: Re: Dream analysis research I am currently writing a short story/novella. This piece of fiction describes a child who has vivid dreams. His dreamworld starts to blend with the real world by him

@Dunderdale623

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When in doubt quote Lester Dent:

Here's a nifty much used in faking local color. For a story laid in Egypt, say, author finds a book titled "Conversational Egyptian Easily Learned," or something like that. He wants a character to ask in Egyptian, "What's the matter?" He looks in the book and finds, "El khabar, eyh?" To keep the reader from getting dizzy, it's perhaps wise to make it clear in some fashion, just what that means. Occasionally the text will tell this, or someone can repeat it in English. But it's a doubtful move to stop and tell the reader in so many words the English translation.

The writer learns they have palm trees in Egypt. He looks in the book, finds the Egyptian for palm trees, and uses that. This kids editors and readers into thinking he knows something about Egypt.

i.e. Learn one piece of trivia and drop it, assuredly, into the dialogue or whatever in order to "fake" reality. Of course in the high adventure days of pulp writers had limited research opportunities, these days we have the interweb.

I think some of this kind of thing is now, therefore, de rigeur but like Mr. Dent says too much and the reader will "get dizzy" and no one wants that.

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