 I know it may sound clichéd, but a dream journal can make a big difference to your dream life. It serves the basic premise you would expect, i.e. to jot down any dreams (including snippets of dreams) you can recall. However, there are other purposes and uses that you may not have thought about. My Top 11 Unique Ways to Use a Dream Journal 1. Note the dream-related routines you are carrying out, such as mantras, bedtime routine, and waking time routine. Include outcomes for each to monitor your progress. 2. Paste in dream-related news, stories, techniques, and articles that you come across. 3. Spend one minute upon waking each morning pondering your dreams. Write down what you recall in your journal. 4. See if you can spot how moods or thoughts from the day have affected your dreams, and vice versa. 5. List the dream-related titles and authors of the books you are reading, along with and any quotes, tips, or exercises you are finding helpful. 6. As you fill your dream journal, you are likely to find patterns. These can help you decide which areas to focus on and which to ignore. Or, show you important areas of your subconscious to focus on. 7. Take a section of a dream you have jotted down in your dream journal, and mind-map it for ideas. 8. Write down the results of various dream techniques you have tried. 9. If you are a writer, search the journal for possible characters, plots, and scenarios. THE DREAMING WRITER details various methods to help you do this. 10. Paste in pictures that remind you of dreaming or of dreams you have had. 11. Use your notes as a source to come up with your own dreaming tips and tricks. As you can see, there are many options open to you if the idea of simply retelling your dreams day after day does not appeal. Dream journaling can be enlightening, interesting, and exciting. And remember, anything you do that gets you thinking about dreams, works toward giving you more dreams. Are there any other uses you can come up with? Yours in dreaming, writing, and dream writing, Alicia Leigh :-)
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 Multiple people have told me that they never dream. As someone who dreams a lot, I find this sad, especially because it is a situation that can be rectified with a little effort. The benefits are amazing, too! Prolific dreamers find it easier to regulate their moods, consolidate their memories, and process emotions. They experience lower stress levels, less depression, and are more resilient. Furthermore, they have higher brain health and feelings of wellbeing, as well as enhanced creativity and problem-solving skills. Though the advantages of these things are obvious for writers like myself, everyone else can also benefit in ways specific to them. But if you have problems entering dreamland, what can you do? My top 9 tips for having (and recalling) more of your dreams Tip #1 – Stop telling yourself that you don’t dream. This is setting up a self-fulfilling prophecy care of your subconscious. The facts are that everybody dreams at least 3 times a night. Therefore, the problem is not that you don’t dream, it’s that you don’t remember your dreams. The following tips will deal with that. Tip #2 – Set up a new subconscious message. Instead of telling yourself that you don’t dream, flip the message. You can try a mantra in which you state that you remember your dreams “easily and often”. Repeat the mantra a few times before you go to sleep each night. Tip #3 – Think about dreams. Throughout the day, think about dreams. It could be the types you would like to have, ones you have heard others talk about, a dream scene you have seen in a favourite movie, how you will feel once you remember more of them, the benefits dreams can have on your life, or the increase in your imaginative and creative abilities. Pick something that motivates you and focus on that. Tip #4 – Avoid caffeine. Stop your caffeine intake in the afternoon. Caffeine is a known brain stimulant that interferes with the brain being able to relax and stay asleep. Tip #5 – Go to the dark side. The amount of light you have entering your room could be impacting on your dream life. Light tells the brain that it is morning. Hence, if you want to sleep well (and dream well as a result) then a dark room is necessary. Block-out blinds or an eye mask are brilliant ways to ensure you have the darkness you need. Tip # 6 – Bedtime routine is important. Do you have a bedtime routine? If not, and your goal is to remember more of your dreams, now is the time to have one. Going to bed at the same time each night helps set your internal clock – and dream – rhythms. This habit can make it easier for your mind to recall dreams as it has a pattern to latch onto. Tip #7 – Waking routine is important, part a. Much like tip #6, the waking up routine you employ is important, and for the same reasons. Start by waking up at the same time (or as close to the same time) as is possible for you. Then move to tip #8. Tip #8 – Waking up routine is important, part b. Whatever you normally do upon waking, whether it’s leaping straight from bed, mulling over the fifty things you have to do that day, or pressing snooze on your