 | 1 Aug 06 |
I know I’ve mentioned before that I have some pretty strange dreams. There was that one with Johnny Depp living in my basement, and I repeatedly fail high school and realize that not only am I not going to graduate, but I’m naked to boot.
But last night’s dream was another doozy. In this dream, I was chasing down the FedEx lady because I had arrived ONE minute late for the 2:30 p.m. pickup, and wouldn’t you know it, she was leaving without MY package.
Mind you, it was my “first pass” or copy edits for my next book, BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, and it needed to go NOW or it would not be there in time.
Alas, she would not wait. And there I was, stuck behind a mother with a stroller while the FedEx lady hauled butt up the escalator. Oddly enough, she was not dressed like a FedEx lady, but more like a…a…a NEW YORK EDITOR.
I woke up in a cold sweat, convinced I had missed the last pickup and the manuscript was going to be late…Late….LATE….LLLAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTEEEEE.
That was one dream I was happy to shake off. And my editor’s assistant assured me the manuscript arrived JUST fine.
I know why I am having these dreams, although I have never really figured out the naked-high-school-reject dream (I graduated just fine, and wearing a cap and gown AND clothes underneath). I know it’s the pressure of this business, egged on by the intense deadlines I have been under.
Sometimes my dreams are more vivid than others, and I realized, after thinking about this latest dream/nightmare, that I use dreams for my characters a LOT. I still have dreams about my childhood, and so do my characters. When I go through something traumatic or upsetting, my dreams show it. I even have recurring ones that I’ve had for years, over and over again.
I’ve heard some critics say that they hate dream sequences in books, and I wonder why. Dreams are so symbolic, and filled with nuance, that a lot of what a character is going through can be fleshed out in a dream sequence. The important thing to remember, I think, is what makes a dream “realistic.” A realistic dream is filled with only bits and pieces of real life and a lot of color, some danger, and dashes of logic combined with total nuttiness.
You can say a lot with a dream.
Or you can wonder why the hell the FedEx lady has it out for you…..
How many of you use dreams, or have a problem with reading about dreams in books?
© 2006 – 2009, Natalie R. Collins. All rights reserved.
Natalie R. Collins was born in Logan, Utah and attended the University of Utah. She worked for eleven years at The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah's largest daily newspaper, before leaving to devote more time to her family. During the ensuing years, she wrote five novels. She also worked for the 2001 and 2002 Sundance Film Festivals as an editor. Natalie is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Romance Writers of America.
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I have those dreams you don’t remember, disjointed I can fly and breathe underwater dreams. The ones I do remember are the ones from 20 years ago that woke me in the middle of the night with my heart pounding in my neck.
As a reader, I love dream sequences. Why? Dreams are the vehicle of reveal. Dreams tell you so much about a character, their fears, past, some even portend what shall be. As to critics, well they are just that, critics the have to bitch about something.
Sheesh, even Dallas (I’m not into night time soaps, but who didn’t know about this) used a dream to explain away an entire season of change. Okay bad example.
by Cele August 1st, 2006 at 10:31 amNatalie, I’m worried about you and what or who you really have in your basement! As for me, my axiety often comes out in my dreams, but the dreams don’t usually make sense. However, I’ve had some bad ones, like dreaming my dad was going to die and he did. And I dreamed I would be in a car accident and I was–I was hit from behind so I didn’t make the dream come true. But those could be pure conincidence for various reasons. I have tons of dreams where people die and it didn’t happen in real life thankfully, so who knows. I don’t use a lot of dream sequences in my books that I can remember off hand.
by Jen August 1st, 2006 at 10:38 amHmm, I used a partial dream in GOOD GIRL GONE BAD.
by Karin August 1st, 2006 at 5:08 pmBut I don’t personally dream much. Except day dream.
Lots of my dreams become stories. I swear, I dream in full Technicolor – SurroundSound. They are like movies I watch all night long. Sometimes in the morning I feel like I didn’t sleep at all, I was at the multiplex. LOL
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