Jon22: The Website of Jonathan Dobres

Issue 17 of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comic book concerns a troubled writer named Richard Madoc.  Unable to write so much as a word of the follow-up to his highly successful first novel, Madoc decides to do something horrible to restore his creative powers.  It would be unfair to ruin the story and tell you exactly what that horrible thing is, but suffice to say that Sandman’s protagonist, Dream, decides to punish Madoc for it in classic ironic fashion, eventually driving the writer mad with an unrelenting stream of ideas.

One idea fragment from Dream’s onslaught is, “A train full of silent women, plowing forever through the twilight.”  I only mention it because last night, I dreamt that I was riding that train.  I knew why everyone was quiet. Were I a less scientifically inclined person, I’d be a little freaked out that I’m now having dreams generated from a comic book series about the Lord of Dreams, which is, incidentally, exactly the sort of thing that would happen in Sandman.

I hesitate to write about the actual dream, in part because, Kubla Khan style, I can only recall fragments of it. Secondly, writing about the dream would constitute a work of fiction appearing on this site.  Browse my archives and tell me how many pieces of fiction I’ve ever written.  Or don’t. I’ll save you the trouble and rob myself of the pageviews.  The number is equal to or nearly zero.  Really, who wants to read some half-dreamed fiction from a guy who’s been reading too much Gaiman?  Then again, it might be fun, in a morbid sort of way.

Tell you what. If I get enough encouragement, let’s say, comments from more than three but less than a million people, I’ll write the dream in the form of a haunting narrative.  If not, you people are getting more haiku.  Either way, it’ll be your own fault.