What is a dream? And how can answering that improve your writing?

[Jemini]

Dr. Jordan Peterson says that dreams are your brain's attempts to interpret reality, and they do a much better job than we give them credit for.

The idea is that when we tell a story with words, we tend to use a lot of specifics in our details and we focus so deep into those specifics that we loose some of the context. What dreams do is they cut out all those specifics and instead they give us a broader view that can encompass all of the context.

Thing is, you can only have one or the other when it comes to balancing context and specifics. We do such a good job with specifics in our day to day that we need dreams to give us the context.

The point in all of this, and why I bring up Jordan Peterson specifically in this, is because he talked about this in his study of ancient mythology. Primarily, Babylonian and Christian (old testament specifically, so I suppose you could say Judaism instead.) And, he relates these stories to dreams. Babylonian mythology finds it's echoes in every other mythology moving forward through history, and the Bible is the number one best selling book of all time. So, it might be worth considering this point of view.

So, the idea is to think about how this broader view writing, that is more heavy in symbiology in order to encompass things about the world that you might miss if you get too bogged down in the specifics. Try to drop some real truths that will resonate with the reader. Not by focusing in on those truths and beating your reader over the head with it, but by weaving it in subtly to the context of your story. Never the central point or focus, just something that's constantly an underlying theme or a thing going on in the background.

The trick in this though is to never beat your reader over the head with it. In fact, don't even draw attention to this. Let it be discovered. This is something that will only work if you manage to find a real truth of the world, and you have to be honest and not driven by your political hobby horse in order to pull it off. A message like "human cruelty knows no bounds" would be far more effective than "the white man's slavery is evil." (Actually, slavery is evil might just barely squeak past, but that 'white man' part is a specific, and specifics will make this effect dissolve and fall apart in an instant.)

Overall though, the point is to improve the feel and impact of your writing rather than to push a message. So, that "human cruelty knows no bounds" message is very unhelpful in giving any kind of call to action to your audience. Your readers don't want to see that. It will alienate them. It will loose you readers. You don't want to loose readers, therefore YOU don't want to put a call to action in your writing either. Just stick to the messages that create a mood and ambiance to your story by using these real world truths.

 

[Motsu]

What is a dream?

A series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep; a cherished aspiration, ambition, or ideal.

How Can a Solution Ameliorate Writing?

Dreams are like fissures or crevasses in this iceberg [of the mind] down which we can descend to a kind of shimmering, chaotic Antarctic landscape of beautiful and bizarre shards and sculptures. A rich landscape of wishes, nightmares, puzzles, and adventures.

Because of the unfettered nature of your unconscious, it can be a great source of creativity. Your dreams aren’t bound by the same rules as your reality because your unconscious does not see the world the same way your waking mind does.

You can find your muse in your dreams sometimes, finding the next painting, song, or novel to write and wow the world with. If you’re a writer, writing down your dreams might even boost your essay writing skills.

Alright, now that you know this, you can now become a better author! In addition, remember, if you put too much complication in ways of presenting people information, no one would bother reading the whole message and instead, learn from the simplest definition! Keep in mind - precise and neat distribution of information without any wrong grammar and spelling is the next step to becoming an author (also, workout and eating green vegetables works too!)

 

[Reisinling]

Dr. Jordan Peterson says that dreams are your brain's attempts to interpret reality, and they do a much better job than we give them credit for.

The idea is that when we tell a story with words, we tend to use a lot of specifics in our details and we focus so deep into those specifics that we loose some of the context. What dreams do is they cut out all those specifics and instead they give us a broader view that can encompass all of the context.

Thing is, you can only have one or the other when it comes to balancing context and specifics. We do such a good job with specifics in our day to day that we need dreams to give us the context.

The point in all of this, and why I bring up Jordan Peterson specifically in this, is because he talked about this in his study of ancient mythology. Primarily, Babylonian and Christian (old testament specifically, so I suppose you could say Judaism instead.) And, he relates these stories to dreams. Babylonian mythology finds it's echoes in every other mythology moving forward through history, and the Bible is the number one best selling book of all time. So, it might be worth considering this point of view.

