Robin Layne's Blog: From the Red, Read Robin - Posts Tagged "discussion"

How do you feel about dreams as plot devices in fiction?

I had not considered that there could be any problem with writing a main character whose prophetic dreams play a prominent part in a story. After all, there is a great precedent for it in the Bible, and I've run across it in what I considered some very good fiction. And I wasn't trying to copycat anything when I decided that the protagonist of my vampire novel (which is now a series in the works)has dreams that come true that help her in her quest. But just last night, a fellow writer shared a differing viewpoint. Are dreams in fiction boring? If dreams are prophetic, do they make it too easy for characters to do what they have to do? I spell out my friend's argument more on my Wordpress blog--and I would be delighted if she expands on it in her own words there. I would like to discuss this matter with as many people as possible, ideally people with varied viewpoints. I might have some of the discussion on Goodreads, if it draws interest here, but a lot of people don't have Goodreads accounts. Right now, I'm trying to centralize it through Wordpress comments. And I have included a painting of the dreamer of my novel, the protagonist, Mary. You probably haven't heard of her yet, since she is neither featured in the short stories I posted on my profile on GR or in the vampire interviews in the WP blog. It's about time I introduce her. While it is true that without the vampires, I wouldn't have vampire stories, it's also true that I still wouldn't have a story without someone to oppose the vampires. And if Mary didn't have her dreams, I don't see how she could deal with such powerful creatures of evil. So please, come visit RobinLayneAuthor.WordPress.com and don't be just a spectator. Tell me what you think as a reader, writer, and/or just as a human being. Your suggestions can help me to make a better series of books that we can all enjoy.