Dream State writing...

The sky is a dark gray , the water is rising and the black waves are starting to swell. I notice that the water has almost reached the street and I turn around to the ocean to see a fleet of giant octopus, their bodies half out of the water, marching west.

I wake up, get my coffee and shuffle to the computer to start writing, and two hours later, I have two new pages, a new character, and I know what happens when my protagonist meets the man we have both been avoiding.

I am trying something new. I am trying to write from my dream state, before I log into the world and check e-mails and facebook, and read the news and think about exercise and the fact that I should clean the house and re-organize my closet and call so and so...and...and... The list of "should do's" is always long and only gets longer as the day goes on.

Writing from your Dream State is something that Robert Olen Butler recommend in his book on fiction called "From Where you Dream." It is a great book, and I am loving how he talks about the conscious and unconscious mind of the writer. Of course the conscious mind is the one that is full of lists of things to do, and criticisms to dole out when I actually start writing. It is incredibly strong and often not only overshadows but squashes the unconscious mind. My unconscious mind however, is capable of seeing a fleet of giant octopus, and not turning away in fear, but staring in awe as I run to the water and throw myself in, wrap my arms around the Octopus's giant head and let myself get pulled in and under, deep into the unknown, to see what else may be lurking there.