The Benefits Of Keeping A Dream Journal

I love dreams; they can be really exciting, scary or just plain weird. Dreams are so interesting because they’re stories made up by brain. According to Hannah Nicols’s article “What does it mean when we dream?” research studies suggest dreaming could be considered “a unique state of consciousness that incorporates experiences of the present, processing the past, and preparation for the future.” However, there is still much that is unknown about dreams. Whatever they are, they are fascinating and worth exploring.

Since 2011, I have been recording my dreams in a journal. It all started with a dream I had about a future where I got married. It unfolded backwards: it started with me returning to my home with my husband and my parents after the wedding, then I was on the train with my fiancé and after that I was on a platform looking for another platform where I was supposed to meet him. I woke up that morning and wrote the dream in my iPod notes app. Ever since then I have been tracking my dreams. This has been one of the most fun activities I’ve done and I’ve managed to stay committed to it for 8 years.

Here are a couple of reason why I think keeping a dream journal is beneficial for writers.

1. It Creates a Daily Writing Habit

Keeping a dream journal showed me that I could be consistent with and committed to something. If I remember a dream, I get up every morning, grab my phone and type what I remember. When I write an entry every day, I am following a routine. Routines are a result of habit-repetition, which is beneficial not just for achieving goals in our personal lives, but for writing as well. Writing a dream journal can form the habits necessary for any writer to complete a project.

2. It’s A Way To Practice Writing Details

Writing a dream journal helped me practice writing details. If a dream was vivid, I would practice remembering and writing as much details as I could about what I saw, heard, touched, tasted, as well as what I felt and what I thought. It’s important to write as soon as you wake up, when the dream is still fresh in your mind. This exercise encourages you to pay attention and remember details to recreate scenes.

3. It’s a Good Way To Reflect On Oneself

When you track your dreams, you will start noticing reoccurring themes and patterns. For instance, this year I have had a reoccurring dream where I end up fighting a crowd of people who hate me. Of course, this has some relation to my own personal fears and insecurities, but it is also a great source of exploration of the self and society. We all know stories are mostly based around questions we have about life. Identifying themes in your own subconscious can help you explore them in your writing.

4. A Great Source for Story Ideas

Keeping a journal has also been a great way to find ideas for stories. Stephanie Meyer said that she came up with the idea for Twilight after she had a dream of Bella and Edward. Even if some people out there would have preferred she kept that dream to herself, it shows how dreams can be a great source of inspiration. For me, I had a dream that I was on a vacation at a hotel that wasn’t what it seemed. It’s in my journal now and I plan to explore that idea some time in the future. Next time you dream, look out for interesting story ideas and log them down in your journal.

5. A Source for Answers

For several months, I had been researching and studying story structure and the “hero’s journey”, but it wasn’t until I had a dream where I explained it to myself that it fully clicked. Sometimes it takes your mind time to come up with answers to questions you may have in your waking life and dreaming is a place for your subconscious to work those things out. So breakout a notebook and a pen and write out what you dream. You never know if an answer to a question may be in there.

In the end, tracking your dreams is just a great activity to practice habits, strengthen your memory skills, and to explore our inner selves. Next time you have a dream, consider writing it down!

Do you keep a dream journal? Tell me about it in the comments!

Hi! Shantal here. I’m a writer and a storyteller. I created Shantal Writes to share my experiences with writing fiction. I also provide new writers with tips, tools, and writing advice. I hope you find something helpful while you’re here!