E-Thesis 78 views 71 downloads
Lucid and Liminal Dreaming for Creative Writing: Interdisciplinary Investigations and Experiments / LAURA ROKLICER
Swansea University Author: LAURA ROKLICER
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PDF | E-Thesis – open access
Copyright: The Author, Laura Roklicer, 2025. Licensed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-Only (CC-BY) license. Third party content is excluded for use under the license terms.
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DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.69293
Abstract
This research aims to enhance creative writing practices through dream-focused interventions. It combines the fields of psychology, aesthetics, and creative writing, and consists of four studies. Study 1 reanalysed Naomi Epel’s interviews with 26 writers, demonstrating how non-lucid dreams contribut...
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Swansea, Wales, UK
2025
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| Institution: | Swansea University |
| Degree level: | Doctoral |
| Degree name: | Ph.D |
| Supervisor: | Blagrove, Mark ; Bilton, Alan |
| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69293 |
| Abstract: |
This research aims to enhance creative writing practices through dream-focused interventions. It combines the fields of psychology, aesthetics, and creative writing, and consists of four studies. Study 1 reanalysed Naomi Epel’s interviews with 26 writers, demonstrating how non-lucid dreams contribute to idea generation, creative problem-solving, and writing processes. Study 2 was an unstructured interview study, which expanded these findings through interviews with 26 writers, investigating the unique benefits of utilising liminal and lucid dreaming in creative writing. The final two studies were experimental and consisted of teaching writers liminal and lucid dreaming induction techniques, combined with creative techniques for dreamwork in fiction and poetry writing. These two studies compared short stories and poetry written before and after such interventions to examine their effects. Study 3 (n = 29) involved an 8-week intervention that took place online to examine how lucid and non-lucid dreaming practice may enhance the writing process for fiction, focusing on symbolism, emotional expression, worldbuilding, character development, and plot development. Study 4 (n = 16) consisted of a 6-week in-person intervention with weekly workshops, combined with sleep lab experiments, to explore the impact of liminal, lucid, and non-lucid dreams, N1 sleep hypnagogic experiences, and targeted dream incubation on poetic creativity. The findings of the four studies support the hypothesis that dreams can serve as a cognitive tool for creative writing, enabling unique associative thinking that leads to creative idea generation and problem solving. The research concludes with an updated Hayes and Flower Cognitive Process Theory of Writing incorporating dream-driven processes, and proposes a new model based on these findings, titled The Dream-Inspired Model of Creative Writing (DICW). The thesis concludes with recommendations to writers for how they can utilise dreams for writing and creativity. |
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| Item Description: |
ORCiD identifier: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-5178-8567 |
| Keywords: |
Dreaming, dreams, lucid dreaming, liminal dreaming, lucid dreams, liminal dreams, creativity, literary creativity, creative writing, fiction, poetry, sleep, N1 sleep, psychology |
| College: |
Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences |