So I have a story thought out in my head and I want it to start with a series of dreams/nightmare but I don’t know how to get started. Should I just drop the reader in the middle of the first nightmare or should I set it up better first? Any help is appreciated!
I vote write the first nightmare, and then let some test readers look it over, and if they say it's too confusing then edit it so that there's more of a setup/prologue.
I think it might be nice to have a prologue where they are in the nightmare but just as something bad is about to happen, leave it as a cliffhanger and start your story from a few hours before
Yeah I like that idea! Honesty yeah write a prolougue first maybe to introduce what is happening but it would be a cool hook if you started in the middle of the nightmare and had the character wake up from it. From my experience books tend to be interesting when they jump right into the action.
I know a lot of people don't like stories that start off with dreams because when you find out it's just a dream it feels a little bit like a cop out. Like, you're thrown into this intense or interesting situation, and you get invested only to find that none of it actually happened.
Obviously, you can start your story however you want, but I think it might be better to set it up a little more so that the readers either a) know it's a dream from the start or b) there's enough context clues indicating that it could be a dream.
I know a lot of people don't like stories that start off with dreams because when you find out it's just a dream it feels a little bit like a cop out. Like, you're thrown into this intense or interesting situation, and you get invested only to find that none of it actually happened.
Obviously, you can start your story however you want, but I think it might be better to set it up a little more so that the readers either a) know it's a dream from the start or b) there's enough context clues indicating that it could be a dream.
So, my plan was to give context with the dream/nightmare that it is only just a dream and have them wake up. These would just be an intro to the actual story. Now, I just need to figure out how to start the first nightmare…..
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I know a lot of people don't like stories that start off with dreams because when you find out it's just a dream it feels a little bit like a cop out. Like, you're thrown into this intense or interesting situation, and you get invested only to find that none of it actually happened.
Obviously, you can start your story however you want, but I think it might be better to set it up a little more so that the readers either a) know it's a dream from the start or b) there's enough context clues indicating that it could be a dream.So, my plan was to give context with the dream/nightmare that it is only just a dream and have them wake up. These would just be an intro to the actual story. Now, I just need to figure out how to start the first nightmare…..
Start it by describing the area, like "It was dark. Empty" in a very dramatic way, have fun with it.
I know a lot of people don't like stories that start off with dreams
I love stories that start off with dreams (The Lathe of Heaven, the first line of Rebecca) especially if they're about dreams.
But the reason for people saying they don't like something in a book or story is important to consider before deciding whether or not you're going to do it anyway. Sometimes a kind of beginning gets too popular and the pushback against it becomes too prescriptive: Don't begin a story with description of weather, don't begin a story with your main character waking up and getting ready for the day…My personal pet peeve is new writers beginning with a chase scene, especially if that part of the story is just going to go on pause right away to give background information on why there's a chase scene.
However, there's ways to pull off each and any of these that it can be good. If a writer is really really feeling that dream, that weather, that morning routine, or even that chase scene, then that's usually a sign that they should start with that.