alarm and rolling over to go back to sleep, stop. Instead, give yourself at least one minute to quieten your mind so you can ask yourself if you remember a dream. Tip #9 – Read books about dreaming. Dreams come from our subconscious. As such, what you feed your subconscious will work its way over into your dreamlife. If you read books and watch movies or documentaries related to dreaming, you are training your brain to not only expect dreams, but to remember them – and that this is a normal, natural process (which, of course, it is!). I think that the urban myths surrounding dreams can make those who feel like they don’t dream give up. But as you can see from my tips above, it doesn’t have to be hard or complicated. You can become a big dreamer with time, patience, and practice. Check back next week for my blog on dream journals. Yours in dreaming, writing, and dream writing, Alicia Leigh :-)
 I have drawn upon multiple dreams in my writing and, as my post last week showed (12 Famous Novels Inspired By Dreams), I am not the only author to have done so. The dreaming world opens up exciting and never-before thought of realms for writers and can be used to thwart writer’s block, rev up the imagination, produce story ideas, and fix plot holes. But if you are new to the world of what I call “dream writing”, where do you start? My top 7 tips for using dream techniques in your writing: Tip #1 – Pay attention to any common symbols, themes, and motifs that appear in your night-time dreams. Is there an element you can expand upon in your writing? Tip #2 – Use part of your dreams as a story prompt or starter. Tip #3 – What is the main impression you were left with? There is a reason your conscious brain has latched onto this. Write it down and draw a “mind map” around it. Can the ideas you’ve gathered help you create a character, story, theme, or plot? Tip #4 – Take an aspect from the mind map you made and expand upon that further. Take another and do the same, and so on until you have no more ideas. Tip #5 – If your writing has come to a standstill and a boost of creativity or new direction is what you need, indulge in a bout of daydreaming. You’ll be surprised by the results. I recommend at least 5 minutes, with a maximum session of 20 minutes. Tip #6 – Daydreaming can also assist you with problems in your story. Think about the specific point you would like to address before you drift off in a daydream then wait to see what comes up. Tip #7 – Brainstorm ways you can incorporate an aspect of your dream into your current work-in-progress. There are so many easy, fun, and interesting dreaming techniques you can use to take your writing to the next level. Have a go at the ideas listed above and add your favourites to your writer’s toolbox. What other tips can you think of? Check back next week for my blog on improving your dream recall! Yours in dreaming, writing, and dream writing, Alicia Leigh :-)
 Photo care of Pngtree The writer’s mind is a strange and wonderful place where the real blurs with the fantastic in a symbiotic act of creation. Even so, it might surprise you to learn that many writers, myself included, draw on, or have used, dreams as inspiration for their novels. Some of the more famous examples of this are: 1. It by Stephen King (plus others) 2. Sophie’s Choice by William Styron 3. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 4. Interview With The Vampire by Anne Rice 5. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer 6. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling 7. Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach 8. Stuart Little by E.B. White 9. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson 10. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller 11. The Returned by Jason Mott 12. The Kinsey Millhone novels by Sue Grafton There are many authors not mentioned above as well as poets (such as Edgar Allan Poe and Samuel Taylor Coleridge) who have utilised their dreams in their writing. From this evidence, it is easy to see that dreams should form a part of most writers’ toolboxes. So how can you use dream techniques in your own writing? Check back next week for my top tips! Yours in dreaming, writing, and dream writing, Alicia Leigh :-)
“… Some say the soul of the city’s the toll of the bells, |
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“I have been braining up a storm, Lucy Lou.”
Those words came to me while I was wrapping up the final edits for another story I was working on.
I paused, intrigued. Who’s Lucy Lou? And who is the person speaking to her? What are they talking about? I wrote down the phrase and questions then left it alone.
After finishing up my other story, I set to work on figuring out who this character was and what she wanted. I soon discovered she was Lucy Sharnock. A woman passionate about old-fashioned coffee with a dream of owning a unique café. The person speaking was her best friend, Mallory Chambers. The two women were caught in a “love square” except neither of them realised it! Once I finished writing Lucy’s story (EASTER LOVE CONNECTION), I sensed that wasn’t the end for the people of Hallston, the fictional town I created.
