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Noble Romance Blog

Creating the Fictional Dream

Posted by Jill N. Noble on 10/31/2008
In a previous post, I talked about the fictional dream, but what does that mean, exactly? Simply put, it's the state of mind you hope to create within your readers. As the reader reads, he or she becomes immersed in your story world and if you're doing your job right, lives out the story through the character(s) experiences. This begins when a reader judges your character(s).

We spend our lives making judgments about other people. Whether we do so intentionally or not, each time we come in contact with another human being, we make a decision - even if it's just a preliminary one - about that person's character and behavior. These decisions are based on our own feelings and previous experiences. For instance, if you've had a bad experience with a tall, dark-haired, tattooed man, chances are, the next time you meet a tall man with dark hair and tattoos, he'll make an instant, negative impression on you. Eventually, if the man is kind, soft-spoken and treats you well, you may revise your opinion...or maybe not. Some negative experiences are too great to overcome. Our life experiences create feelings, and those feelings color our judgments.

The same thing happens when a reader first "meets" a character. Your job, as the author and creator of the fictional dream, is to tap into your audience's feelings and make them correctly judge your characters. If your reader doesn't judge your characters, for better or for worse, you may have boring, flat characters, unworthy of a second thought.

Of course, one woman's evil tattooed man is another woman's dreamboat. So how do you know you'll evoke the right feelings in your reader?

Well, you don't. Not 100% anyway. You work with universal feelings - love, hate, fear, happiness, sadness, etc - and try to present characters and situations that will evoke those feelings in your reader.

A word on situations - It's not enough to simply "say" a character is this or that - no lazy sentences like, David was happy Maria decided to show up. You must show the reader, through action, dialogue and introspection. Take the dark guy with the tattoos, for example. If you show him cuddling a stray puppy, your reader will be much more likely to believe he's kindhearted than if you were to simply say, David had a kind heart. Rather than saying, David drank too much, show him hitting the liquor store and making a beeline for the tequila. :)

What else do you need to know in order to create a fictional dream? The right words. Concrete and accurate nouns and verbs. Why use ran, when you actually mean raced? Does five year old Mindy walk down the street? Or does she skip?

For each scene, decide which of your characters has the most at stake, and then write your scene from that character's viewpoint. If your viewpoint character can't see it, hear it, feel it, think it or smell it, don't write it. If you do, you're switching viewpoints, and forcing your reader out of the fictional dream you've struggled to create. 

Comments

Posted by Jessa Slade on Oct 31 at 05:05 PM:
Ah, the infamous "save the cat" scene. It's a fine balance to know when to SDT (show, don't tell) and when to wield the 2x6. I suppose that's what revisions are for :) Great post.

And thanks for the reminder on the POV character being the one with the most at stake. Sometimes in our conflicted world, we want to back away from the anguish of our imaginary friends, but, no, we must fling rocks.
Posted by Miss Mae on Oct 31 at 12:03 PM:
Yes, so true! Oh, as they say, "SHOW, don't tell!"
Posted by Barb Sheridan on Oct 31 at 11:43 AM:
Excellent post and one we can all do with remembering.