I’m sure I’m not alone in this experience, and that would be one where a writer has dreams about one of their characters. Let’s face it, our dreams are usually symbolic and people, real or created, can represent things in your life when you dream. In Dance of Desire, one of the main characters is Daren, my red-headed sexy attendant who works at The House. One night, after I’d been writing about him, creating him in my mind, I fell asleep and began dreaming about him–about us. When I woke up, I had to laugh, and then I wondered, do any other writers do this? Apparently it’s not that all uncommon for writers to have night-time experiences with their characters, especially if you write romance or erotica. After all, these characters are real to us. We conjur them up in our minds, and as we write out their scripts in our novels, they begin to take on what feels like a real walking, talking person.
Sometimes when I hear certain songs, I wonder how Daren, in his day and age–the 20’s-30’s–would react to the song. Would he like it? Would it make him want to sing or dance? How would he look in modern day clothing? After all, in my novels, he’s wearing nothing but a loincloth–or nothing! I can hear his voice in my mind when I write dialogue sentences for him. I can see his smile, his teeth, feel his touch. I wonder what he likes to eat. In my novels, he likes fruit, probably because it’s erotic and can be used/eaten in may ways! I think Daren would describe himself as a vegan or a health nut. He cares for his body very much.
Now for the big question as it relates to dreaming about your characters. Since Daren engages in lots of sex, have Daren and I had sex in a dream? Well . . . all I can say is It was good for me, and I’m hoping it was for him too. Oh, wait, he’s only a fictitious character, and I was just dreaming. Anyway, it’s an interesting concept as we writers breath life into each one of our characters, creating the way they walk, talk, dress, swagger . . . and fulfil our naughty desires.
What about everyone else–readers or writers? Do you ever dream about characters in novel? If you have, and you’re not too shy, tell me about it. I’d love to hear your experience.