Mallory kept invading my thoughts, wanting her side of the story set to paper. So I wrote EASTER LOVE MATCH, even though I wasn’t sure if it would become a book yet. Sometimes you need to write to make the characters happy! Of course, after the first draft, I knew I had another book.
I thought, “Excellent. Two books for a new series. Yay.”
Except . . .
As I was coming to the end of the second book, Pippa (Lucy’s sister) stuck her hand up (metaphorically speaking. These are fictional characters. Writers might talk like their characters are real people, but we aren’t completely insane . . . mostly!) to be in a book. Which was how EASTER LOVE REUNION came to be. Her story was hinted at in the first book, but I got to see her second-chances romance played out before me, and it gave both stories more depth. So I was grateful I’d listened to her.
The writer’s life is an unexpected, twisted-in-a-good-way, inspiring journey with characters and stories invading at the most mundane and most profound moments. The Easter in Hallston series was no different.
You will love these quick-read, contemporary, holiday romances with a guaranteed HEA and sweet storylines. They will keep you cozy as you snuggle up with a hot chocolate and chocolate eggs this Easter. Well, that’s what I’ll be doing anyway. Happy Easter, A.K. :-)
Those words came to me while I was wrapping up the final edits for another story I was working on.
I paused, intrigued. Who’s Lucy Lou? And who is the person speaking to her? What are they talking about? I wrote down the phrase and questions then left it alone.
After finishing up my other story, I set to work on figuring out who this character was and what she wanted. I soon discovered she was Lucy Sharnock. A woman passionate about old-fashioned coffee with a dream of owning a unique café. The person speaking was her best friend, Mallory Chambers. The two women were caught in a “love square” except neither of them realised it! Once I finished writing Lucy’s story (EASTER LOVE CONNECTION), I sensed that wasn’t the end for the people of Hallston, the fictional town I created.
Mallory kept invading my thoughts, wanting her side of the story set to paper. So I wrote EASTER LOVE MATCH, even though I wasn’t sure if it would become a book yet. Sometimes you need to write to make the characters happy! Of course, after the first draft, I knew I had another book.
I thought, “Excellent. Two books for a new series. Yay.”
Except . . .
As I was coming to the end of the second book, Pippa (Lucy’s sister) stuck her hand up (metaphorically speaking. These are fictional characters. Writers might talk like their characters are real people, but we aren’t completely insane . . . mostly!) to be in a book. Which was how EASTER LOVE REUNION came to be. Her story was hinted at in the first book, but I got to see her second-chances romance played out before me, and it gave both stories more depth. So I was grateful I’d listened to her.
The writer’s life is an unexpected, twisted-in-a-good-way, inspiring journey with characters and stories invading at the most mundane and most profound moments. The Easter in Hallston series was no different.
You will love these quick-read, contemporary, holiday romances with a guaranteed HEA and sweet storylines. They will keep you cozy as you snuggle up with a hot chocolate and chocolate eggs this Easter. Well, that’s what I’ll be doing anyway. Happy Easter, A.K. :-)
All three are available for pre-order now (official release date is 4th April 2019)!
Twenty years ago (1999), I completed the first draft of A TIME TO LOVE (originally named "The Reunion" and written under a different pseudonym). It was the first novel I had ever finished, and it took 3 years. The reasons for that are varied, I may write about it in another post, but today I wanted to discuss believing in your dreams. Even though I'd spent 3 years of my life writing the story, I didn't think of myself as a writer (sounds insane, I know!).
Who was I to dream such a thing?
In 2011, I started writing a new, highly personal novel that, ironically, came to me via a dream. It took 1 year to complete. At the end of that year, I had a decision to make: did I want to try and get the story published or did I want to hide it away in the writing box I shoved every half-finished thing I'd been scribbling for over a decade? I went with the former. Two years of constant rejection, honing my craft, and persistence paid off. I signed a contract with Pan Macmillan's now-defunct Momentum Publishing division. SEE HER RUN was released to the world in 2015.
That was when I began to think of myself as a writer.
