{"id":7379,"date":"2012-06-05T09:41:04","date_gmt":"2012-06-05T14:41:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/?p=7379"},"modified":"2012-06-05T09:41:04","modified_gmt":"2012-06-05T14:41:04","slug":"trope-tuesday-dreaming-of-things-to-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onelowerlight.com\/writing\/trope-tuesday-dreaming-of-things-to-come\/","title":{"rendered":"Trope Tuesday: Dreaming of Things to Come"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When a character in a story has a dream<\/a>, there’s almost certainly a reason for it. \u00a0If it’s not thrown in just to show how scarred<\/a> or tortured<\/a> he is (or alternately, how repressed<\/a> he is), chances are good he’s dreaming of things to come<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I’m a huge<\/em>\u00a0fan of this trope, as you may be able to tell if you’ve read any of my books. \u00a0It’s a special form of foreshadowing<\/a> that lends a mystical, otherworldly flavor. \u00a0It’s also something that we can relate to: how often have you had a dream that was so powerful, so moving, that it just had<\/em>\u00a0to mean something?<\/p>\n

When played straight, this trope often implies some sort of all-seeing being<\/a> who sent the dream<\/a> on purpose. \u00a0However, this doesn’t have to be the case. \u00a0I often find it much more satisfying when we don’t know where the dream came from. \u00a0It’s very easy to shatter the sense of wonder by over-explaining things, especially when it comes to the dream world.<\/p>\n

Of course, the character doesn’t just have to dream of things to come to capture that sense of wonder. \u00a0They can also dream of times gone by<\/a>, discovering something previously unknown about the past, or dream of the truth<\/a>, working through a previously unsolvable problem in their sleep. \u00a0The mystical, otherworldly flavor still holds true for all of them.<\/p>\n

As you might expect, this is a fairly common trope in fantasy. \u00a0Some prominent examples include:<\/p>\n