Dreamtime
I had this dream last night, and absolutely must write it down before I forget. But don't worry, I'll be moving swiftly on to some musing about writing, if that interests you more, so do keep reading :)
So, the dream involved this guy called Mark. He isn't anyone I know IRL, he isn't a character from anything, he just sort of started to exist in my head. He had short dark hair, pale skin, and I think blue eyes, and he was very streetwise, the sort of guy you could imagine existing safely in a rough innercity area (I think he had a Manchester accent, but I'm not sure). But what was nice about this was that I had a complicated relationship with him in the dream. First, I met him somehow. Then there was a conference section of the dream, followed by me coming outside and finding Mark quite badly beaten up - so, I took him back to my 'place', which in the dream was this very nice little bedist sort of place (student-like accommodation??) that I don't know IRL or in fandom. At this time (I think - it's getting fuzzy), I discovered that I had been burgled and two pieces of jewellery had been stolen from my jewellery box. I was then called away, I think, and came back. And it occurred to me that I didn't trust Mark, whom I found sitting in my bathroom wearing not much at all and cleaning his wounds. Could he have robbed me? He then got changed, I think, and I went into the sitting room (which was rather large and nicely furnished; but it reminded me a bit of Harvey Court at Caius, if you've ever stayed there) and accused him. But he got all hurt, and it turned out he was calling the police and trying to help. So he was a good guy after all.
So, this dream sequence left me feeling a bit strange. I was desperate to go back into it and see what happened to Mark, and I did have a bit more dream with him in, but I don't remember it very well.
But it's made me think: I often find that in my dreams I have significant amounts of {stuff} that are just made up, as far as I can tell. Maybe they're combinations of experiences (but then isn't that the case for all imagination)? I've had made-up characters, the most significant of which are my sometimes-sidekick Fox (who's a very pretty but battle hardened floppy haired youth, who helps me fight zombies and vampires and occasionally warrior monks - and I was surprised he was missing from my recent dream where I was a spy fighting the Russians), and now Mark (who just felt significant, even though he's only appeared once so far - I hope he returns). I also often have made up landscapes, that I can't quite reconcile with anywhere real or on TV or film or in a game.
So, this got me thinking two things...
1) I wonder if it's possible to be creative in your sub-conscious? I can't count the number of times a dream has given me an idea for a story, for instance.
2) Story idea: dreams are really alternative universes. I now have this idea about a character who ends up being transported into one of the other dimensions, where everything is slightly different, e.g. the person he/she is happily ensconced with in 'real' life is horrible to him/her in the dream world, etc. Does (s)he try to settle into it as a new life, or try to get back? That's a Life on Marsy sort of subtext, I suppose.
So, the dream involved this guy called Mark. He isn't anyone I know IRL, he isn't a character from anything, he just sort of started to exist in my head. He had short dark hair, pale skin, and I think blue eyes, and he was very streetwise, the sort of guy you could imagine existing safely in a rough innercity area (I think he had a Manchester accent, but I'm not sure). But what was nice about this was that I had a complicated relationship with him in the dream. First, I met him somehow. Then there was a conference section of the dream, followed by me coming outside and finding Mark quite badly beaten up - so, I took him back to my 'place', which in the dream was this very nice little bedist sort of place (student-like accommodation??) that I don't know IRL or in fandom. At this time (I think - it's getting fuzzy), I discovered that I had been burgled and two pieces of jewellery had been stolen from my jewellery box. I was then called away, I think, and came back. And it occurred to me that I didn't trust Mark, whom I found sitting in my bathroom wearing not much at all and cleaning his wounds. Could he have robbed me? He then got changed, I think, and I went into the sitting room (which was rather large and nicely furnished; but it reminded me a bit of Harvey Court at Caius, if you've ever stayed there) and accused him. But he got all hurt, and it turned out he was calling the police and trying to help. So he was a good guy after all.
So, this dream sequence left me feeling a bit strange. I was desperate to go back into it and see what happened to Mark, and I did have a bit more dream with him in, but I don't remember it very well.
But it's made me think: I often find that in my dreams I have significant amounts of {stuff} that are just made up, as far as I can tell. Maybe they're combinations of experiences (but then isn't that the case for all imagination)? I've had made-up characters, the most significant of which are my sometimes-sidekick Fox (who's a very pretty but battle hardened floppy haired youth, who helps me fight zombies and vampires and occasionally warrior monks - and I was surprised he was missing from my recent dream where I was a spy fighting the Russians), and now Mark (who just felt significant, even though he's only appeared once so far - I hope he returns). I also often have made up landscapes, that I can't quite reconcile with anywhere real or on TV or film or in a game.
So, this got me thinking two things...
1) I wonder if it's possible to be creative in your sub-conscious? I can't count the number of times a dream has given me an idea for a story, for instance.
2) Story idea: dreams are really alternative universes. I now have this idea about a character who ends up being transported into one of the other dimensions, where everything is slightly different, e.g. the person he/she is happily ensconced with in 'real' life is horrible to him/her in the dream world, etc. Does (s)he try to settle into it as a new life, or try to get back? That's a Life on Marsy sort of subtext, I suppose.