So, the idea is to think about how this broader view writing, that is more heavy in symbiology in order to encompass things about the world that you might miss if you get too bogged down in the specifics. Try to drop some real truths that will resonate with the reader. Not by focusing in on those truths and beating your reader over the head with it, but by weaving it in subtly to the context of your story. Never the central point or focus, just something that's constantly an underlying theme or a thing going on in the background.

The trick in this though is to never beat your reader over the head with it. In fact, don't even draw attention to this. Let it be discovered. This is something that will only work if you manage to find a real truth of the world, and you have to be honest and not driven by your political hobby horse in order to pull it off. A message like "human cruelty knows no bounds" would be far more effective than "the white man's slavery is evil." (Actually, slavery is evil might just barely squeak past, but that 'white man' part is a specific, and specifics will make this effect dissolve and fall apart in an instant.)

Overall though, the point is to improve the feel and impact of your writing rather than to push a message. So, that "human cruelty knows no bounds" message is very unhelpful in giving any kind of call to action to your audience. Your readers don't want to see that. It will alienate them. It will loose you readers. You don't want to loose readers, therefore YOU don't want to put a call to action in your writing either. Just stick to the messages that create a mood and ambiance to your story by using these real world truths.

1. One look at top selling charts of movies/music/books (even here on SH) should be enough proof- subtlety is overrated. People love being hit over their heads with direct messages , especially ones that they agree with, or are just pleasant if they were true
2. I would strongly advise caution when listening to anyone talking about myths and what they symbolize unless they directly study the field. I'm pretty sure Peterson does not (checked his wiki page- no, preparing to study literature does not count) . What I mean by that is that contrary to our opinions, most of those were not set in stone and changed a lot over time, as recently as XX century (look at how story of Midas changed for example, or how old testament If I remember correctly wasn't finalized until VI century I think?). Actually the way you just described history of mythology confirmed my earlier suspicions, that he has read a lot of early comparative mythology authors, who, thanks to the progress in the field, we know were very wrong about most of it (and pop psych-myth stuff, like jung or freud, or hero with 1000 faces, jesus that book is terrible). And to make it clear- I don't know much about Peterson, I've skimmed through his book on habits or sth, it seemed okay, but then I also saw part of his debate with Zizek.. and he was terrible. And I don't like Zizek (or communism).
3. How many people that own the bible have actually read it? The point of it being the best selling book of all time is a bad point, when you take into consideration the historical context of how it got there. It's a bit like including games that were always bundled with nintendo Wii in the best selling game of all time rankings
4. I would like to believe that stories and culture have greater value than just entertainment.. but as I get older it seems to me that it's very rare. As in, I'm starting to think that all stories of "this book changed my life!" are just result of statistics- if million people read a book, 10 of them are going to read it at the same time they were about to change their life for the better due to other, less visible factors, and then post hoc rationalize their belief. I hope that's not true..

All in all, what is a dream is what I'm planning on exploring in later arcs of my novel. I just got bogged down with the standard isekai stuff for now :D

 

[witch_sorrowful]

Dreams are just random neurons firing in your head while you sleep. Why you remember some dreams more than others is a more complex question. I do not put much stock in them.

As far as how Dreams relate to writing - well, I don't think they do.

Other art forms might - certainly Dali used his "paranoiac-critical" method in which he would wait till he was just asleep and then wake up to find the imagery for his art. But that has rarely transferred to writing good fiction.

I guess the only except being Cujo, which Stephen King doesn't remember writing much because he was so high on cocaine.

As far as symbolism and interpretation of symbolism is concerned - I don't really like it. With exceptions of course. I feel Dan Brown did it and didn't do it well. His symbols are very high on the nose. An excellent book using symbolism to tell a story is The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco.
There are other authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who puts in allegory and symbolism so fucking masterfully that I just hang my jaw.

Yes, I agree with the final idea that even in cases of telling your point in stories, it is still better to SHOW NOT TELL.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Thanks for the tips! I will take some time to digest them as I enjoy my maternity leave.

 

[MadmanRB]

Dreams are just random neurons firing in your head while you sleep. Why you remember some dreams more than others is a more complex question. I do not put much stock in them.

As far as how Dreams relate to writing - well, I don't think they do.

Other art forms might - certainly Dali used his "paranoiac-critical" method in which he would wait till he was just asleep and then wake up to find the imagery for his art. But that has rarely transferred to writing good fiction.

