do "it was all a dream" stories fly?

[galaxygoddess]

So one of the stories I'm working on, is going to have a passionate scene followed by "ah damn, it was all a dream" but it's going elude to "maybe she just WANTS him to think it was all a dream" if you get my meaning.


Is that one of those story line that kinda ruins it for anyone? or do they actually manage to work? Because to be honest she basically manipulates him into thinking he was dreaming, but it actually happened.

But if you read a story and it goes "oh it was all a dream" do you groan and stop reading?

 

[miwoodsman]

For me, it depends on how good the story is. I believe they can and do work, and help build sexual tension between characters.

My story, "Alice Unbound" has several dream sequences in it that you don't know are dreams until the scenes end. Plus it has an ending that people either love or hate. I had a few "Ending sucked" comments that stung, but I also got quite positive feedback. I choose to focus on the good comments.

-lg

 

[galaxygoddess]

Well people will either love it or hate it which is understandable, you can't cope to everyone's "ideal" but I do wonder if it turns a lot of people off.

I know the "prophsized one" (ignore my spelling today) is a pet peeve of a few people

I just want to make sure that it's not too "cheezy".

As for comments, if it's constructive, and not just "OMF LOLOL U SUX" I will actually take the time to read and understand what I did wrong with what I'm doing.


Thank you for your opinion

 

[BonsaiBeauty]

I have read some great stories with dream sequences in them, but their success largely depends, I believe, on the quality of the writing in general.

I mean, a ham-handed segueway like, "oh, that was a dream" is a little bit of a turnoff to me. I think something more original might add to the flavor, but I would have to see it in context really to say definitively.

 

[christabelll]

I have written a story that was all dream sequence with reality thrown in to the mix... Of course it leaves the reader hanging - was it real or memorex??? LOLOL

Take a gander if you will from my link below - Perchance to Dream

The sequel is delayed - Crusader is giving me fits instead...
Good Luck!

 

[S-Des]

I reviewed a story last year that not only was a dream, but it turned out to be a figment of someone's imagination. I thought it was excellent, although the scores didn't reflect my positive take on the story (they were good, but not great), so it's possible the readers didn't care for it as much. The thing I always measure the story by is . . . Did the author intentionally mislead me, or just allow me to come to the wrong conclusion? If it's the former, I get annoyed. If it's the latter, I'm very impressed.

 

[BonsaiBeauty]

I can think of a great movie that used the dream/wish-fulfillment mode as an effective device, David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive." Of course, you weren't aware that it was a dream until the last 1/3 of the film takes place. But, when you find out, you are so enthralled that you want to watch the movie over again to see it from a new perspective. Similarly, I would guess that if a story were written in such a way, people would actually re-read it if it were that well-done.

 

[jomar]

The whole 1980s Newhart show was a dream!

I wrote a story called 'Mancation' that was all a dream. Its score is in the high three's. I didn't execute it very well since it only pulled fifteen votes out of 12500 'reads.'

 

[Guest]

This one of mine relies upon dreams. It's in the Group Sex category and has done pretty well.

A Girl Can Fuck, er, Dream

 

[rgraham666]

I've done a story that was mostly dream sequence. It seemed to do all right.

Seriously, like every thing written, a dream sequence can work if the author does a good job.

 

[Carnevil9]

I can think of a great movie that used the dream/wish-fulfillment mode as an effective device......

Don't forget Wizard of Oz.

 

[BlackShanglan]

"The Wizard of Oz" is, I think, a good example of an "it was a dream" ending that works, and it works because it's not just a gimmick that adds nothing to the movie. OK, it's not high drama, but there's some useful message in the twist when we realize that all of those fantastic, magical beings who helped Dorothy in Oz were really her friends, and they were with her all of the time. "There's no place like home" is a message that rings true for Dorothy at the end of the movie, and she needed the dream to get that point. The "it was a dream" idea works because the dream itself made her glad to wake and able to accept that Oz is a dream and her friends and family are reality.

