The primary story I've been working on is based on a very complex dream I had in high school. So far I have a beginning, middle and a climactic end; but part of me feels as though the beginning and end are very open ended despite brainstorming ideas to tie up loose ends or explain why the beginning is the way it is. Has anyone else written a story based on a dream? How did you go about this? Did you find researching your dreams surroundings helpful?
I had a writing assignment in one of my English classes when I was in college back in the 90s where the teacher had all of us write down a dream that was vivid and put the dream in poetry form. I don't remember the whole thing but it had something to do with me playing baseball in the woods with my deceased uncle and at the end he went upstairs to a garage apartment and told me I couldn't follow him. If I had to write a story based on that dream, I would have failed the assignment. What I have found useful lately is laying my story out in an outline following Nigel Watts' eight point story arc. (I have a post in the fantasy forum showing my latest story outline with this arc). Maybe plug in your dream in the different sections of the arc and see what's missing. Maybe once you figure out what's missing it will help you figure out what you can add to complete it.
I have a scene based on a dream. Does that count? I think the trick here is, the dream inspired you, but if a dream inspired you or a song inspired you doesn't much matter. The issue is now transulating that inspiration into a book. So, if the beginning and ending have issues. I would look at it like any other problem. Analysis! So, you said they are open ended. What aspect is open ended? If you can quantify the aspect that is the problem, a solution shouldnt be too troublesome. I hope!
I haven't written a story based on a dream, but I have written scenes based on dreams. My dreams tend to be kinda out there, and things happen with no rhyme or reason to them. I feel my dreams kind of play scenes better because they deal with emotions, whereas when I'm awake, my mind works with "would that logically happen?", "What would the consequences be?" etc. My dreams don't have rules, so I kind of treasure them whenever I have them, and I always make it a point to write them down as soon as I wake up. It might not help a specific point of the story, but it gives me fresh ideas to work with or a better understanding to what makes things and people so appealing