I guess the only except being Cujo, which Stephen King doesn't remember writing much because he was so high on cocaine.

As far as symbolism and interpretation of symbolism is concerned - I don't really like it. With exceptions of course. I feel Dan Brown did it and didn't do it well. His symbols are very high on the nose. An excellent book using symbolism to tell a story is The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco.
There are other authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who puts in allegory and symbolism so fucking masterfully that I just hang my jaw.

Yes, I agree with the final idea that even in cases of telling your point in stories, it is still better to SHOW NOT TELL.

Well I have seen dream sequences done both very well and quite poorly, for me if I am going to do one I usually tie it into my characters somehow, so it doesn't feel wasted and there for fluff.
Granted I have seen entire movies play with dreams in fun and interesting ways, Dreamscape is one as is Inception, Jacobs Ladder and Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful dreamer.

 

[COLOC_Kid]

Dreams are just random neurons firing in your head while you sleep. Why you remember some dreams more than others is a more complex question. I do not put much stock in them.

As far as how Dreams relate to writing - well, I don't think they do.

Other art forms might - certainly Dali used his "paranoiac-critical" method in which he would wait till he was just asleep and then wake up to find the imagery for his art. But that has rarely transferred to writing good fiction.

I guess the only except being Cujo, which Stephen King doesn't remember writing much because he was so high on cocaine.

As far as symbolism and interpretation of symbolism is concerned - I don't really like it. With exceptions of course. I feel Dan Brown did it and didn't do it well. His symbols are very high on the nose. An excellent book using symbolism to tell a story is The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco.
There are other authors such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who puts in allegory and symbolism so fucking masterfully that I just hang my jaw.

Yes, I agree with the final idea that even in cases of telling your point in stories, it is still better to SHOW NOT TELL.

Not randomly, nothing about our brain is random. the neurons firing is how your brain sequences memories. When you remember dreams it means that your brain is storing serious matters that elicit a high emotional response(nightmares are included in this category).

 

[Businesssn]

i do not dream, well haven’t had one in awhile. Usually my ideas are from shower thoughts or bathroom thoughts

Also all my dream I’ve had were um. . . Kinda non-legal stuff which if I say I would be breaking a few forum rules

 

[witch_sorrowful]

... play with dreams in fun and interesting ways, Dreamscape is one as is Inception, Jacobs Ladder and Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful dreamer.

A classic good series where it is used in an interesting way is The Wheel of Time. Dream walking.

Not randomly, nothing about our brain is random. the neurons firing is how your brain sequences memories. When you remember dreams it means that your brain is storing serious matters that elicit a high emotional response(nightmares are included in this category).

Uh, no. Your brain is doing maintenance while you're sleeping. So, it is not trying to fetch memories, just fetching memories in the process. Which is usually why the assumption that dreams "mean" something. They don't. Neurologically, no meaning in it. There is function behind dreaming, just no meaning.

However, as found by psychologists, people tend to attach meaning to it.

The meaningfulness attributed to specific dreams, however, was moderated by the extent to which the content of those dreams accorded with participants' preexisting beliefs--from the theories they endorsed to attitudes toward acquaintances, relationships with friends, and faith in God (Studies 3-6).

When dreaming is believing: The (motivated) interpretation of dreams. - PsycNET (apa.org)

 

[COLOC_Kid]

A classic good series where it is used in an interesting way is The Wheel of Time. Dream walking.

Uh, no. Your brain is doing maintenance while you're sleeping. So, it is not trying to fetch memories, just fetching memories in the process. Which is usually why the assumption that dreams "mean" something. They don't. Neurologically, no meaning in it. There is function behind dreaming, just no meaning.

However, as found by psychologists, people tend to attach meaning to it.

When dreaming is believing: The (motivated) interpretation of dreams. - PsycNET (apa.org)

yes your brain is doing maintenance but maintenance means removing or strengthening certain memories depending on how much their used. scientists have found that a full sleep can help nullify the effects of traumatic memories. In addition people with PTSD (also known as Post traumatic stress disorder) have recurring nightmares related to the traumatic experience as the mind goes through REM stage where it organizes memories and processes emotions. In truth I find that someone as educated as you doesn't realize that memories also count as something to be maintained.