Do you have any tips on writing hallucinations? Specifically, nightmare-like, drug-induced hallucinations? Thanks.
Dramatic Irony, Unreliable Narrators and Hallucinations
Like anything else you decide to write, the first thing to consider is the perspective of the story. I’m assuming you’re writing the hallucinations from the perspective of the hallucinator, and if your narrator is sharing information with your readers that is false, you’re using an unreliable narrator.
If your character is hallucinating, it’s likely they don’t realize they’re hallucinating. Or if they do realize they’re hallucinating, they’re not always sure when they’re in the middle of one and when they’re experiencing reality. If your readers are hearing the story through that character, you have to decide how comfortable you are with your reader also not knowing the difference between reality and illusion.
Dramatic irony is when your readers know something that your characters don’t. If you want your readers to be fully aware of when your character is hallucinating, you’ll have to use a symbol to help clue them in.
Not a literal symbol, but some common image, object, or person that is in every hallucination. When Sam had hallucinations of Lucifer on Supernatural, viewers knew that anytime Lucifer was onscreen, Sam was hallucinating, even if Sam himself was unsure, at least at first. You might also use markings, a specific song or sound effect, or a physical sensation the character has. If you can think of a common element you can incorporate into each hallucination, that could be a cue to your readers that what your character is experiencing is not reality.
You mentioned nightmarish, so if your character is experiencing terrors they don’t normally face, that could be a big clue to your reader that it’s yet another hallucination. Perhaps eventually reality resembles one of these nightmarish hallucinations, and your character doesn’t realize it (so they convince themselves not to be afraid and not to act because it isn’t real), while your reader somehow knows full well that it is real. That would create an interest reversal.
You might also use secondary characters, or alternate points of view, to show your hallucinating character from an outside perspective.
Because the hallucinations are drug-induced, you also might use the drug as a clue. Whether they’re taking the drug willingly, or they’re being drugged beyond their knowledge, you could drop hints to your readers that they’re under the influence of something. Once a reader knows there’s drugs involved, they’ll take anything that follows with a grain of salt.
If you want to fully embrace the idea of an unreliable narrator, where your reader has absolutely no clue what is or isn’t real, you’ll have a lot more freedom with how you integrate the hallucinations. You don’t have to drop hints or clues, and it can even be confusing at times, for both your character and your reader. You might lead up to a big reveal towards the end that significant portions of your story were actually hallucinations, resulting in an unexpected twist.
If you go this route though, you have to consider the reader’s perspective. They’ll want gratification on something. No one wants to read a book where they know absolutely nothing until the very end of the story. Even the best mysteries reveal new details of the case as the story progresses. So even if the fact that your character is hallucinating is unknown to the reader, make sure you’re answering other questions. Review the other conflicts in your plot, or the details behind the drug-induced hallucinations (is the character taking the drug or being drugged? If they’re being drugged, by whom? What is this person’s intentions?) Consider the other complexities of your plot and how you can reveal information about those details while keeping the fact that your character is hallucinating a mystery.
Just a quick note on formatting. Hallucinations don’t need to be italicized or set apart with headings or anything like that, especially if you’re trying to hide the hallucinations from the reader. You’re using the point of view of the hallucinator, so just write exactly what the character sees and hears, as if it were actually happening in the scene.
Bear in mind also that this entire post depends largely on the rest of your plot. Writing a hallucination doesn’t have to complicated, but consider what role they’re playing in your plot as a whole and use the approach that will best accomplish that.
