And speaking of remembering, I remember as a novice writer being told never start a story with your character dreaming. And I kinda understand why. I seriously dislike starting a story only to find out it's a dream. It's annoying. Same thing with television shows. It's like I've put all this time and emotion into whatever's happening to the character only to find out it's not real. I feel cheated. Of course, there's always exceptions to any rule. The mystery novel I'm working on now has a prologue that's a dream. However I make it plain from the start it's a dream. The dream also gives the reader some info that is important later. I'm still not sure if I'll use the prologue but it's there for now.
And speaking of dreams, I read an article this past weekend (I think) that basically asked how much you sold your dream for. Meaning, at one time you had a dream, yet you settled for something else. The example was a man who had at one time dreamed of becoming a chef but had instead gone into business. It sorta made me think about the things I let get in the way of acheiving my writing related dreams. I realized I need to be more focused on what I want instead of what just sorta happens. And, I find it sad when people give up on reaching their dreams because the journey becomes a little tough.
So, here's some questions for you to ponder. Please share your answers in the comments if you like.
1. Have you ever gotten any ideas from your dreams? Do your dreams ever connect with your writing?
2. How do you feel about dreams in novels? What about in movies? Do you use dreams in your writing?
3. Are you letting unimportant things distract you from your writing dreams? And just what are those dreams anyway?
