Monday, May 3, 2010

Too Scary For Me


I had a bad dream last night. This is a rare occurrence for me. Almost akin to a Sasquatch sighting. I don't usually remember dreams the next morning, but this one I did. It was in the steampunk style actually, and I was held captive in an old Victorian house with a crazed killer. Let me add that I am not a person who enjoys scary books or movies. I relive the frightening moments when I am alone and vulnerable, and though I don't like doing this, I can't seem to help myself.

In my dream, I was trying to protect a group of children. We ran for our lives down a long hallway, and when we finally reached the room ahead, I locked the door behind us. I helped the children out a ground floor window just as the killer began breaking through the wood paneling of the door.

I didn't care for the way the dream was heading so my conscious mind stepped in. I said to myself, "To hell with this," and a shotgun appeared in my hands. This special steampunk weapon had an endless supply of bullets, and the evil villain was vanquished. Needless to say, the children and I survived the terrible ordeal!

This ridiculous experience made me think of writing. Do you ever find your WIP taking weird twists and turns you don't like? Do you read over your previous days work only to realize that you screwed up the plot, dialogue, or character development somewhere?

My question to you. Do you step in, like I did in my dream, and go back and change things then and there? Or do you continue writing, knowing you can fix things at the revision stage?

First draft editing is taboo, I know, but again, I just can't seem to help myself. What about you?

34 comments:

  1. ooh i would have found that dream exciting!
    My nightmares are all based around real things and family members or pets getting hurt

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  2. My WIP definitely goes in directions I sometimes don't expect. Most of the time, it's a good direction and I go with it. Sometimes, it's not a great idea and I don't wait for the revision stage. I just gently nudge my characters back a step.
    sorry about the bad dream!

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  3. I hate scary movies too! I do the exact same thing, and it always seems like when I watch them, I'm the last one awake in our dark house!

    I just re read something I had written the other day and thought "What the heck was I thinking!" But I didn't edit it. . . yet :)

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  4. It's only taboo if you think it's taboo!

    If it's a major change - yep, i go back. Cause if I don't - it will show. There may be little threads, little thoughts that I miss, that I forget about if I don't go back and change it.

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  5. That sounds like The Shining! But I do love it when I take control in dreams. There is something so amazing about our subconscious.

    It depends... I like to give my wips a long noose!

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  6. Oh, that does sound scary! Yes, sometimes I do find my MS taking strange turns. I try to sit back and evaluate where it's going and if it makes sense in the grand scheme of things.

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  7. I feel just like you do! If I see a scary movie, I replay the bad parts too. That's why I don't watch them either.

    Good for you to take the initiative and change your dream. I love when that happens!

    As for WIPs, sometimes I'll say, "I don't know if I like where this is going," but I keep at it until the editing stage.

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  8. Good question! Sometimes I do step in, and sometimes I follow it to see where it goes...

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  9. I've learned to keep on writing and then go back to make the corrections, because if I don't, I get discouraged and don't feel like finishing.

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  10. I'm definitely a step in and provide myself with a shotgun kind of gal. I have to go back and fix things, otherwise I can't keep going. One of my weird little type a things I guess.

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  11. Nightmares absolutely terrify me and leave me trembling and often crying when I first wake up. I think that's why I, too, have the developed the ability to step in and change things. I think it's called lucid dreaming--that ability to know that you're dreaming. The most lucid of dreamers can also change the course of their dreams. I do it all the time, but most especially with nightmares. Thank goodness, too. I think I'd be a mad mess if I couldn't step in.

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  12. I have to write a first draft without rereading. Otherwise I won't get it finished. So I leave it until revision.

    But I do change my dreams like you do. I usually have my most vivid and changeable dreams if I've woken up early and fall back asleep.

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  13. Cool dream! That would make a great book. I do the same thing in my dreams, and yes, I go back and fix stuff in my WIP as I'm writing.

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  14. I wait before I change things. I can't revise on the first draft.

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  15. I change things at the revision stage. I never let anything interfere with the flow of my writing the first draft.

    I had a bad dream just a couple of weeks ago and we thinking about posting about it too because i still remember it. I always remember the really bad ones.

