Young Writers Society

So, how do they work? Links, comments, anything apreciated. I'm trying to go past the cliche and into the truly terrifying, although perhaps not weird, just those things that go bump in your head in the night.

Lol you need some good dictionaries!

Well... "terrifying" is kind of objective. I guess being hunted in a dream, but anything from a bloodthirsty murderer to a massive, shadowy hound would be scary. It really depends what frightens the character the most, or even what they're most afraid of doing. Like, if they're really powerful but they don't trust themselves, maybe they'd have dreams about themselves loosing control. It makes sense for characters to have dreams concerning things they worry about in waking.

Some of the scariest dreams I've had have been in third person, where I'm seeing myself from outside. I also had one particularly creepy dream where I embodied two characters--me, the first person one, and the "antagonist," at the same time. That might be a little too weird, but it was really scary at the time.

I remember 2 nightmares vividly: 1 where I dreamt that I was going to be run over by my angry parents on a steamroller on the motorway.

Another time, I dreamt that I had to run away from the darkness (with light travelling at 1 m/s) and found myself in a creepy hospital. In the basement, there was a radioactive pool and skeletons chained to the wall O_O

We need some context. Different characters have different dreams (and didn't nightmares). Is this character male or female? Child or adult? Whats his or her darkest secret? What is this character most afraid of when awake?

Also what purpose is this nightmare intended serve in the story? Dreams and nightmares can be tricky. If the reader knows it's just a dream they might lose interest in the story because they know nothing is really at stake. If they don't know it's a dream your reader might leave feeling cheated.

How 'bout night terrors? I used to wake up and not know who anybody was. I figured they were aiding those demon wolves and she-demons that sort of invaded my dreams constantly.

Seeing the people you're terrified of start bawling when you stare at them in abject horror is also weird. You're like, "Good gracious, if they're upset, this can't end well for me, can it?"

Then again, being eaten is a pretty scary thing. Slow death dreams, same. Dreams wherein they're weirdly nice but they shouldn't be, too. It's like, "Dream me is enjoying this. WHY?"

How's this for a classic: Trying to run away from someone/something, but you're going really slowly. I hate those.

Or falling. When you wake up and it actually feels like you've fallen onto your bed? Horrible.

I used to have PTSD. Do some research into that. In a PTSD dream your mind is creating the details so its more vivid than real life as your brain isnt tuning information out and you remember everything as if it had been.

In my experience, I'm most afraid of something I can't kick or punch or stab. People are afraid of what they can't fight against. Also, people do have there little things that spook them that may not really bother someone else. One of my best friends is full on Krav Maga instructor, completely bad arss, and he can't stand the sight of bees. The just freak him out.

Also, when you're writing a scene like a nightmare, you don't have the benefit of making the reader jump, like in a scary movie. You'll want the reader to feel like your character is in real danger.

Tons of vivid description. Tons and tons and tons and tons. Touch on every sensation. When you're reading, you tend to emulate the feelings that the character is experiencing in your mind.

All dreams are your brain stowing away information, according to scientists. So maybe touch on some of your characters real life worries. Maybe she's worried that someone she loves will accidentally hurt her, and that manifests in her dream with one she loves attacking her. Or maybe she's afraid of screwing up and hurting someone else. Just keep in mind that dreams are your brains way of storing emotions and stuff like that, so whatever she dreams will be affected by real life, no matter how indirectly.