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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/29313
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/29313
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

"Don't confuse the reader" is not a rule, but it is an action with consequences. You can decide to break a rule, but you cannot decide to exempt yourself from consequences. The consequence of confusing the reader is a confused reader. The probable consequence of a confused reader is an abandoned book.

However, there are circumstances in which the reader may enjoy being confused. In a certain type of whodunit mystery (most mysteries are not really whodunits these days) the reader is expecting to be mislead and misdirected and much of their pleasure comes in trying to see through the misdirection. If the writers does succeed in fooling them honestly, however, they will regard it as a game well played and be pleased with the experience. If the writer fools them dishonestly, however, by outright lying, for example, rather than misdirection, then they will not be pleased with the experience at all.

So, the question you have to ask yourself is, what pleasure are you preparing for the reader by being unclear about whether the protagonist's experience is waking or dream? At some point, presumably, you will have to make the reader aware that that experience was a dream. So why? What is the payoff for the reader in having that information revealed only then? How will it seem satisfactory to them, rather than a cheat, or simply outright confusion? Unless you have a very clear idea about these things, and are very confident in your ability to pull it off, confusing the reader about the protagonist's dream sequence is only likely to annoy them.

And remember, while you may have the entire arc of the story fully in your mind as you write, the reader is mostly enjoying the story they way you enjoy scenery from the window of a train. The experience is enjoyable in the moment but in not necessarily retained. Making any long back-reference in a story is likely to leave the reader scratching their head unless you have taken extraordinary measures to make that event memorable -- which is the very opposite of what you do when you obscure the dream/waking distinction. How can the reader remember the dream if they were not told it was a dream at the time?

So, while not a rule, it is good practice to be as clear and transparent as you can at all times unless you have a very good reason -- a big payoff for the reader -- for doing otherwise, and are very confident in your ability to pull off the deception.

Original score: 33