If you've known me off of SG you've heard me talk about my rash of nightmares over the last couple of years. I didn't used to have nightmares, in fact most of my life I was able to escape them. But since I injured my knee and was diagnosed with PTSD/anxiety they've become a regular part of my life. However, my mom brought up an interesting point that I've never really considered before. When I told her about one nightmare in particular she commented: "That would make a great story."
This created an interesting side effect. By trying to re-write my nightmare into an entertaining story it actually helped me deal with the rush of emotions that I felt after waking up. In a way it "de-clawed" the beast and changed the nightmare from something frightening I didn't want to think about to something creative I could create. Nothing ever came of it, the story went through several revisions before I finally just gave up but it was so helpful that I'm forced to wonder if that could be a valid coping mechanism.
So I'm going to toss this out to all of you lovelies out there in SG land. Use your creative outlets to deal with the nightmares you face. Hell, I'll even get the ball rolling with one I had last night.
I had been kidnapped by this self declared princess in some obscure country. This woman was a beast, she loved torturing people and gave herself the best of everything. She had taken over this country somehow and declared herself the princess but no one could touch her. The citizens tried but she just flattened them. She told me I was her husband but she only wanted me around when she was going to be in front of the press. Otherwise I was trapped inside this massive bedroom with a sniper that lived in a tiny alcove by the exit. One day, we're both being interviewed and the reporter is asking how happy I am to be married to her. She responds by telling him that I love it and we're doing all kinds of fun things together. I simply respond: "I'm going to kill her." The audience laughs and she beats the shit out of me on stage which garners a standing ovation. She prances around all proud of herself and we go home. Once home I dig up a knife and kill the sniper. he knew me so I basically just walked up, said hi and stabbed him. When Princess got home I killed her as well then leaped out a window and just walked down the street. People recognized me at first and I waved hi at them and kept going. Eventually people stopped recognizing me and that, somehow was how I knew I'd gotten back to America. I got a job working on cars and was trying to find my wife and child when someone approached me asking if I knew the princess of the other country had been murdered. I said yeah because I had done it. Then they told me they were from the state department and warned me not to go back because it wouldn't end well for me. He also said the U.S. wasn't going to do anything about it and let me go back to work. I woke up after that.
So what do you think? Could that be woven into a good story? I'd love to hear your input.