Thank You, Dreamworld: Subconscious Inspiration

I dreamt last night. And in this dream, I found myself in a leather jacket leading the investigation of a heinous murder case that took place in a high-rise apartment building. It was my first case as a detective and I had to prove myself.

In true Laura fashion, it took me 10 minutes to find a walkie-talkie that worked and I got stuck in the elevator trying to reach the 11th floor with no success. I woke up when I not only couldn't get to the 11th floor, but also couldn't get off the damn elevator.

Thoughts bounced around my head as I laid in bed...could I do this in real life? No. I'm the farthest thing from an authoriatrian. Then I thought how that might segue into my stories. I tend to gravitate towards writing stories with amateur sleuths, characters that aren't tethered to strict rules that police must obey. So, it might be time to push through the comfort zone and try giving one of the characters in my WIP a more authoritarian role to contrast the main character who tends to bend and slip under the rules in order to survive and find justice.

My dream also left me with a question...how do police, detectives, and private investigators find the bravery to face possible death or serious bodily injury? There's no doubt that a criminal facing prison or the death penalty would do anything to avoid their fate. So, what would motivate a person to go up against the criminal, to put their lives on the line, in the pursuit of justice?



Comments

Alison Miller said…
Very interesting post (and dream!) I imagine any job has its risks of putting one's life on the line, but yeah, where does that willingness to sacrifice self for a stranger come from?

Thought-provoking!
September 5, 2012 at 10:29 PM
Nicki Elson said…
I...I don't know. I'm just very glad we have people that do it. Hmm, I wonder how many of them even understand WHY they do it?

That's an excellent dream, by the way.

On the topic of amateur sleuths - do you ever watch Psych?
September 5, 2012 at 11:58 PM
Cathy said…
What a dream. No wonder your writing leans in this direction. As for the police and EMTs and so on, I think they get a huge adrenaline rush by doing their job.
September 13, 2012 at 5:55 PM
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