Do you dream? I don't mean daydream, those wishful thinking, what-if dreams of the daylight. I mean the dreams that take hold at night, during the hours of dark and quiet.
Sometimes I dream very vividly, almost startingly so. If I wake during the dream, I always believe that I'll surely remember "this" one because it is so strange/powerful/meaningful etc. And I seldom do. Oh on occasion, I will remember bits and pieces, but rarely the whole thing. And it's always interesting to me when something stirs the memory of a dream. It's like being in fog - you can sort of make out the objects around you, but they aren't quite clear.
Once, though, when I was hospitalized and on pain meds, I had a dream to beat all other dreams. I "saw" one of the main characters in my books, standing next to the bed. He chatted softly with me. I wasn't alarmed at all, but rather comforted by his presence. In the books, he is a wise and gentle man. So, it was not a surprise to find him so once he had stepped from the pages of the book into "reality". I have had other dreams about "him" as well. You see, I have a 6 foot mannequin in my room of this character that I take to Ren Faires to grace my booth. And occasionally I have dreams about him just moving about a bit, coming to life. I respect his wisdom, his knowledge, his compassion.
It makes it sound like he is a "real" person. Perhaps he is, on another dimension or something. Sometimes when I read his dialogue, I wonder where it came from. I don't have that sort of command of language. I am not that wise. I am not near that patient. So, it always surprises me to read his dialogue. What inner part of me is that coming from? Is it coming from the same places the dreams come from?
I have heard many, many authors who claim that their characters are, in fact, real, not merely a figment of their imagination. And sometimes I wonder - where are these characters? Are they existing in another dimension that we can only touch during our dreams?
JennaKay Francis author of The Guardians of Glede fantasy adventure series
http://www.jennakayfrancis.com
Dreams are an interesting thing especially for someone who seldom remembers her dreams. I can only remember one real dream I remembered every detail of when I woke. Sometimes there are fragments but what I do mot know if I have dreamed or not are those times when I'm having a problem with a scene in one of the stories I'm writing. As I fall asleep, I review what I've written and almost always when I wake the problem has unraveled and I'm able to complete the scene. Do I dream the answer or is there something way the unconscious mind helps one solve problems as they sleep
ReplyDeleteAnd sometimes I've received a new plot while dreaming. That's nice. It makes it feel like a freebie. LOL
ReplyDeleteI dreamed my entire first novel, so I know exactly what you mean! I've also had characters visit me, especially when I'm struggling with something. The most annoying, though, is when the story is just getting good and I wake up without knowing how it ended!
ReplyDeleteI wish I dreamed. Never do I have stories or characters or scenes appear while I sleep. It would be wonderful to dream a novel, to have the thoughts come to you. Wow. I must be a sound sleeper or something.
ReplyDeleteSometimes a character whispers in my ear, telling me about him/herself. That's fun. Maybe one day I'll have a dream to remember.
Thanks for the blog. Many characters have seen "real" to me, in the sense that I "learn" things about them as I'm writing scenes for their characters.
ReplyDeleteLike the one in a yet to be published book (Da Boid, Da Tree-Rat n Da Loser"), who "told" me he was a poet. I thought to myself--you'll have to be a pretty poor poet, since I can't write poetry. And, indeed, I worked in a scene where he read some of his poetry aloud, to the ridicule of his companions.
I had a character "tell" me once that he needed to die, instead of the character that I had planned. He was quite firm about it. I grieved as I wrote the scene because he was about my favorite character.
As for actually dreaming people I kno--in the broad sense--after my beloved grandmother died, I woke up and found her standing by my bedside. She asked me what I was doing with my life. When I didn't answer immediately, she yanked the blanket and sheet off of the bed. Then I really did wake up.
This is years later. I hope she approves of my writing!
Sherry Thompson