Tag: Wrting about dreams

Unfulfilled Desires

On By Terry ConnellyIn prompt, Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

            Do you remember when you were a child and your birthday was approaching? You anxiously awaited opening presents and not finding the gift you’d hinted about for weeks. You experience a range of emotions, from shock, disappointment and anger. Visualize your face and body as those feelings wash over you.

            Make the stakes higher. A dream position opens up and you believe that you are most qualified for the job. You’ve got more experience in the areas needed than anyone at the company. You’ve got a good relationship with the boss, or so you think, that will make you the number one choice. The problem is that the boss created the position for his nephew.

            Perhaps you’ve been house-hunting and the perfect one appears. You go to the open house and fall in love. You put in a bid, believing that you’re the best qualified since you’ve got a pre-approved loan. What you didn’t know was that everyone was bidding way over the ask price. The person who gets the house offered one million more than the market value.

            In each case unfulfilled desires have the potential to drag the person down a long, dark road.

            Your task is to write a story in which your character yearns for something, believes she is going to get it, then doesn’t. Make the stakes high enough that when things fall apart, the character spins out of control.

            Use both narrative description and dialogue.

            Have fun with this one.

Dream Encounter

On By Terry ConnellyIn prompt, Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

The term “dream” represents a variety of things.

A dream can be something that occurs as you sleep. Sometimes the dream is based on factual encounters which then spin off into uncharted territory. Many times dreams are complete pieces of fiction that include monsters, dark spaces, falling from great heights and discussions that never took place.

Dreams can also be wishes. When young we imagine ourselves as ballerinas, firefighters or teachers because those are the heroes in our lives. As teenagers we dream about going to college or trade school, of becoming engineers, mechanics or computer science technicians. Later on, we dream of marriage and family, trips and excursions and the homes we’d like to own.

Owning items can also be considered a dream. Picture the perfect gown for a dance, the sports car you always wanted to drive, or the collection of baseball cards that you once saw at a flea market.

Your character has dreams. Imagine a scene in which that dream plays a significant role. What does he want? What emotions does he experience whenever he thinks about it? How hard will it be for him to achieve that dream? What happens when he doesn’t?

Write using a combination of narrative and dialogue. Make sure the yearning comes through.

Have fun with this one.

Chasing Dreams

On By Terry ConnellyIn Uncategorized, Writing promptLeave a comment

I used to tell my students that everyone has dreams unless they’re dead. I’m not sure they understood my meaning, but every now and then I’d get a chuckle.

There is truth to the statement, however. We dream about all kinds of things: the perfect car, making friends, winning a game, buying a house. Hopefully we accomplish some of our dreams for it would be sad if we didn’t.

Your task is to establish a series of dreams that your character holds dear. Winnow the list down to the one you feel most comfortable putting into a story. Remember that readers want to share the emotional journey that the protagonist experiences as she progresses from dreaming to accomplishment. Or failure.

Have fun with this one.