Hi, I'm new and have some questions

Hello!

I'm new to this site and lucid dreaming and I have been reading and trying various techniques on this site for the last couple of days. I love the idea of lucid dreaming and am willing to dedicate myself to learning it. I have tried both WILD and DILD and have been keeping a dream journal, but I have a few concerns.

I do get a good bit of sleep each night (at least 7 hours, normally about 8) but my sleep pattern is not consistent (~10:30-6:30 on weekdays but as late as 2 am to around noon on weekends).

My first concern is, while I could remember at least part of a dream 3-4 times a week even before starting with lucid dreaming, I have not had a dream that actually seemed "real" for many years, not even a nightmare. My dreams seem to be like projections, I don't really remember any emotions nor do I normally remember any senses beyond sight and hearing. I could be tortured and killed in my dream and wake up as nonchalant as ever. I'm afraid that even if I do have a lucid dream, it'll just seem as if it was projected and not real at all. Does this ability to have and remember very "realistic" (in the sensory sense) dreams also come with dream recall improving? Or do I just naturally have a poor ability to remember such details?

Also, when trying techniques such as repeating a mantra before sleeping and WILD, I cannot keep from thinking about things other than the technique. During the day, I ponder random things all the time, and I cannot help but to do that when I try such techniques. I've tried visualization and counting, but I cannot keep my mind busy enough to not shift focus to other things often. I often think about the current state of the technique too (such as "am I doing it right?," "is that HI I see," etc.), and get very distracted by any sensations. This tends to make me become more aware instead of falling asleep on WBTB-WILD techniques and only if I let my mind wonder will I relax (and then fall asleep). Is there any techniques or practice I could do to help this? I plan on starting meditation practice soon and buying a book, but I find the same thing happens when I have tried meditation in the past.

Does anyone have any advice on how to help fix these problems?

Thanks in advance!
Tyler