Freaking Dreams

Usually, I try to be positive, try to look at the things I enjoy about writing. But on the other hand, one of the things I enjoy about writing is being able to rant about the things I hate about it.

More specifically, I despise including dreams in storywriting when they are used merely to impart symbolism. Dreams involving sleep, that is. Not dreams as in life-long goals 'r anything.

I have a couple of reasons for this, but the primary is thus: symbolism is supposed to be subtle, but dreams are not subtle. Dreams are vague and usually unhelpful, but not subtle, which only makes them even more annoying, in my opinion. They don't advance the story. They don't provide insight or background information. At best, they provide foreshadowing, but they're so obviously TRYING to provide foreshadowing/symbolism that the entire point of doing is rendered moot. It's a writing technique that's meant to make the story appear to have more depth or complexity, without actually adding said depth or said complexity.

And that is hack writing.

Though, that's not to say a story which employs this technique cannot have depth. A story can, of course, succeed in other ways; but it seems like a lotta folks mistake this freaking mechanism as one of those ways.

And I'd be remiss if I didn't also mention the fact that I, too, have used dreams like this in my writing. There's at least one instance I can remember, though there are probably others. So, yes, that's one of the reasons I dislike it so much. 's an old shame of mine, 'n I hate to see the same mistake made elsewhere.

Do not, however, confuse this idea with the notion that "dreams = bad writing." Dreams can be utilized in other, more effective ways. For instance, you can use dreams as a means of addressing conflicts within characters. Perhaps your protagonist is very worried about something, and that worry manifests itself in nightmares. Personally, I don't care for this technique much, either, 'cuz it's a tad cliche, but it's also at least understandable for a character to experience such things. Or, as another example, dreams could be a focal point of the story. Perhaps the concept of "dreaming" is a theme, in which case, all my hatred here doesn't really apply.

It's only when "dreaming for the sake of symbolism" comes into play that I find myself becoming irritated. "Dreaming for the sake of prophecy" also bothers me, but that's more attributed to my hatred of prophecy than of dreams. Though, combining the two certainly doesn't make anything better, I think.

And hmm. Maybe I'll do another post about the use of prophecy in fiction. But I'm not promising anything. I don't make promises. It's against my nature. And by nature, I mean laziness. And by laziness, I mean shut up.

The Zombie Knight, Again

So I finished the first chapter of The Zombie Knight. I like to call it "TZK." Not sure why. It's published in its own blog, which can be found by clicking on the title of this post or the link on the right side of this blog.

I'll refrain from telling you of my own feelings regarding the story so far. Seems like there's no winning scenario, if I do. 'n besides, I'd rather just let folks arrive at their own conclusions without input from me. As the writer, I thoroughly believe that I should be able to say everything I want within the story itself. If I'm unable to accomplish that, then well, that's my shortcoming as an author, and it's something I'll have to continue working on. But c'mon. Telling people what my work supposedly means is just plain cheating. Unless I'm lying. Then it's hilarious. And annoying. And thus, more hilarious.

But I digress. But you should expect me to do that. Seriously, I'd like to do that, one day. Like, if my work ever becomes popular enough to warrant some sort of big press conference, filled with eager readers who want to know what will happen in my next book, I'll just start spouting total crap, and then at the end of the conference, tell everyone I was lying and wasted everyone's time. Then laugh my way out of the building, perhaps running, if my fans are particularly surly folks.

And yes, I've thought about this before. Probably more than a few times, actually. Daydreaming is a rather troublesome habit of mine, occasionally productive, though usually counter so.

But okay, I'm digressing too much. Fair enough. Back to TZK, then.

I plan on publishing a new chapter each month, and over time, the chapters will probably grow longer and more... well, longer, anyway. Shouldn't make any crazy promises, I guess. Crazy promises are annoying.

Ideally, I'd like to reach a point where I can publish, perhaps, two chapters a month, but we'll see how things go, first. I'll only start doing that if I manage to get REALLY far ahead with the writing. It'd be cool, though.

And damn. Lately, I've felt so sluggish and unproductive, so it sure feels good to get something tangible written and out there for anyone to read. I mean, I have my doubts that I'll even have any readers, but still. Who cares about little things like building a fanbase, getting constructive criticism, or making money? I'll be my own fan, and I'll give criticism and money to myself. It's all about personal happiness, dammit.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to end this post here, but it's definitely not because I need to go sit in the corner and cry.