The true northerner., 1900-08-03
SANE ms sNIrits
Are All THAT the Ideas az Dreamiaud Turn
Gut To Be.


Every one has rea dat times of stor-
les or ideas Tor invention the result of
dreams said a well known writer.
who has produced number of clever
humorous shc-t stories and several
looks. DO not be taken in by them.
my boy. The ideas OF Dreamland are
only plausible but empty fakes.
Most OF my writing is done at
! night after the family has retired and
the house is quiet. When | finish my
work | go 10 bed, be IL two or fanr
O'Clock in the morning, with my brain
at the boiling point. Then | plunge
at once into Dreamland. | don't know
the way there or how TO get back. but
| always manage to return, probably
piloted by a crazy idea.
In Dreamland | get more ideas for
! good stories than | could write in a
| thousand years if | were ambidextrous.
That is, when | dream them they are
good. AS | dream ! say 10 myself:
U. II | were only awake that | might
| jot this down! This is the best idea
| have had in a year. What n corking
story il would make . But I'll be sure
TO forget IL when l wake up.
"One night in a dream | made up my
mind TO remember a certain story
had dreamed and write IL as soon as
/ got up in the morning while 1t was
still vividly impressed, in all its hui
morous details, on my mind. Follow
ing this, with the suddenness of the
turn of a kaleidoscope, came a dream
in which l was having a most exciting
experience with a purple mastodon
with long shining gold tusks. of which
was trying to rob him to make gun
rack for the reception hall | forgot
all about the previous good story. |
knew that l was forgetting it, and in
my puny struggle with the mastodon
] made a violent mental effort to re-
tain the story and at the same time
secure the tusks. Just as | got the bet
ter Of the mastodon / awoke and tried
to think of the story that | might get
up and make copious notes of II. But
the story was clear gone, and the mas
todon incident was so utterly foolish
that turned over in disgust and went
TO sleep again.
"One night / dreamed a most excru-
ciaingly funny story about the adven-
tuTe of a character called FiddlestiCks.
AS | dreamed il | reckoned ii at about
five thousand words, and knew every
word of it, so that had | been awake
| could have written ii word for word
as it occurred in the dream. It was
great, and, knowing my weakness OF
forgetting my dream stories, | resolved
to remember it, ! did remember ii in
the morning, and it was the most inco-
herent, silly stuff in the world. That
is always the way with dream ideas.
Again l dreamed a story. This was
the best of all. AS L dreamed it
thought what a sensation it would pro-
duce and what a reputation ii would
bring me, The story was complicat-
ed, yet simple and such plot as the
most ingenious intriguer could hardly
produce. 1t was full of situations both
humorous and pathetic, and the dia-
logue was witty, crisp and convincing.
IF | could only make notes of this,
said |, 1 would be all right, for | am
sure TO forget it by morning. Just
then | had a pad of paper before me
and a pencil in my hand. | worked
away feverishly making copious notes
OF everything and elaborate descrip-
tions of the persons in the story.
Now said /, III fool the dream de-
mon this time Then fen into a calm
sleep. When 1 awoke and while half
asleep | thought Of those notes. Where
had | put them? I got Uo and search
cd everywhere, but could not fiLd
them. had a hazy, tan,alizing mem
ory of the details of the story, but |
must have the notes | had made TO
write il as | had di can &C il. l seach
ed everywhere in an agony of appre-
hension at their loss. Then | woke up
again and found that the notes and
the search for them had both been
dreams
"My dream stories give me more
trouble than those that | conceive and
write while awake. They seem so
good when / dream them, but while
dreaming | know that they will be
utterly impossible and ridiculous when
] awake.
Don't believe these stories OF great
works coming out OF dreams. When
one is dreaming the brain is off on a
harlequin holiday-a carnival Of SEEM
ingly sane insanities."