Cruelty to Characters (on writing)

I woke up this morning, after a night of violent dreams, with a new idea for the short story I've been working on, "Asleep, Awake," excerpts of which appear below. It involves throwing a cruel little curveball to the main character, who is also the narrator. As if she doesn't already have enough to deal with. I want to protect her. But you can't always do that and also have a good story. I needed something to move the action forward and I think this is it. So I'll be working on that today.

"Writing can be lonely, and you wonder if anyone besides you even cares about the
end result."

I'm also working on a poem about violent dreams. Lately I've been dreaming about slashing throats and other unspeakable acts. Also witnessing violent acts, failing to prevent suicide, and being chased by knife-wielding maniacs. I'm a very peaceful person in my waking life. So I wonder what prompts that. That's what I want to explore in the new poem. This site claims dreaming about murder is a warning that you must keep in control of your temper and emotions at all times and not get enraged to the point of murderous intent. This one says dreams with violent themes suggest that the dreamer has unconscious negative emotions such as fear, anxiety, and anger. I'm not sure, though. Maybe writing about it will help me figure it out.

An interesting aside: The other night I dreamed that I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming. And it worked. I didn't feel the pinch, so I knew that I was dreaming. Go figure.

Hey, I got a really nice comment on my poem "Analogy." It is so great to get some positive feedback from someone who is not related to you. Writing can be lonely, and you wonder if anyone besides you even cares about the end result. Which is OK--I write for myself first. But writing also needs an audience. I need an audience. Hence, this blog. And my other blog. So feel free to leave a comment, if the mood strikes you, by clicking on the "comments" link below any post.

Gienna