During last month’s blog hop, Adam Gentry’s article “Writing as a Waking Dream” discussed a common battleground for authors: finding the writer’s “flow”. In the comments, TD Storm recommended a book titled From Where You Dream. Like the many other authors who commented, I also have trouble finding and settling into a state of flow, so I decided to check out the recommended book.

From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction is edited by Janet Burroway and is a compilation of Robert Olen Butler’s workshop lectures and exercises. It is important to realize that the book is Burroway’s translation of the transcripts of Butler’s workshops.

From Where You Dream is divided into three parts: The Lectures; The Workshop; and The Stories, Analyzed. Part I: The Lectures begins with Butler warning authors to avoid “abstraction, generalization, summary, analysis, and interpretation” and to focus, instead, on sense-based emotion. The section chapter talks about accessing the writer’s zone of flow and gives three tips for how to do just that. The following chapters, however, discuss why characters must have desires; the definitions and specifics of shots, scenes, and sequences; and other techniques writers should master. Part II: The Workshop provides a before-and-after look at one of Butler’s own short stories, then walks readers through two of Butler’s workshop exercises and the actual implementation of those exercises in a workshop session. Part III: The Stories, Analyzed contains three stories from Butler’s workshops and their analysis.

Overall, the book was not what I expected. I was looking for a resource to help me learn to tap into my sense of flow at a moment’s notice. I realize that may not be possible, but you can’t blame a girl for trying, and aren’t we all looking for the most efficient way to get more high-quality writing done? That being said, I still think From Where You Dream is an invaluable resource. Even though only two chapters deal specifically with the idea of flow and what Butler calls dreamstorming, the book takes a very comprehensive look at avoiding abstraction, generalization, summary, analysis, and interpretation. This is a crucial skill, as Butler points out, and is one every author should seek to master. Because From Where You Dream goes into detail not only about why to master it, but also about how (including two chapters centered around exercises that help authors understand and implement the concept), this work is a must-have in any author’s toolbox.

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