by LynDee Walker of the Femmes Fatales.
I’m supposed to be on vacation.
Not “out of town” vacation, but “giving my brain a break between book projects” vacation. I turned in the edits on my second Faith McClellan novel, LEAVE NO STONE, last week, with a plan of taking a week off to do summer mom type things with the littles and let my mind recharge before I jumped into drafting the new Nichelle Clarke novel.
My brain had other plans.
Now mind you, I’m excited about the premise of the new Nichelle book, and it’s always fun to hang out with my fictional newsroom friends. I have heard other authors tell stories about books coming to them in dreams, and while I didn’t doubt them, I have never had that happen myself. Until now.
Friday afternoon, my new planner arrived (mine run July-June instead of January-December because summer is when I have more time for things like setting up the book that keeps our busy life running all year), and I put a block on it for later this week: start Nichelle #8.
Looking at it made me a little stressed, because while I know this time where the story is going, I hadn’t yet figured out where it starts.
Saturday morning, I woke up startled from one of the most vivid dreams I can remember in…maybe ever. In it, I was sitting at a desk in a newsroom that looked nothing like any newsroom I ever called home, surrounded by people I’ve never met. They were discussing a pressing problem during a staff meeting. “They” were also Nichelle, and Grant Parker, and Bob Jeffers, so real I can still see their faces if I close my eyes. There was a new guy, too, and I’m intrigued by him and what his story will turn out to be.
I wasn’t part of the staff or the meeting, but rather an observer, which everyone present seemed to understand without discussion. They brainstormed about solving their problem, and I listened from outside the circle, nodding along when someone threw out a good idea.
Even dream me knew this was important: at one point I stood and said “y’all stop talking for a minute and let me find a notebook so I can write this down.”
Before I got back to my seat, I woke up, already reaching for my phone to tap it all into the notes. By the time I’d finished my first coffee of the day, I was thanking my lucky stars and ancient dream gods and Sigmund Freud and my bizarre, workaholic brain—because that staff meeting is where this story starts.
I’m not stressed about Wednesday anymore, but rather excited to see where Nichelle goes from there.
How about you, Femmes? Anyone ever dreamed up an important plot point or a character? Readers—tell us about your favorite helpful dreams!
I dreamed the entire plot for my story "A Christmas Surprise," which was published in 2013. I added a little detail to spice it up, but the entire plot came straight from the dream.
How fun that you got to attend a staff meeting, LynDee! I miss being a reporter.
Posted by: Barb Goffman | July 08, 2019 at 09:49 PM