how to write a nightmare scene in a story
Much of the challenge of fiction writing is due to the inherent difficulty in expressing real-life situations using words alone. Missions can become exponentially harder as you add more fantasy elements to the mix. need extra effort to make some of their crazier components click in the mind of the reader. Even distant cosmic adventures like Star Wars or lofty magical quests like The Lord of the Rings have some sort of intrinsic logic that keeps them consistent, if I don’t want to say it’s terribly realistic. We’ve talked before about the importance of maintaining consistency in your fiction: regular tone, characterization, naming conventions… the list goes on. But what do you do in situations that require consistency? How do you apply logic that logic cannot? In other words: how do you write a “real” dream sequence?
What makes a great dream sequence?
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Dreams have always provided authors, filmmakers, and storytellers of all genres with compelling media to craft their magic. author Stephen King drew inspiration for his novel Misery from a dream he had on a flight; and director Christopher Nolan based the entire Inception film on the mechanics of dreams and the consciousness of dreams. I myself have also based a number of books and stories from the material that came to me in dreams. You’ve probably included the issue of dreams in your writing as well, at least subconsciously. After all, everyone dreams. What is more common in human experience than our vivid nightly hallucinations? But the chaotic and colorful nature of dreams – the same thing that makes them come alive and exciting – is also what makes them difficult to describe in a “realistic” way. fall into one of two traps:
Therefore, the middle ground must be found — and you’re in luck, because today we’re here to show you how to walk that thin line between the ground and the goofy. about to … daydream.Editor’s Note: For the purposes of this exercise, we will only refer to “real” dreams or dreams experienced during REM sleep. No drug-induced hallucinations, no illusions, no daydreaming, no mental quests, no hypnotherapy… just the varied garden dreams here.
4 Uses for your fictitious dreams
Like we said before, dream sequences need more than a page or two of small images. Dream scenes are scenes — and they need to act like them, helping to develop your plot or characters in some way. So before you start writing your dream scene, know what you intend to achieve with the dream.Read more: how to remove learned words from the galaxy s4Dreams can play various roles in your novel; Here are 4 ways you can use dream sequences to move your story forward.
1. Dreams come true
Maybe a character’s inability to synthesize certain pieces of evidence in her waking life, but amid the storm and chaos of a dream, the pieces fell into place for her. Or perhaps her latent desires, masked by politeness and a stern conscience in the waking world, are channeled into a living dream in true Freudian style. cannot be found while awake.
2. Dreams of internal conflict
A character struggling with an impossible choice could very well dream about it — and in fantasy style, my favorite example of this is the Amazing Spider-Man comic series, in which Spidey sees it. He is torn between two worlds… and when he dreams, the “light” and “dark” versions of his iconic outfit come to life and literally pull his body in two directions. difference. Remember: show, not tell.
3. Dreams foretell
Also known as a “prophetic dream,” this sequence gives a character a glimpse into the future as he sleeps. This particular effect can only come from hints of impending events — for example, a character dreams of a horrifying trial where gruesome evidence is presented against him, then awakens. wakes up and gets dressed up by his overbearing girlfriend — or outright prophesying. , this type of dream should be used sparingly and with extreme caution: if your characters can accurately predict the future with any consistent pattern, it can take the stress out of your story!
4. Communication Dreams
Also known as a “shared” or “linked” dream, this presumption stems from the pervasive (and fairly common) notion that people can somehow communicate with each other through their dreams. installation — Communication Dreams can be used to represent close emotional relationships between siblings, friends, lovers or simply to relay important information across vast distances without without the use of communication technology. Or if the dream isn’t really “shared,” it could allow one character to say something to another character she could never say directly, creating an emotional moment. Here’s the general rule for any kind of dream sequence: Before you start writing your dream sequence, ask yourself why are you including itIf you can’t further answer, “Because it would be great,” that sequence may not be necessary for your story.
Three tips for writing killer dream sequences
Now that you know how to use dream sequences in your writing, let’s take a look at some of the top tips for making those alternate dreams come to life.
1. Apply logic… Sort
You’ve probably heard writers and critics mention how certain scenes accurately capture “dream logic” or the fact that dreams seem to work on no logic at all. Write a scene first, one that your readers need to be able to follow — at least partially. In the same way that sci-fi and fantasy stories maintain a kind of intrinsic logic to keep the reader engaged and up to speed, your dream sequence needs to establish its own brand of consistent “dream logic” to make sure that the scene actually behaves like a scene. Even the most surreal and chaotic dream scene needs some sort of flowing line that ties it all together: sometimes like bananas, they still have a story to tell. decide that your story would be best served by a completely inconsistent dream sequence, at least you can be consistent in your contradictions. Essentially, keep the chaos to the same extent, and the events within will retain some internal consistency — even if they do fall apart at the seams.
2. Use Narrative Distance
You’ve probably heard of the classic “out of body experience” dream, where the dreamer views their own actions as if they were a spectator instead of “sitting in the driver’s seat”. Read more: how to make pottery. Well, there is a way to capture the floating, lunchtime feeling in fiction using a narrative technique known as narrative distance. in the story. Do your readers have secrets about the narrator’s private thoughts or opinions about the developments in your book? To some extent, does he or she have a distinct personality or even agency in the story? If so, that’s close narrative distance. also. Your third-person narrator can “hear” the full thoughts of all your main characters — or the narrative function is more like a camera lens, observing only the action on a superficial level. face? Or can the narrator only “hear” the inner monologue of a central character? Or maybe a select few? All of these decisions affect the narrative distance of your story. Well, to create that dreamy, floating feeling, just increase narrative distance in your story for the duration of the scene. If you have a first-person narrator, switch to restricted third-person. If you’re already limited to the third-person perspective, “expand” it even further — approach the cinematic, action-packed perspective we described earlier. dream too. “Zoom out” from the events of the dream, relax your character inside — and watch the mayhem begin from afar.
3. Use a small detail… or many
In my opinion, there are two basic settings for fictional dreams: First, there are dreams that take place in the vast void with very little detail and only a few specific characters and objects. inside them. This creates an empty, lonely and often eerie atmosphere, suitable for both nightmares and reflection. In this dream, a lamp should go from “a lamp with a yellow lampshade and base with a crouching cat” to “a lamp on a low table”.Be vague. Ambiguously angry. Retain details. Use sentence fragments. Leave gaps in your description for the reader to fill in: after all, that’s what they would do if the dream belonged to them! The other type of dream turns things into many aspects: noise, saturation, color, mayhem… These dreams feel overcrowded, broken at seams, difficult to orient without steps into (or into) something unpleasant. or divided mind. Keep that chaos in mind in your writing. Going into detailed overload. Describe things in a flowery or grotesque manner, especially things that would normally not be flowery or grotesque. Allow random, surreal elements to infiltrate the central story of the dream and ensure that these intrusions are as unpleasant as possible. Make readers feel uncomfortable with their descriptions. You may want your fever dream sequence to be unpleasant, yes – but not so bad that your reader will simply walk away.
One last thought
Don’t treat these rules like rules. The dreams are so scattered and mysterious that we will never pretend to know a right path to display them on the page. I will carefully prepare and equip myself to create a memorable — and dreamlike — experience for your readers. tips, read on: Read more: How to Reheat a Burrito: Goodbye to those sad, wet leftovers!
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