Everyone knows who Stephen King is and the books he writes. We also know his books are creepy and terrifying and brilliant in their own way. If you Google his name, you will find various discussions on whether his writing is pure genius or simply a case of the crazies. Is the guy nuts? I'd have to say a little--but not in bad way. Stephen King himself has said, "we are all mentally ill. [And] if we're all insane, insanity becomes a matter of degree."
Now, if you asked my husband, or anyone real close to me, if I'm a nut case, they will bob their heads and say, "Oh, yeah! She's a brick shy of a full load." But that's okay. I embrace these bits of crazy. I use them. I value them. I slap them into my writing, because lets face it, most writers have to be a little insane to keep doing what we do, over and over again. We hear voices. If that's not insanity, what is? I heard a quote once that said, "The only difference between a schizophrenic and a writer is that schizophrenics take medicine to silence the voices in their heads. Writers listen to those voices, write down everything they say, and then try to sell it."
But insanity aside, the thing I have often wondered about Stephen King, or any other horror writer for that matter, is how does writing about such frightening topics affect their lives, their dreams?
Those who know me also know I write about zombies--the good ol' slow moving, brain munching, mouth snapping zombies. I've been writing about zombies for well over a year now and they have taken over my waking day and have even started to permeate my dreams. There is actually a section in WANTED:Dead or Undead that is based on a dream I had a while back (No, I'm not pulling a Stephanie Meyer here). I won't tell you anything about it, because telling someone about your dream is equivalent to sitting and watching someone else's vacation videos. BORING. I also don't want to spoil that section of WANTED:Dead or Undead by telling you about it either. (If you beg, I might tell ya, though. Maybe).
But last night, HOLY CRAP, zombies crept into my dreams and terrorized me. No joke. I woke up at four in the morning, tears in my eyes--TEARS IN MY EYES--and I was scared. I actually told my husband (after I woke him up, because heck ya, if I'm scared I'm waking up the guy; that's what husbands are for) that I'm done writing about zombies. I'm such a wimp, I know. Let's just say the dream was pretty vivid and I was ready to throw in the towel. I was ready to be done. I also found out through this dream what kind of a zombie apocalypse survivor I would make--not a very good one. You wouldn't want me on your team. I cry a lot. (I discuss the 4 types of apocalypse survivors here).
Anyway, moving on, it made me wonder if other writers, especially those that write horror, have crazy dreams? You can't tell me that Stephen King sleeps like a baby, unaffected by the scary worlds he creates. Come on. He has zombie cats and maniac cars and crazy women and twin girls in his books. REDRUM, anyone? We all know that Stephanie Meyer wrote Twilight based on a dream, she's told us, but what about other writers? Bram Stoker? Ann Rice? Is this a common occurrence? It can't just be me (please tell me it isn't just me).
Part of me wonders if it is due to the fact that we writers are so busy during our waking hours, imagining and creating, that our brains (BRAAAINS) just can't let us be when we drift off to sleep and so we carry that creative process into our unconscious state of being? Do creative people dream more than non-creative people? These are the kinds of things I wonder and if I was a scientist, I'd love to research it. But since I'm not, and because it seems like a heck of alot of work, I will just ask you guys. You guys are super smart and know lots of stuff :)
What do you think? Do you dream about your works in progress? Do you think you dream more or less than your non-creative counterparts? Oh, and have you ever written a book based on your dreams? You can say so and I promise not to mock you.
Now, if you asked my husband, or anyone real close to me, if I'm a nut case, they will bob their heads and say, "Oh, yeah! She's a brick shy of a full load." But that's okay. I embrace these bits of crazy. I use them. I value them. I slap them into my writing, because lets face it, most writers have to be a little insane to keep doing what we do, over and over again. We hear voices. If that's not insanity, what is? I heard a quote once that said, "The only difference between a schizophrenic and a writer is that schizophrenics take medicine to silence the voices in their heads. Writers listen to those voices, write down everything they say, and then try to sell it."
But insanity aside, the thing I have often wondered about Stephen King, or any other horror writer for that matter, is how does writing about such frightening topics affect their lives, their dreams?
Those who know me also know I write about zombies--the good ol' slow moving, brain munching, mouth snapping zombies. I've been writing about zombies for well over a year now and they have taken over my waking day and have even started to permeate my dreams. There is actually a section in WANTED:Dead or Undead that is based on a dream I had a while back (No, I'm not pulling a Stephanie Meyer here). I won't tell you anything about it, because telling someone about your dream is equivalent to sitting and watching someone else's vacation videos. BORING. I also don't want to spoil that section of WANTED:Dead or Undead by telling you about it either. (If you beg, I might tell ya, though. Maybe).
But last night, HOLY CRAP, zombies crept into my dreams and terrorized me. No joke. I woke up at four in the morning, tears in my eyes--TEARS IN MY EYES--and I was scared. I actually told my husband (after I woke him up, because heck ya, if I'm scared I'm waking up the guy; that's what husbands are for) that I'm done writing about zombies. I'm such a wimp, I know. Let's just say the dream was pretty vivid and I was ready to throw in the towel. I was ready to be done. I also found out through this dream what kind of a zombie apocalypse survivor I would make--not a very good one. You wouldn't want me on your team. I cry a lot. (I discuss the 4 types of apocalypse survivors here).
Anyway, moving on, it made me wonder if other writers, especially those that write horror, have crazy dreams? You can't tell me that Stephen King sleeps like a baby, unaffected by the scary worlds he creates. Come on. He has zombie cats and maniac cars and crazy women and twin girls in his books. REDRUM, anyone? We all know that Stephanie Meyer wrote Twilight based on a dream, she's told us, but what about other writers? Bram Stoker? Ann Rice? Is this a common occurrence? It can't just be me (please tell me it isn't just me).
Part of me wonders if it is due to the fact that we writers are so busy during our waking hours, imagining and creating, that our brains (BRAAAINS) just can't let us be when we drift off to sleep and so we carry that creative process into our unconscious state of being? Do creative people dream more than non-creative people? These are the kinds of things I wonder and if I was a scientist, I'd love to research it. But since I'm not, and because it seems like a heck of alot of work, I will just ask you guys. You guys are super smart and know lots of stuff :)
What do you think? Do you dream about your works in progress? Do you think you dream more or less than your non-creative counterparts? Oh, and have you ever written a book based on your dreams? You can say so and I promise not to mock you.
