books I am looking for. If I am just browsing, I do my best to stay out of the way of the other buyers and booksellers. I step around those randomly sitting in the middle of an aisle, the ones snoring in the wooden chairs, and try not to squeal too loudly when I see a new book on the shelf by one of my favorite authors.

How about you? Do you see yourself in the categories above? Do you think there are other types of buyers? Leave a comment and let me know!