They say hindsight’s twenty/twenty and looking back, I’ve noticed something. I use dreams—a lot. I haven’t done it consciously, it’s just something that’s woven its way into my stories, by chance or circumstance. A recurring nightmare to show that a character has been haunted by something for a long time; another slightly warped, Dada-esque type nightmare involving a bride seeking bouquet for comedic effect and my favorite by far, a cutely naughty dream I used to hook the reader into believing that my character is having a steamy poolside affair with a hunky foot masseuse whose name she can’t quite recall. I don’t use them to further the plot, or wrap up a story, but dreams are in almost all my stories at some point and time.
Why am I drawn to use them time and again? I have some vivid ones myself, especially during that state between sleep and waking when the imagination roams wild and free but awake enough so I don’t get those dreams with say a purple elephant like the one in the picture that speaks German in them, which jolt me awake and make me say. "Huh?" I either don't remember my dreams and am left with strange impressions that don't make much sense, but leave me vaguely disquieted or else I am haunted by them for days. Once in a blue moon, I have nightmares, though nothing as freaky as the painting shown above. If I have to have a motif, why not eels or ostriches? Why dreams?
A very dear friend did a reading for me once and told me I was the King of Cups. Now while it’s good to be king (uh huh thank ya thank ya verra much) I didn’t understand what it meant, except I was in charge, and I liked that! Then she explained that it meant I’m a visionary or a dreamer. Well, that explains my preoccupation for the nocturnal transmissions, huh?
Are other authors drawn to particular themes in their books, or am I the only sucker for sameness? While I never use them as a plot device, I like the un-reality of them, the whimsy in some cases, the contrast in others. The way they jolt the character and/or the reader out of their comfort zone, shifting them somewhere else.
For many, like mystics, and wise men and women, dreams or visions have been used as a form of travel albeit temporary to other places or even planes of existence. The only traveling I do with my ‘dream theme’ is page to page, chapter to chapter. I just hope my quirky ‘dream theme’ gives my stories a touch of whimsy that the readers will enjoy as much as I do.
Dream On,
5 comments:
Hey Jenna.
I think dreams can tell alot in a story that otherwise would be too showy or bland through straight narrative. But I've seen some books where everything happens in dreams, and only at the end of the book do the hero and heroine get together. That just doesn't do it for me.
I like to use dreams in my stories, but I limit them. I'm not as much a dreamer, per se. But they do have their place.
:) Thanks for the though provoking topic.
Marie
Hi Jenna
I love dreams in books but not as the surprise hook, awww she was dreaming all the time, LOL.
I like to use dreams to show a deep connection with the paranormal, as a communication device in paranormal and to show how deeply a problem is ingrained in a character's psyche.
Great blog post
Anna
Hey Jenna,
you do a great job using the dreams.
I agree with Marie and Anna both. HUGS
Thanks! No, I wouldn't dare do the "Bobby Ewing" thing, we all know how that turned out. The bullet that hit JR may have been the shot heard round the world, but when they aired Pam's 'it's all a dream' episode, surely that was the 'aw man' heard round the galaxy.
I love peppering them in the story though, lightly, like a seasoning. and thanks Catt! I'm glad you've enjoyed my dream theme so far. Of course, you understand my madness. *winks*
I just dreamed I had to host the MTV Music Awards but one of my cohosts got drunk and started yelling FREEBIRD! at random intervals. And oddly enough, that's something that might show up in one of my books.
:)
Jody W.
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