Echo this, about forty-three times. Too many writers find a dream a convenient vehicle for an info-dump. As such, a dream sequence becomes worse than the lamest "prologue" you've ever read.
caw
Why is starting a novel with a dream considered bad?
- Thread starter Exir
- Start date
- Status
Echo this, about forty-three times. Too many writers find a dream a convenient vehicle for an info-dump. As such, a dream sequence becomes worse than the lamest "prologue" you've ever read.
caw
In science fiction, fantasy, and some types of horror, it is really really important to establish the basic rules of the setting. The weirder the setting, the harder it is to work with, IME, and the more time you spend trying to get the reader up to speed without infodumping.
If a dream is done properly, it's a weeeeiiird setting. Objects are there only when they're noticed. People appear, disappear, and turn into different people without necessarily alarming the viewpoint character. Anything written down changes the next time you look at it.
So, your reader is going along trying to pick up the rules of this bizarre world—which is a different kind of reading, IMO, than that nice light adventure you take to the beach. They're concentrating. They're watching for context clues. And then *poof* the viewpoint character wakes up.
The obvious reaction is, "You cheater!" There is no world to figure out; there was no underlying logic. Now they have to reset, to start the story over again, in a way. And if they kind of liked the dream universe, too bad. It's gone.
Izunya
If a dream is done properly, it's a weeeeiiird setting. Objects are there only when they're noticed. People appear, disappear, and turn into different people without necessarily alarming the viewpoint character. Anything written down changes the next time you look at it.
So, your reader is going along trying to pick up the rules of this bizarre world—which is a different kind of reading, IMO, than that nice light adventure you take to the beach. They're concentrating. They're watching for context clues. And then *poof* the viewpoint character wakes up.
The obvious reaction is, "You cheater!" There is no world to figure out; there was no underlying logic. Now they have to reset, to start the story over again, in a way. And if they kind of liked the dream universe, too bad. It's gone.
Izunya
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2008
- Messages
- 1,876
- Reaction score
- 269
- Location
- In the age of Aquarius
- Website
- danitaminnis.com
Guilty...
I'm guilty of dreams!
My second novel is a supernatural romance and the opening page is where the heroine experiences a past life memory in the dream state. It's posted in Share York Work. Would anyone be kind enough to tell me if it works and is self-explanatory? I appreciate your time.
I'm guilty of dreams!
My second novel is a supernatural romance and the opening page is where the heroine experiences a past life memory in the dream state. It's posted in Share York Work. Would anyone be kind enough to tell me if it works and is self-explanatory? I appreciate your time.
Kind of late to this party, but I guess no one here has read ... or heard of ... The Reincarnation of Peter Proud by Max Ehrlich. Max must certainly have not had an agent who tossed his manuscript as soon as he saw the dream sequence in Chapter 1.
Last edited:
Umm...yeah. This thread is eight years old. Just FYI, the mods here at AW frown on necro-ing old threads.
I see you're brand-new. You might want to head over to the New Members subforum and introduce yourself. You'll get a proper welcome and a bunch of links to help you navigate this enormous site.
Hope you like it here!
ETA: The book you cite was written more than 40 years ago. What may have been fresh and new in one era can seem predictable and cliched after the passage of time.
Last edited:
Great advice from mrsmig.
The Newbie Guide is an important read, too, and one I heartily endorse.
Say "good night," little thread.
The Newbie Guide is an important read, too, and one I heartily endorse.
Say "good night," little thread.
Last edited:
- Status