I apologize in advance for the length but this is a terribly exciting time for me!

Quick dream history: I just learned about LD's 2 weeks ago and first had to build my dream recall, as I hadn't remembered a dream in at least a year. After cutting down on my smoke intake and keeping a dream journal I've been averaging 3-4 dreams every night, with things such as dream signs becoming present as well as dream scenarios becoming more "reality" oriented with each new dream. I've lately been trying to WILD (rather unsuccessfully) but have found that by using MILD I can gain some level of awareness within my dreams.

The past few nights I've noticed how powerful the MILD technique has been on my subconscious. This afternoon was the greatest realization. After reading about "chain" dreaming earlier this afternoon, I went to nap and repeated to myself to "stay motionless and keep my eyes closed upon waking" (this worked amazingly). After doing the normal MILD exercises ("When I'm dreaming I will realize I'm dreaming") I've become increasingly aware of the fact that I'm dreaming.

My first LD: So I went to nap about an hour ago, doing the MILD exercises as I drifted towards sleep. I quickly found myself alongside a raging river. At this point I wasn't fully aware I was dreaming. I jumped in the river, for reasons unknown, and found myself feeling as though I were about to get sucked down into the rapid and drown...THIS is where I became fully lucid! As the adrenaline rush hit me and I began to panic, I said to myself "I'm dreaming! This is a dream!" I then told myself to float upward and out of the river...my body did as told! The last thing I remember was trying to rub my hands to keep the dream going but, alas, it faded and I awoke (motionless and eyes closed however, as I had suggested to myself before sleeping) which then almost immediately led me into a longer but sadly, less lucid dream.

All in all, my lucidity within the river dream lasted maybe ten seconds at most, but the feeling was truly exhilarating! I now need to try and make the dream itself more vivid, either by spinning or rubbing my hands. I feel as though the clarity of my surroundings could have been better. Is this normal when first trying to LD? Should I expect to have more vivid dreams as I go on with practicing?

As I've said, everything I've done thus far has only progressively improved, so I'm confident I can become lucid again for a longer period of time and hopefully with more vivid details! Any suggestions for gaining more detail and clarity on this part would be much appreciated! Heck, any comments at all would be great!

Finally, THANK YOU to all who have taken the time to make tutorials as well as leave some very insightful responses throughout the many threads on these forums. Without all the insight from others, I don't think this would have happened as quickly as it did.