《How to Write Stories People Will Love》Question 55: Vivid visions

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asks: Maybe you could write about how a character experiences vivid visions, like a Force vision?

Visions can be treated a lot like a dream sequence (See Question 45: Dream sequences.) But since we are making a distinction here, I'm going to assume it's not the kind of vision that appears in a dream, when one is sleeping. We're talking about a scene, possibly a prediction, that the character sees while still awake.

Because the character is conscious, they are able to tune into how they feel during this vision. Like watching a movie. It could look something like this:

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I blinked, but my dead father was still there--not dead--outside our old house. He was as I remembered him from when I was little. Broad shoulders, quick movements. My heart ached to hug him one more time, and I reached out to him.

He didn't see me. He kept looking over his shoulder like he expected someone to come after him. He clutched a metal box in his hands.

"Daddy, what is that?" I whispered. I didn't recall ever seeing him like this, or that box either. This wasn't a memory. What was I seeing?

He didn't answer, and instead mumbled to himself, "Those bastards are not going to get their grimy hands on this." After prying off a loose board from the side of the front steps, he slipped the box into the hole, replaced the board, and pulled a hammer from his back pocket.

I watched as he secured the board into place with fresh nails. Did Mom know about this? We'd sold the house ages ago. Was that box still in there?

As the vision faded and I was once again in my living room, I sat back and realized one thing: I had to go retrieve that box.

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I think the difference between visions and dreams can be seen like this: With a dream, the reader watches the same "movie" as the character does. Maybe the character interacts with the dream since they are in it. But with a vision, the reader watches the character watching the "movie". The character is aware they are not asleep, and might be confused by it. I would imagine that, if the character was in the vision, they would be watching themselves like it was a home movie, and not actually feel like they were part of the vision.

Hopefully I didn't confuse you. :)

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