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Seeking Advice: Switching Genres

Spiegro's picture
Submitted by Spiegro(612)
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July 5, 2011 - 11:53am

 

This morning I awoke from a startling dream to find my wife not sleeping by my side. The dream was so vivid I wasn't sure if I was still in it. Still partially paralyzed by my body's homemade sleeping potion, I struggled to find my voice to call to her.

Even more startling was that within my dream I already spent months in that alternate reality, many times falling asleep and awaking (a la Inception) only to find the horrible reality had not faded away.

The dream ended with me leaving the group of survivors I stumbled upon to find my family, and awoke in my own bed with my wife missing and my house curiously silent. I was a little shaken.

I described my dream to my wife, with startling detail. I told you, this dream seemed to last for months. After doing so, and seeing the startled yet interested look on my wife's face, I decided to make the dream into a short story.

The problem? The dream can only be described as science fiction. I think the last time I wrote anything resembling science fiction was in the second grade. I love to write, and I'll start from the details of my dream, but I'm worried about keeping the fictional science of the dream realistic on some level. As silly as that sounds, I often critique movies/books/television shows of the same genre regarding their willingness to keep things believable and accurate while still transcending the boundaries of reality. It's a fine balance in my view.

What say you, Skillogists, about writing/creating in a new genre? Is it necessary to do some background research or run with your flow of creativity and see where that leads you? What should one consider before venturing into creative lands unknown? Or am I thinking too much, and halting my creativity for the sake of accuracy?

 

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Spiegro
Spiegro45 weeks 4 days ago

I'm frantically jotting down

I'm frantically jotting down as many notes as I can about the dream, because my mind created such a beautifully complicated world that I'd like to keep it as intact as I possibly can, and I'm adding to the work as thoughts occur to me. But I can't help but feel that I need to do some outside reading to help develop the storyline a bit more.

drskillzz
drskillzz45 weeks 4 days ago

Before doing any research, I

Before doing any research, I suggest letting the story tell itself. Flush it out, in all its imperfect details, and let your mind not be bound by pre-emptive critique. You'll have plenty of opportunity to fine-tune based on research after the first draft. Side note: This very blog post would make a great 'ficticious' intro into the story, from a first person point of view, which then segues into the dream itself. Balance of realism/fantasy? Possibly. But to your question: "what should one consider before venturing into creative lands unknown?" -- absolutely nothing, except everything. Let your imagination run wild. That feeling that you need to do some outside reading? That's EGO trying to chime in. Tell EGO to relax. Imagination's got this. There is no absolute wrong or right way to tell a story, remember that. Can't wait to read more about this though! The dream sounds interesting. Keep us posted. 

Spiegro
Spiegro45 weeks 4 days ago

Dr. Skillz has spoken. Work

Dr. Skillz has spoken. Work will commence. Many thanks.