Dream Start Ups

I have a storyline in my head that ran for a few years. Yes, really, years! I used it at bedtime to try to control my dreams, to stop the bad ones, the nightmares. I’ve gone through a lot and some of the bad dreams were a darker continuation of some of those bad times. Others were just horror movies I’ve seen gone wild. (Think zombie apocalypse.) It’s something I taught my kids when they complained of having bad dreams or being unable to sleep. With them, I told them to pick a favorite time in their life and expand on it, or about some place they’ve wanted to go. I simplified it for them.

Kind of dark, but I can get real creative with it. The Left Behind Series, (end of times) when they take up residence in a building in downtown Chicago. It started with a very small group of believers and in my story it grew into 2 communities, in 2 buildings with an underground bridge. 

Then it was all about sourcing food, prescriptions, supplies, building materials, furniture, setting up hydroponic fruit and vegetable gardens. Everyone has a job they rotate off so everyone does their fair share. No need for currency. 

It got really elaborate. It took into account everything a community has, all divided up on all the floors of the 2 buildings. Clubs, movie theater, coffee house, theatre that did small productions, even a small militia of sorts that went out at night seeking supplies. That same militia kept order in the 2 communities. Of course I was the head of it all. (After all, it’s my story.) I didn’t really have an official title, like mayor, or governor.) For long stretches I would have others handle the minutiae of running the 2 communities. During those times I would do storylines about the different parts of the communities. I’d spend time doing jobs in most of the areas. 

Every community member filled out a resume and everyone’s expertise was utilized. Carpenters, computer people who set up a secure internal network. Carpenters and painters secured the outer windows, painting them black and soundproofing. There was a cafeteria set up, people with cooking skills prepared menus and different cuisines. Security professionals set up infrared cameras outside the buildings and surrounding blocks so the area could be monitored to keep any trucks going on supply missions safe from the followers of the Antichrist and their police/military that hunt down the believers. There were even medical professionals.

It wasn’t just the logistics of setting up a community, I also set up relationship storylines within all of that. 

I need to get back to it because I know there is more that can be done with the story. Because I riffed off one small part in one of the books, I can continue with endless storylines. 

The storylines I created are very detailed and basically for my amusement, NOT for publication. What I’ve written above is just kind of an outline of the things I went into minute detail in my dream start up  Some of the characters were riffs on people I’ve met over the years. None of the characters in my dream start ups were from any of the books. The only one would really be the Antichrist, and even that was just the concept of what an Antichrist would be.

Take a book or series you really enjoyed. Or maybe a television show or movie. Change the characters to make it personal to you, then riff away.

Do you do dream start ups? What’s yours? Are you going to give it a try? What will you start with?

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