    Jai

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  16. I have nightmares as a matter of course. I've never had a dream that didn't have a scary element to it. But when I'm writing, if I realize something is going wrong, I change it then and there, but I keep going in that I don't go back and change the stuff I'd done before it. I just make notes for myself and go back during revision.

    I don't think first draft editing is taboo. If you can make your first draft a little better by changing big things that you see going wrong, I say go for it!

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  17. I do that all the time. When I wrote my first draft I constantly did it but my first draft was taking forever and I needed to get my story out. I wound up just writing it and now I'm revising. And yes, I'm thinking what the heck was I thinking then.
    Hope you have better dreams. :)

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  18. Yay!!

    I'm glad you turned all Lara Tomb and protected these kids!

    (Did you eat cheese before you went to bed?!?! Tut tut! What would Mr Craig say?!?!?)

    :-)

    Erm as for revision, I think I change things then and there. I find I can't move on until I get the piece I am working on in the present as correct as possible.

    I guess a shotgun appears in my hands everytime!

    :-)

    Take care
    x

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  19. p.s. I did mean of course Lara Croft.

    LOL!! See?? Revision before I move on..!
    *Old Kitty does a swift exit, stage left*
    x

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  20. I'm first draft editing. Sometimes I push through. Scary dream! If I talk in my sleep it's when I have a scary dream and I'm trying to scream or shout.

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  21. I was just telling my daughter last night that I could control my dreams. When things start to get out of control, my conscious mind steps in and changes things, just like yours did. Only in mine there's usually magic or errr feminine wiles involved! ;)

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  22. My characters and manuscript usually try to turn the story somewhere along the line. Unfortunately for them, I'm a dictator and will get it back on track. I'm not big on deviations in my plan.

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  23. Yes! The subconscience is a scary thing, isn't it? Sometimes I'll dream like that if I'm fighting off a cold or if I've eaten chocolate right before bed. I'm so sorry!

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  24. Sorry about your dream, but nice connection to writing you made there! For me, it depends on what I need to fix. If it's a detail, like someone's name or age, I just "find and replace" it. If it's something bigger (like now I'm considering introducing two characters 5 chapters earlier than they're supposed to meet), I wait until I'm done with everything else and tackle it in the revision stage.

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  25. If I feel I need a major change then I will go back. Otherwise, I keep typing and write a note to myself and stick it to the computer. :P

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  26. I keep typing, perhaps only stopping to go back and make minor changes. But I make the major changes when I'm done with the draft. When I think of changes to do, I write them down to keep track of them.

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  27. oooh that was an exciting dream. Sometimes my dreams are fill of so much action, I think they would make a good movie!! hehe

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  28. ...sounds like I'm in the minority here, but I fix it before moving on. If not, it'll keep bothering me, like an itch I can't reach. Might as well take care of it so I can move forward.

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  29. I, too, almost never remember my dreams. And I agree with you about first draft editing. It is tough to avoid, but so important to get it out and then revisit.

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  30. I love scary movies and books so nightmares are common. But I use them for writing and I can run in my dreams now, it's awesome. I can control a ton of the outcome as well. It's great fuel for my Muse.

    If my WIP goes in a direction I don't like, I just go with it, if it's right for the story. Sometimes uncomfortable things must be told.

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  31. Scary dreams can be quite memorable. But use that feeling of fear of waking up in the middle of the night!

    As for writing, just go with the flow. It's only the first draft. There'll be many more. Switch gears in the first draft if you have to because you'll be back again and again to change it to your liking!

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  32. Hi Roxy!

    I edit while I go along. Yeah, I know: you're not "supposed to". But if it's major enough, I go ahead and write it. Besides, if an idea comes, why not add it in at the moment it comes along?

    I actually liked your dream, especially the steampunk element :) Sorry it was scary though. Those never make for a good morning!

    Happy weekend,
    Jen

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  33. That sounds like a very cool dream, but I can sure see why it would leave you quaking in your boots. I'm not one for thrillers either, and yes, I do often try to go back and edit my dreams. I'm not always successful though. I'd love to hear more Steampunk themes though.

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  34. After reading all the comments I find it interesting to compare all the differences and marvel at the uniqueness of the human brain and how it functions.Yeah to the creative processes!!!

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