The conclusion of the series: “Developing Plots by Hemorrhaging Dreams”
In this series, we’ve looked at four ways you can spur your subconscious mind to help you solve plotting challenges.
These methods are not routine. They will probably be out of your comfort zone, and they may even give you a headache. If so, it’ll mean you’re using synapses that have not joined forces previously. That’ll be progress. Writers need to progress beyond the norm, the dull, the bland. Writers are dream weavers, that’s true enough. But if the patterns of the dreams are as regulated as a cross-stitch outline, the surprises will be missing; the magic will not be baffling; the finished product will be same-old-same-old.
Be brutal. Bludgeon your dreams. Cause them to hemorrhage. A little mental bloodletting can be the cure to your creative coagulation.
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Dennis E. Hensley is director of the professional writing program at Taylor University. He is the author of 52 books, including the novel The Gift (Harvest House) and eight textbooks on writing, such as How to Write What You Love and Make a Living at It (Random House) and The Freelance Writer’s Handbook (Harper-Collins). His more than 3,000 freelance articles have appeared in Reader’s Digest, Success, Essence, People, The Star and The Detroit Free Press, among many others. © 2012 by Dennis E. Hensley. All rights reserved.
