h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Dreamtime: 16 moments of arete - A3779193
Author: dancingbuddha - U238893


The seventh strange dream.

*starts treading very carefully*

I thhhinnnnkkk one of the problems with writing down dreams and telling people is that the disjointedness that is inevitable, and the personalness of the dream, makes it rather inaccessible to people and often a sort of "well I'll read it but only because it's there and what else can I do at 4am?"

I mean, I enjoyed reading it, but I suspect this MAY be a small reason why people haven't commented much. What do you think?

Kats

Glad you brought this up.

You may be right. One of the reasons I put this up is because I want to see people's responses to such a personal experiences. After all, many of us talk about personal experiences here, so is it the personalness that makes it inaccessible? Is it the fact that dreams feel disjointed that makes it inaccessible? Is it the fact that it's I say that its a dream that brings all sorts of baggage into people's minds when they read it? Does it lose credibility as a story because of that? Would you have read it differently if I hadn't told you it was a dream?

I mean, it is a story - how is it different from other stories?

Honestly, I don't know how many people read it, and just walked away, shaking their heads. I don't know how many people saw the title, and said 'oh, it's a dream, pah.' and never took a look inside.

Part of the reason I put it up here is because I *had* to. Couldn't stand to have those images only in my head - I had to commit it to paper. Needless to say, the account both loses accuracy, being unable to capture the experience fully, and yet achieves a modicum of coherence, because in writing I sort it out somewhat.

Honestly, as a story, how disjointed did you think it was (if you can possibly objectively separate the fact that it is a dream from the story itself)?

Perhaps it isn't a dream, and I just dressed up something so that it plausibly sounds like a dream. Perhaps I'm just messing with your mind(s).

What do you think?

~ db

PS: thank you for reading & commenting, though

They are difficult to comment on but I do like reading them.

Dreams can be so real they become part of your experience, changing you. In a sense that makes them truly real. I have a handful stuck in my memory that seem as much a part of me as events that 'really' happened.

Ah, but what if it *wasn't* a dream. You don't really trust me, do you? Why, by the way, is it difficult to comment on? (Not deconstructing, just curious for opinions)

~ db

I think they're very plausible as dreams. If I had to say one way or the other, I'd say they were dreams. But even if not, they read as dreams.

I'll have a think about why that makes them difficult to comment on. I think it's because, in a dream framework, there are no limits, no expectations. The experiences are what they are, take it or leave it. In dreams you just go with the subconscious flow. I suppose I read these in the same way.

I meant comment as in review, by the way. Someone who knew anything about dream interpretation would find much to comment on on content.

Got to now, back later.

>> ... in a dream framework, there are no limits, no expectations...

And there are limits & expectations for stories otherwise? Interesting...

now I'm wondering, but yes, I think. I expect some basics to apply, within context of course. In a normal context I'd expect gravity, a forward moving timeline, concluding closure of some sort, a certain amount of rationality, that kind of thing, to apply unless something flags the exceptional. Like a magic wand is waved, or it's an alien planet. Or I'm told it's a dream (real or made up).

When those things don't apply I conclude I'm seeing some kind of internal image, not an external happening. Like a dream. Which could be sleeping or waking.

And when you're in someone's head, anything goes. I wouldn't say it was inacessable to readers but it doesn't seem appropriate to say I don't understand this bit or can't follow that bit. I just accept it as it is with the bits I can't figure out.

I think that it comes down to my assuming that the author is painting out the images he saw/thought/dreamt, as opposed to trying to put a message across. It's usually the effectiveness in putting messages across that I'd be thinking of in making comments.

And what of the story in itself? Did I convey nothing through this account?

~ db

Yes you did. Definitely. A series of rather fascinating images linked by a chain of events to be puzzled over for meaning. I'd call it an experience rather than a story.

Reading someone's dream like this is like tuning into radio drama in the middle, missing the setting up of who's who and where and why. Or perhaps like watching a tv drama in a language you don't understand. You can think of possible interpretations of what's going on but you're aware they're all just possibilities and might reflect your own preoccupations as much as the author's intentions.

>> might reflect your own preoccupations as much as the author's intentions

And is it not so with all writing?

Up to a point, yes, that's true. It depends on the author and the type of writing though doesn't it? Some leave the reader plenty of scope for imagination and interpretation, some don't.