This morning, it happened to me again. I had a dream. And not just any dream, a dream: one of those dreams that inspires a big, big story.

I’ve sketched out the characters from the dream, the scene, the basic plot idea, and I did a little research (it was a historical dream). Evernote (which I learned about yesterday via The Creative Penn) is my new friend. I haven’t decided if this is what I should write next, although what I was planning to work on is only slightly less sketchy at this point .

I’ve had a couple stories begin as dreams before, and so far, that’s probably my most common source for story ideas. What’s yours?

Oh, and if you’re wondering, the post title is from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice:

Tell me where is fancy bred,
Or in the heart or in the head?

But I’m not afraid to admit that I know it more from Willy Wonka.

I love hearing this from other writers. Where do you get most of your story ideas from?

Photo by Gravity X9