For example (this little scene played out in my head the other morning, between waking up and getting out of bed to help my littlest use the potty):
The smile was aimed directly at her, no doubt about it. She could even see his eyes twinkling as she blushed and ducked her head. When she dared peek up again, he still had that adorable grin on his face, and she couldn't keep an answering smile from her own mouth.
Then - she couldn't believe her eyes - he was walking toward her! He came to a stop right in front of her. She knew her face was cherry-red. Why, oh why, did she have to be such an abominable blusher?
"You look like someone I would like to know," he announced. "What's your name?"
Aside from the nasty tendency to blush over everything - that girl is nothing like me, not even like the me I was when I was a teenager or in my early twenties, like I'm pretty sure this girl was. Obviously, she's a character. Do I like her? Do I like him? Do I work them into a story sometime? Maybe, maybe not, but they're lurking in my brain now, and hopefully someday they, or versions of them, will be brought to light in a story.
Do your dreams or daydreams end up working their way into your stories? Do you find yourself imposing your face and voice over people in your dreams, even if they aren't you? Have I just labeled myself as hopelessly narcissistic or weird?
Oooh, how neat! It's so interesting the way various characters and scenes come to us, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteI almost always daydream my next scene before I write it.
ReplyDeleteLaura - it really is fascinating, and to see that what works for one person is completely different than what works for someone else. It's one of the things I love about writing, and people in general.
ReplyDeleteConnie - I'm so glad I'm not alone in this trend of daydreaming my stories!
My problem is that my daydreams make great stories, but I can never figure out how to properly fictionalize them and use them-- I'm always dreaming about OTHER people's characters, or real people in situations where They are Obviously Them, and it's all a bit cheaty. Well, maybe not entirely. Me daydreaming about meeting favorite fictional characters myself DID give me an idea for a work in progress. Well, sort of in progress. Maybe it'll become more in progress when I finally get tired of fictionally turning the entire cast of Peter Jackson's Middle Earth to a life of crime.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love imagining myself in situations with my favorite fictional characters. I was Mary-Sue-ing in my dreams long before I'd heard of Mary Sue. Those are my fun, indulgent dreams which I usually fall asleep to. The cool thing about those is, even though they are basically fanfiction for dreams, they can often lead to something original, once I realize I've gone so far from the original plot/characters and am wandering in my own sweet realms.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I would LOVE to read about Aragorn, Frodo, Gimli, Legolas, et al, as criminals. I bet Pippin thinks he's good, but really is hopelessly inept at it, isn't he?
I pretty much daydream about my WIP--so it kind of kills two birds with one stone!
ReplyDeleteWay to multi-task!
ReplyDeleteOh, it's worse, it's actually the real actors and crew and other peripheral people of the movies who are in the Mafia (seriously, HOW else does he get the money for that much production detail?), although the Mythopoeic Society is involved, too (The Mythopoeic Society is totally the Illuminati of fantasy fans. YOU DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW what they know). And Billy Boyd is actually quite wicked. Elijah Wood is the one who thinks he's something but really isn't so much. Sean Astin is the only person who stays uncorrupted by my horrible imagination, because somehow Sam is just THAT impossible to corrupt.
ReplyDeleteHa, I can definitely see Elijah Wood/Frodo in that light. And of course Sean Astin would be the incorruptible one. Naturally!
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