In 2018, I couldn't get the memory of my first novel out of my mind. I pulled it out of the writing box, polished it off, and voila! Part of me still can't grasp that it is finally being published. It will be book number ELEVEN for the world even though it was book number ONE for me - something I never dared to dream when I first started writing that story. :-D
Keep dreaming. Believe in yourself. No matter how long it takes.
A.K. Leigh/Leigh Hatchmann/Alicia Leigh xo :-)
Who was I to dream such a thing?
In 2011, I started writing a new, highly personal novel that, ironically, came to me via a dream. It took 1 year to complete. At the end of that year, I had a decision to make: did I want to try and get the story published or did I want to hide it away in the writing box I shoved every half-finished thing I'd been scribbling for over a decade? I went with the former. Two years of constant rejection, honing my craft, and persistence paid off. I signed a contract with Pan Macmillan's now-defunct Momentum Publishing division. SEE HER RUN was released to the world in 2015.
That was when I began to think of myself as a writer.
In 2018, I couldn't get the memory of my first novel out of my mind. I pulled it out of the writing box, polished it off, and voila! Part of me still can't grasp that it is finally being published. It will be book number ELEVEN for the world even though it was book number ONE for me - something I never dared to dream when I first started writing that story. :-D
Keep dreaming. Believe in yourself. No matter how long it takes.
A.K. Leigh/Leigh Hatchmann/Alicia Leigh xo :-)
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Trust Her Heart is a romantic thriller, showcasing the effects of small-town prejudice versus the healing power of love.
Fresh from a broken engagement, reluctant heiress, Cindy Brown, arrives in Smithfield, North Carolina, looking for the ‘something more’ she couldn’t find in her native New York. She’s ready to shake up not only her life but that of the town.
Half-Cherokee police officer, Brad Collins, is used to his organized daily routine. He loves his job, his family, and helping his best friend run the local martial arts studio. Nothing could make his life more complete.
When Brad saves Cindy from drowning at the local waterfall, everything changes. They are unprepared for the far-reaching effects their growing connection will have. Cindy finds herself torn between the man she has come to know and the unsettling rumors she has heard about him.
As a division between the town increases, a dangerous battle begins. One that will either bring them together or tear them apart. Forever. Will Cindy learn to trust her heart in time?
Fresh from a broken engagement, reluctant heiress, Cindy Brown, arrives in Smithfield, North Carolina, looking for the ‘something more’ she couldn’t find in her native New York. She’s ready to shake up not only her life but that of the town.
Half-Cherokee police officer, Brad Collins, is used to his organized daily routine. He loves his job, his family, and helping his best friend run the local martial arts studio. Nothing could make his life more complete.
When Brad saves Cindy from drowning at the local waterfall, everything changes. They are unprepared for the far-reaching effects their growing connection will have. Cindy finds herself torn between the man she has come to know and the unsettling rumors she has heard about him.
As a division between the town increases, a dangerous battle begins. One that will either bring them together or tear them apart. Forever. Will Cindy learn to trust her heart in time?
Meet Cynthia (Cindy) Brown!
This reluctant heiress, and new arrival to Smithfield, is a fire-cracker set to shake things up. Not only for the divided town, but for one seriously stuffy police officer, Brad Collins, too!
Set before the events of SEE HER RUN and CRAVE HER TOUCH, TRUST HER HEART is a romantic thriller showcasing the effects of small-town prejudice versus the redeeming power of love. . .and the strength that comes from trusting your heart.
Release date: 21st June 2018
Pre-orders coming soon!
This reluctant heiress, and new arrival to Smithfield, is a fire-cracker set to shake things up. Not only for the divided town, but for one seriously stuffy police officer, Brad Collins, too!
Set before the events of SEE HER RUN and CRAVE HER TOUCH, TRUST HER HEART is a romantic thriller showcasing the effects of small-town prejudice versus the redeeming power of love. . .and the strength that comes from trusting your heart.
Release date: 21st June 2018
Pre-orders coming soon!
About A.K. Leigh
A.K. Leigh is an international-selling romance author, identical triplet, writing instructor, incurable romantic, love guru, self-love advocate, amateur mystic, mother, sometimes blogger and vlogger, and trauma survivor.
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