I'd say the same thing about any dream sequence or twist ending. If it adds new depth to the theme, characters, emotions, and ideas, it's a good choice. If it's just there for the sake of being novel or if it's used as a way of resolving problems without having the characters work them out themselves (or worse, as a way for the author to avoid the work), then it's likely to be a problem. It's all in how it's used.

 

[BonsaiBeauty]

I agree wholeheartedly. The Wizard of Oz is simply fantastic in its use of the dream as metaphorical journey/wish fulfillment. And, of course, I fell in love with Dorothy along the way, so it's a movie near and dear to my heart. (Sorry for the sloppy sentiment, but I couldn't help it here.)

 

[3113]

Cop out!

The Wizard of Oz is one of the few movies where "it was all a dream" is acceptable to me. That's because Dorothy doesn't really seem to believe it was "all a dream" and neither do we--we suspect it might not have been "just a dream" because we have been shown from the beginning that the adults are not quite trustworthy. They don't believe in magic, right?

I also accept it from "Alice in Wonderland" primarily because, as a reader, I never get too deeply invested in Alice or her universe. So it doesn't matter to me if it was all a dream--especially as it certainly seems to be a dream.

That said, IMHO, very very few "it was all just a dream" stories work. The reason they don't work, at least for me, is because I end up feeling like the writer has pulled a dirty trick on me. A reader suspends their disbelief for you, the storyteller, and gives you hours of precious reading time. They invest their feeling and belief in your characters and their stories...and at the end of all this, you're going to tell them, "Oh, it was all just a dream. Hahahaha. Got ya!" ?!?

My response to that: Fuck you. I won't be reading you again!

If you want to present a long dream sequence, that is clearly a dream or that we find out a dream and then move into the real half of the story...that's different. Many stories have had long dream sequences that are very telling and act as the other side of reality.

But if you're going to have the reader believe they're reading a real story--get into it, and then find out a the end that it was all a dream...that, essentially, they've fallen for a trick, then you're going to have to deal with some angry readers. You have to *PLAY FAIR* with readers whatever you do. Any mystery story, any story with a twist or trick end, has to give readers clues and a chance to figure it out, not just jump out at the end and laughing shout "surprise!" That, to me, isn't fair or right...and it's hardly clever. At best, it's cliché, at worst, it indicates a cop-out. As if you weren't creative enough to come up with a better ending...or serious enough to commit to the reality of your story.

Which, by the way, is my opinion of the Wizard of Oz. I love that movie, and I forgive and accept the ending. But L. Frank Baum didn't cop out. In the book, Dorothy REALLY goes to Oz and comes back. The movie makers *did* cop out. They weren't willing to commit to a real fantasy world that this girl from Kansas really went to.

 

[Frank Noir]

So one of the stories I'm working on, is going to have a passionate scene followed by "ah damn, it was all a dream" but it's going elude to "maybe she just WANTS him to think it was all a dream" if you get my meaning.

Is that one of those story line that kinda ruins it for anyone? or do they actually manage to work? Because to be honest she basically manipulates him into thinking he was dreaming, but it actually happened.

But if you read a story and it goes "oh it was all a dream" do you groan and stop reading?

So - you're in fact writing a story that is a bit more complex that the usual "it was all a dream" - but you're worried that the mere mention of a scene being a dream will turn readers off?

I don't know (wouldn't turn me off). Maybe the trick is to keep them guessing - drop hints that she's lying.

IMHO, "it was all a dream" only sucks when used as an ending. Although I've done it myself (with a twist) in The Gas Station

 

[Darkniciad]

I've had one floating around in my head for a while now that's almost entirely a dream sequence set in the old west. It ends with a nearly identical event to the beginning of the dream happening in the real world modern times, though.

Hardly an original play on the dream sequence either, and don't know if that's any better than "It was just a dream" :: fade to black :: but I'll probably write it anyway, because I can't get the damn story out of my head.