Dreams and Creative Ideas

I never gave too much thought to how my dreams might affect my writing until I found myself stuck for a plot idea in a new fantasy novel I've been outlining. I tried for days to come up with the right idea, by drawing, charting out my thoughts and basically tearing my hair out. Finally, about a week ago, I fell asleep frustrated, deciding to give up on the story. But then, I woke up early in the morning after having the most vivid dream about how my protagonist would proceed through the story. I crawled out of bed and began writing. I only wished I'd had some writing materials beside the bed because I had to go all the way to my desk and I could feel my dream fading fast.

Have you used a dream in any of your stories? I now believe that our creative ideas don't always stop when we sleep. Our sub-conscious mind continues to work for us even when we sleep. When we dream, our ideas filter from our mind and become our dreams. The trick for me was to remember the dream in detail so I could create a plot line from it. I don't keep a dream diary as some people do, but I am going to have something beside my bed so I can write down my dreams when I wake up. I think the more often I do this, the better I'll become at getting the details. How about you?

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I'm having cataract surgery during the months of November and December, so I'm not sure how well I'll be able to see to type and read. But I'll try to keep my blog going, especially for Insecure Writer's Support Group. Things have been slow because of my eyes, but after the surgery they should be much better. See you next week!

Plots and Sub-plots in First Person

I recently read an excellent article about sub-plots written by Anna from Shout with Emaginette. I'll share with you the sentence that stuck with me (slightly paraphrased):

If the plot is a section of fence, the sub-plots are the vines that grow upon it. The more vines, the more color and the more intertwined action.

I mulled that over for a couple of days, since one of my current projects is in first person. I came to the conclusion that in order to create those vines it would have to be through the eyes of the main character and how she/he perceived other characters and events. Her/his ideas, thoughts and feelings would have to react with other characters to create sub-plots around those characters.

Since in first person we only know what our protagonist knows, it seems the challenge would be to make sure the vines intertwined enough to create action so the story doesn't bog down. I decided to make one of my sub-plots around a secondary character who has an agenda to hurt the protagonist. In order to create suspense, I wrote him as being sullen and then openly hostile, but without any direct threats towards the protagonist. Also, the protagonist can overhear his plans as he talks to someone else.

It is fun and a challenge to work in first person. I'm hoping that all the vines intertwine and make an exciting story for my readers. If nothing else, it will be an educational experience for me. One that I haven't had since I was in my last writing class in college.

How do you create your sub-plots? Are they created around different characters? How do you relate them back to your protagonist?

The Dragons of Mar: A Trilogy With A New Name

The Dragons of Mar...

Is a trilogy I wrote during this past year but now has a new name. Because of issues beyond my control I made some changes to this series.

The story is the same as before, so if you have a copy downloaded, it won't be necessary to re-download another copy.

 The Dragons of Mar is about the dragons, and their riders, who go on a quest to stop a sorcerer that has usurped the throne of Mar. Each story tells a little more of the tale about Mar.

These three books are available on Amazon and Smashwords as ebooks. I hope you enjoy all three!

Call of the Dragon, Book 1

The Puzzle Box, Book 2

Dragon's Fury, Book 3

Now get a free copy of Call of the Dragon, Book 1 during the next 30 days!

Use coupon number: CL49X at Smashwords for your free ebook. Enjoy!