Killing the Dream Sequence

My MC, Kristian, is a dreamer.  I don't mean that he is a visionary or that he has wishful thoughts.  I mean when he lays down to sleep at night he dreams  - about monsters.  And get this- he can read the monster's minds.  In one dream, he even tastes his own blood via the monster's thoughts.   Overcome, with the coolness of this concept, I wrote scene after scene of Kristian's dreams.

What is about authors and dreams?  Why do we LOVE them so much?  I think its because there is so much freedom in the dream.  We can write a crappy stream of consciousness and feel justified.  We can make  deep insights about our character without having to weave these insights into obstacles like character motivation or plot.   We can introduce  characters who are dead.  We can visit backstory without awkwardness.  We can have our characters talk to God.  WE CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL WE WANT.

That is why when I read The Nighttime Novelist:  Finish Your Novel in Your Spare Time by Joseph Bates, its point about "mistaking inaction or digression for suspense" hit home.  I needed to let go of the amazing concept of  my MC tasting his own blood, at least when it is included in a dream. 

According to Bates, "every scene must seem like an attempt to solve the problem or question at hand. "  p.51.   Kristians dreams were fluffy, directionless fun for me, but did not help the book's plot or theme. 

 It is also very common for an author to open their book with a dream. BECAUSE IT'S SO FUN.  As Bates points out,  generally this is not a good idea because it may be disorienting or boring to readers. (Gasp- really?!) I confess that some of my initial rough drafts contained dream openers.

Overall, I've decided dreams in a novel are like adverbs.  They are guilty until proven innocent.  Most of my MC's dreams are guilty of self-gratification and some laziness on my part.   I've chucked 1st draft Kristian's dreams.  2nd draft Kristian fights with monsters when he is awake and he is made more real for his efforts.