How do I get lucid earlier on in the dream?

I keep having LD's nearly every night (which I am definitely not complaining about) but it is right at the end of the dream so I only have a couple of minutes to do anything before I wake-up.

This morning I had a LD and it was at the end of a pretty vivid dream, but the LD wasn't that vivid. I rubbed my hands and I did a spin, but then the dream faded away. I keep having these, I suppose it's because I just get conscious enough by the end of my REM period to make me lucid, but then the REM period is over and I wake-up. This keeps happening...I've had longer LDs in the past, but the last couple of weeks I'll have about three in as many days, but they are really short...I think I'd rather have a long LD once a week than lots of small ones. Also, they don't seem as real as ones I've had in the past, more like I'm just dreaming I'm lucid (like that thread about "do we really have control?") and I don't have the tasks I really want to accomplish in my mind at the time.

So does anyone know how I can get lucid earlier on in the dream? (I'm not complaining by the way, I'm very happy I can have LDs at all, let alone 3 or 4 in a week!)

Jules

the only way would be to notice dreamsigns early in the dream, i suppose.

You could try dream incubation.

yeah, try WILDing. apart from two random DILDs, ive always had to WILD to incubate a lucid dream. try it.

Thanks for the replies, I think I'm going to try DEILD, hopefully when I see the dream is fading, I'll stay still when I wake-up and find myself back in another LD in a few minutes.