Creative Writing Tips: Dream Sequences

Many books, typically fantasy genres, have dream sequences. The reasoning behind the dreams can be used for different purposes, such as a premonition of what is to come. Others show the deeper feelings someone may have about a situation going on in the book. Sometimes, these dream sequences can push a reader out of what is believable given the setting of the story. Each person has their own view on what dreams really mean, whether they be the random firings of your brain during REM, the ability to tell the future, or some meaningful analysis of how you really feel. Someone who sees dreams as a way for the brain to keep you occupied while you sleep using jumbled together memories to create an environment may only accept the idea of dreams being clairvoyant in a fantasy setting. An author who sees memories as being clairvoyant may have that kind of dream sequence in a "normal" setting.

For the author, thinking about the reader may be difficult. While it it not assumed that an author should please anyone but himself, the very point of the dream sequence has ruin a reader's experience. There must be a point to the dream sequence, and if there is not a strong enough case, an author must consider removing it from the story, or conveying what may be important in another way. So far, I have only used a dream sequence once, in "Survival Tautology" to show the mental impact of what a person has gone through after living in a world full of zombies for so long.

Next Project

Now that Survival Tautology is out and available to buy, I have begun work on my next book tentatively titled The Immune. I don't really have a synopsis right now, but the setting is around a biological outbreak that wipes out 90% of the world's population. A small group of people try to make their way across America to find a future. Right now I am developing character profiles.

The only similarity this book has with Survival Tautology is that the human population has been decreased. Instead of a community that is stationary, this one will be small--I haven't decided on what size it will be. I played too much Final Fantasy 11 years ago that six always seems like the appropriate number of people for a group. Right now I only have ideas for four, so the number will probably be around 4-6.

ASC Cover Art Contest Winner

I am happy to announce the winner of the ASC Cover Art Contest is Nicole Binns. Her art will be featured on my book "Survival Tautology" scheduled for release February 6th. If you are interested in contacting her for further work, you can check out her website. Here is the winning drawing, and check out "Survival Tautology" when it comes out on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and Google Books.

Interpreting Literary Works

I have read a lot of literary analysis of poems, short stories, and novels over the past year. Each analysis finds some deep meaning to the literary piece; this can relate to some form of allusion, metaphor, archetype, or symbolism. What is not certain is whether the authors meant for those meanings to be there. If it is intentional, how well can their writing be if the purpose is so clear?