"In dreams weird things are mundane and everyday..."

Oooh that's a good'un. Yeah, i have a direct example of that. I wrote a story once called, "On Why People Don't Say Pardon Me Anymore, and Other Matters", which was about a guy that was the head of a cult, which was based on something he'd made up - and the things he'd 'prophesised' actually came true. This was nabbed from a dream I had where I was a cult leader, and I was insistent that the world was going to end, but rather than it ending in a bang of some sort, it was through a process of things disappearing: one by one everything on the earth going missing. And in the dream I turned to talk to someone and she was gone, and I thought to myself, "People don't even pardon themselves when they go these days, no-one has any respect for me," which was a bit of an odd thought, but caused that particular story to be written. Interestingly for me, Michel Houellebecq's latest book involves a cult (based on one that he joined in real life) which is much like the one from my dream, at least in its liberal views toward sex. But that part of my dream is probably for a different story. Everything I've ever written is at least in part inspired by daydreams. But that's true of everyone, no? I've always thought that about Bobblehat's poetry in particular, that it seems to come from somewhere quite a long way down a train of thought. Could be wrong though. Enzo.. www.thedevilbetweenus.com

I dreamt an entire film plot once. When I woke up, I spent the whole morning in a daze. I ended up taking the central character and using her as the basis for my first novel. The only fly in the ointment was that my first novel was utter bum. Besides, it wasn't as good as the time I dreamt I was the fifth member of the A-Team. (a genuine dream - it was really, really cool as well)

I do think the unconcious is a massive part of the artistic process, whether we like it or not. How often have you written something, maybe even just a tiny description, or a character doing something, to think it came from nowhere only to realise it had some significance to you? And I'm a believer in 'needing' to write... and the creative process itself being a way of transforming things from your past into something new and tangible, something you can 'rewrite' and control or accept. I have very vivid dreams and always have done. Recently I have been dreaming every night that I am running through the streets of Norwich and it feels really good. I am completely calm and can hear the steps on the cobbles and I just don't stop running. It's lovely. And I don't even get out of breath. (That's when I always know it's a dream) The 'best' dream I ever had was about 8 months ago. I dreamed I was on a bus driving through a 1950s British town that had been put in quarantine after a dragon flew through it and bit into all the buildings. This town was completely perfectly preserved - with scorch marks and teeth marks on the buildings, and chintzy curtains and bedspreads hanging out of windows. There were even these big pools of frozen blood everwhere. As the bus continued through this village I had this overwhelming feeling that if we didn't find the dragon and let it out, something terrible would happen in the world. So the bus took us to this huge swimming pool - the size of a football pitch - that was dry and had a lid stapled to it. Around the edges of the lid was all this very curly scarlet hair, trapped between the staples. It was then I realised this hair was dragon hair and that the dragon had been kept in the derelict swimming pool for 50 years. So we got the dragon out of the pool, and it was flying around everywhere this this huge green eye - and I could see that instead of scales it had loads of red hair. And as it was flying about, I pulled this small rock from the ground and found 'the world's oldest tarot cards'. They were beautiful. Really amazing, and soft and a bit furry from all the thousands of people who'd ever used them. And I shuffled them and turned over three cards. One was a grassy hill by a river with a star over the top, the second was a lute by a pond by a mountain and the third was a beautiful purple snake - which was a Good Snake not a biblical serpant - which coiled around the card and had the face and hair of (and this is where me reading too much Heat magazine comes into it) Angelina Jolie. Now, I realise there is lot of dodgy sexual imagery in that dream, and that it is totally LOON-RIDDEN... but it was such a cool dream. I loved it. And I am sure that the dreams I have are something to do with my writing... or that I need to put into an institution with 24 hour supervision...

Must confess... both Enzo and Fergs dreams sound like they'd make totally awesome stories. I guess my subconscious must be broken.

When I was 16 I dreamt I had a bubble bath with Noel Gallagher. It was such a slow, erotic dream that whenever I seem him on TV, even now, my face goes red and I have to cover my cheeks with my hand. If ever I dream about someone I always think that's what they're like in real life. Does anyone else find if they have a dream about someone - famous or real - they can't help but merge the dream version with reality? Or is that just me?

