From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction

In this book, Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler shares insights from his creative writing classes, emphasizing writing from a dreamspace or unconscious state rather than intellectual analysis.

He introduces techniques like dreamstorming—jotting sensual details of potential scenes on index cards—to access yearning at the heart of narrative, focusing on sensory experiences and the human condition in literary fiction.

The book includes sections on lectures, workshops, and story analyses, offering practical advice for aspiring writers to structure novels emotionally.