Writing Assignment: Describe Waking Suddenly From A Dream

by Randy Murray on September 24, 2010

If your goal is to become a better writer, you need to practice. Here’s your writing assignment for today: describe the experience of waking suddenly from a dream.

Dreaming is a universal human aspect. It is the part of ourselves that tells us stories from all of the things we see, feel, and think. Anything can and does become a part of the narrative of our dreams. The state of dreaming is so engrossing that when one is abruptly awakened from a deep dream, the experience is jarring.

In today’s assignment write a short piece describing your experience of waking suddenly from a dream. Focus on how you felt and what you experienced.

Here’s my example:

Too early, far too early, the alarm sounds and I startle awake and cry aloud, surprised, distressed, and confused. Consciousness is sudden, too harsh, even in the comfort of my bed. It’s far too abrupt. It’s a slap, a full body blow, like an unexpected ocean wave breaking over me as I turn to look out to sea.

You may leave your completed assignment in the comments section below.

Thanks to Mari Baskin for suggesting the topic of this Writing Assignment.

Click here to view and complete previous writing assignments

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The Writing Assignment: Describe Waking Suddenly From A Dream by Randy Murray, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

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1 Mari September 24, 2010 at 11:42 am

Am I standing on a gravel road? Or am I lying in bed? Am I clutching the puffy folds of my down jacket? Or am I clutching my blanket? Didn’t I just see the driver of the red sports car being shot repeatedly? His head slapped left and right by gun fire? Naw…he’s in the kitchen grinding coffee beans and I am lying in my bed, eyes wide open, heart pounding.

(Yes…this nightmare was my inspiration for the suggestion. Have a great weekend, Randy!)

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