No Fergal is not just you...I keep having rather dirty dreams about Dec (friend of Ant)...now am unable to watch him on I'm a celeb without blushing...of course I blame Pesky as she pointed out to me last week whilst we were watching it that he has an enormous packed lunch for a rather diddy man!

Oh no! Did you - and that pesky pesky - have to tell me that? Did you really though? If I have any disturbing dreams about Dec or Ant for that matter, I will hold you both responsible. *shudders*

I think the most fertile time for the imagination is the time between consiousness and sleep, and for me the best place for getting to that state is dozing on the tube. It's a wierd sensation, isn't it? Like advanced daydreaming. Listening to Simon and Garfunkel on the tube home insipired something I've been writing called Anamysztike. Conversely, my ability to visualise anything is so poor that if I close my eyes now, I can barely picture this room in my mind's eye. Which makes hearing things about Dec's packed lunch a lot easier to swallow. Oo-er. Enzo.. www.thedevilbetweenus.com

As a musician and someone who is lucky enough to experience regular lucid dreams I've heard many ideas for songs whilst either in a hypnogogic state or a lucid dream. Most important thing is to jot them down immediately after waking so as not to forget them. In fact, I've recently written a Lucid Dream Induction mp3, designed to encourage those who would like to experience lucid dreaming. It's currently available as a free download at: http://music.download.com/luciddreaminductionmp3/3600-8500_32-100795586.... for anybody who may interested. I might add that it is currently number 9 in the top ten downloads for last week chart!! :)

Hmmm...wonder how much money I can make singing about Dec's massive manhood?

Actually, that hypnogogic stuff might not be such a bunch of jibba-jabba after all. Last week I realised at 1:30 am that I had four hours of anime that needed to be watched and reviewed by the following morning. I ended up having half an hour's sleep before I had to catch the coach to London, and all the way down, I was having all these ideas for poems and gags. Problem was, I was too knackered to write them down.

73p plus VAT I reckon camus.

Now the word 'swallow' 'Dec' and 'package' have been put into my subliminal thoughts... This is going to have a horrible effect when I fall asleep tonight I just know it, and would like to curse those involved in manipulating my sleep time meanderings.

Ah a recent revelation! I have never been able to remember my dreams until the past few weeks. Sleep too deeply I reckon. None of it is coherent, last week the first part of the dream I was in a magic pet shop. If you stood behind one of the shelves some of the more mundane animals disappeared and when they came back were imbued with powers, birds reading books, cats changing their skin, rabbits with flourescant teeth. The next thing I knew I was staring at a bible right in front of my face. The crease down the centre of the book moved further and further apart and the words all filed out like ants or fleas. I must have then thought, oh it's like the parting of the red sea, because all of a sudden God was talking to me telling me he was space between words and the bible a brilliant lie. (I don’t even believe in God!) The next thing I knew I was on an old train track with my sister exploring and she got hit by a train because I was not looking and then I was with my Mum folding washing and she repeated my dream back to me in Norweigen and I understood. In the same room my dead grandfather was reading in the corner and kept asking me to pay attention to keeping bad company. Something about libraries. I am not crazy, I don’t believe God was talking to me! All of it is nonsense, but all the same fun. I sadly do not find I can convert it in to anything even remotely useful when it comes to writing. Don't know about you guys, but I am much more wierded out when it is to do with the mundane and I can't shake off the thought that what I dreamt might be real. Bring on the fantastical! Vanilla pod Fergal, your dream sounds amazing! Span

"The next thing I knew I was staring at a bible right in front of my face. The crease down the centre of the book moved further and further apart and the words all filed out like ants or fleas." That is such the most brilliant image. Yours sound amazing - wow. The pet shop would work in a short story really well. I hope your grandfather wasn't warning you about my company (I hang around in libraries). I love dreams in other languages, especially ones which you don't speak, but do in the dream. Before I ever learnt to drive I used to dream a lot about sneaking downstairs and driving around my home town in my dad's car.

Yeah, it was fun! No no, not your company at all. Far from it, I think I know who he was talking about. I sincerely apologise for making you smoke! Span

Ah yikes - you didn't. I was just joking. I'm hilarious that way,me. I made myself do it and am glad too, because they tasted very nice.

When I have dreams that I feel could form the basis of a great book... it always sounds really crap once I've given the idea a few days to settle.